• The grapes
• The climate overall and in a particular year
• The winemaker’s processing fermenting and blending artistry
• The aging process

No one knows. Hundreds –light, fresh, fruity, high acidity, deep ruby color, late-harvest pinkish, Tuscan red, luscious black, dry, tart, white, crisp and spicy—you get the idea. For winemaking some grapes are better than others; but that all depends on the kind of wine we’re talking about. Wine is also made from other fruits but it is usually so designated –cherry wine, blueberry wine, etc.

It used to be that the best wine-grape regions were in France, Spain and Italy. Then along came California. Now wikipedia lists hundreds of regions in scores of countries from Morocco to New Zealand. Grape vines planted in different combinations of sun, frost, soil, wind, and rain in each region produces very different results.

Not all wines benefit from aging, but those that do usually become less harsh, less tannic, smoother and more subtle and complex. Generally, all rose wines and most white and light red wines should be bottled soon after fermentation and enjoyed while still young. But to reach their full potential red wines need to be aged. The aging process starts in tanks or vats and after that most high quality wines are aged in wooden barrels. Wood aging is usually regarded as the point where much of the artistry – what sized container, where did the wood come from, what kind of wood is it, how were the barrels made? Then there is bottle aging for at least a few weeks for the wine to recover from bottle sickness –the shock of being put in glass. Some wines can improve for many years, but once a wine reaches its peak the quality begins to decline.