I have a passion for travel and wine adventures. Our summer 2026 roadtrip turn into dinosaur adventures when we visited Alberta and Utah. This obviously got me thinking about some potential connections between dinosaurs and wines. Given that dinosaurs lived during the Mesozoic Era (252-66 million years ago) then age-worthy wines comes to mind as a worthy connection. Hence this post will explore possible connections between dinosaurs and age-worthy wines.
T-Rex Statue, Drumheller, Alberta © Spaswinefood
So What's the Connection?
Perhaps you are wondering how topics like dinosaurs and wines might connect. I soon discovered that the Museum of Science noted one connection:
Did you know that the extinction of dinosaurs is the reason we have wine? In this video, we dive into the reasons that scientists believe that wine is a result of this mass extinction. First, dinosaurs were large creatures that knocked over trees, and without them forests grew denser, allowing vines to flourish. The lack of dinosaurs also led to the diversification of birds and animals, which eat fruits and distribute their seeds. Finally, the debris created by the impact event caused the climate to become much warmer, which was ideal for grape plants. (Museum of Science)
That is fascinating however, I see a possible wine connection. Given that dinosaurs lived during the Mesozoic Era (252-66 million years ago) then age-worthy wines comes to my mind as a perfect match. Indeed both require time to evolve and both are hot topics.
Dinosaur National Monument, Utah © Spaswinefood
Dinosaurs and Age-worthy Wines
We set out on a roadtrip in June, traveling eastward through Nevada, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico before heading north through Nebraska and North Dakota to enter Canada in Manitoba. After Manitoba we headed west onto Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Later, we would cross back into US from Alberta, traveling through North Dakota into Colorado, and onto Utah and Nevada. Our summer roadtrip turned into a focus on dinosaurs during our drive through Alberta and Utah. In case you are wondering Alberta and Utah are world-famous hotspots for dinosaur fossils. Alberta has a denser, more concentrated record for late Cretaceous skeletons and massive bonebeds (Dinosaur Provincial Park), while Utah has a broader timeframe with an incredible diversity of its Jurassic and Cretaceous species.
Another T-Rex Statue, Vernal, Utah © Spaswinefood
Actually our focus on dinosaurs really became clear by the time we arrived in Drumheller, Alberta known as the Dinosaur Capital of the World. There many opportunities to learn about dinosaurs in Drumheller, such the Tyrrell Museum, dinosaur statues throughout town. A statue of the World's Largest Dinosaur is located in Drumheller. The statue is actually 4.5 times bigger than a real T-Rex (Tyrannosaurus rex ). It measures 86 feet (25 meters) high and weighing 65 tonnes (145,000 lbs).
In Drumheller you will soon discover that in terms of the geological time scale Dinosaurs lived during the Mesozoic Era. Mesozoic Era is divided into three periods: the Triassic (252 to 201 million years ago) when the first small dinosaurs appeared, Jurassic (201 to 145 million years ago) when giant plant-eaters and meat-eaters grew large, and Cretaceous (145 to 66 million years ago) time of famous dinosaurs like T- Rex ruled before going extinct, with birds being the only living dinosaurs today. Dinosaurs (non-avian) went extinct 66 million years ago, except for birds (avian dinosaurs) being the only survivor.
Tyrrell Museum, Drumheller, Alberta © Spaswinefood
Perhaps you are wondering how might dinosaurs and age-worthy wines connect. Just as dinosaurs have great appeal so does age-worthy wines. Age-worthy wines gets attention because these wines have the ability to chemically transform over time. High in acidity, tannins, or concentrated sugars age-worthy wines will evolve slowly in the bottle, by replacing simple fruit notes with deep, layered tertiary flavors like leather, earth, and dried fruit.
Just as dinosaurs evolved over time there are some wines that can age for decades in a bottle. Since less than 5% of wines produced are age-worthy therefore they have great appeal. A typical AI generated response for wines with aging potential is:
- high levels of tannins, acidity, or sugar. Top choices include bold reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Barolo (Nebbiolo), and Bordeaux blends; high-acid whites like German Riesling; and fortified or sweet selections such as Vintage Port and Sauternes.
Wikipedia notes that the aging of wine is influenced by:
The ratio of sugars, acids and phenolics to water is a key determination of how well a wine can age. Grape variety, climate, vintage and viticultural practice come into play here. Grape varieties with thicker skins, from a dry growing season where little irrigation was used and yields were kept low will have less water and a higher ratio of sugar, acids and phenolics. The process of making Eisweins, where water is removed from the grape during pressing as frozen ice crystals, has a similar effect of decreasing the amount of water and increasing aging potential. (Wikipedia)
Adding to the above discussion, other sources also note:
- Champagne has aging potential, due to the acidity, and aged champagne (Vintage Champagne) has increased in popularity.
- Fortified wines, which typically range from 12% to 14.5% alcohol, are bolstered with grape spirit. This raises the alcohol level to between 17% and 22%. The addition serves two purposes: it stops fermentation early, leaving residual sugar, which acts as a powerful preservative. This is why fortified wines can survive for centuries. While some age-worthy dry red wine might reach its peak at say 40 years whereas, a top-tier Vintage Port (I have been most fortunate to have enjoyed many excellent port wines over the years) or Madeira (see earlier article) can still be improving at 100 years.
Moet & Chandon Vintage Champagne © Spaswinefood
In conclusion, there are four characteristics that can make wine age-worthy: High levels of tannins, acidity, sweetness, and intense primary flavors (usually you need two or more of these present). Wine Folly's article on age-worthy wines gives a great overview. A Winediva article has some great suggestions on acquiring age-worthy wines.
Just in case you are curious as to why dinosaurs have such appeal. Mark Wittor (author and artist) commented on their popularity:
Our many talks and roundtable discussions touched varied topics but several central themes emerged, of which one was the prevalence of dinosaurs in virtually all palaeontological PR exercises. Whatever we discussed - the history of museums, the palaeoart industry, public interest in research or palaeontological influences on cinema - dinosaurs were almost always involved. Even if they weren’t a main focus, their influence there - catalysing certain events, influencing decisions, eclipsing other outreach topics. It would be wrong to say popularising palaeontology is totally synonymous with popularising dinosaurs, but for better and worse, these animals have a major role and influence over public outreach of palaeontological science.
Similarly the Utah Geological Society notes:
When many people think of dinosaurs, what comes to mind are large animals like Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops that lived during the Mesozoic Era, the so-called “Age of Dinosaurs.” The majority of dinosaur paleontologists now agree that birds evolved from a group of theropods (meat-eating dinosaurs). Therefore, not all dinosaurs went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period, 66 million years ago, only what we call the non-avian dinosaurs. The avian dinosaurs (birds) are still here and are the most diverse and abundant group of vertebrates on land. In that respect, we are still living in the “Age of Dinosaurs”!
There is no doubt that dinosaur statues and exhibits attracts attention; so does age-worthy wines. I will close with a worthy example from one of my earlier articles on Vintage Madeira:
Yes, I travelled halfway around the world to taste a Blandy's Verdelho Solera Madeira 1870.
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1870 Madeira Pose, Restaurante Sto António, February 2019 © Spaswinefood
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We came to the island of Madeira to celebrate our 7th #Winelover Anniversary, February 11- 15, 2019. Did I say, the very first Madeira winery stop, on our list was Blandy's?
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| #Winelover Visit, Blandy's Madeira, February 2019 © Spaswinefood |
The day we visited Blandy's Madeira Wine Lodge there was a decision to purchase a special Madeira (see earlier article).
YES, dinosaurs and age-worthy wines are indeed a thing. This post is an intro to Dinosaurs and Age-worthy wines. I look forward to exploring this theme further and invite you to join me in the sharing of our adventures in Alberta, Utah and elsewhere at Wine Travels with Dr. Sharon and at Spaswinefood on Bluesky and Facebook. Stay tune to discover what age-worthy wines I will pair with these adventures!
CHEERS!
Sharon
August 2026
Summer 2026 Roadtrip
© Spaswinefood
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Note: Besides the Vintage Madeira example, Vintage Port and Champagne are two more examples of age-worthy wines.
Port Wines
Lisbon, Portugal, December 2013
Before arriving in the Algarve we spent a weekend in Lisbon at the Adegga Wine Market. While it was so enjoyable to meet the producers and the winemakers, tasting the wines was even more special.
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| 1961 Kopke Colheita Porto © Spaswinefood |
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| 1957 Kopke Colheita & Niepoort Colheita © Spaswinefood |
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| 1937 Kopke Colheita Porto © Spaswinefood |
Yes, these port wines will knock your socks off and so here is another port to calm you down.
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| Niepoort 20 Years Old Tawny Port © Spaswinefood |
Needless to say the #winelover community in Portugal is awesome.
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| #Winelovers at the Adegga Wine Market, 2013 © Spaswinefood |
Champagne
Champagne-Ardenne, France
May 2018
After lunch in Hautvillers we continued onto Epernay to continue our Champagne wine country explorations. This would include a visit to Möet & Chandon.
The Möet & Chandon Connection
We encountered our first Möet & Chandon vineyard sign in Hautvillers. Perhaps this is not surprise given Möet & Chandon owns 1,190 hectares of estate vineyards, and it has growers in 230 villages throughout Champagne-Ardenne. Möet & Chandon founded in 1743 in Epernay, France is one of the most famous and largest Champagne producers.  |
| Möet & Chandon Vineyard, Hautvillers © Spaswinefood |
The village of Hautvillers has a special connection to this Champagne house. The connection of course is Dom Pérignon. Later, we would visit Möet & Chandon Champagne House, home to the famous Dom Pérignon Champagne. The day of our tour, as we entered the parking lot, we noticed a Dom Pérignon garden with statue dedicated to the monk. |
| Möet & Chandon, Epernay © Spaswinefood |
If you take a closer look at the sign you will discover that Dom Pérignon (1638 - 1715), the Benedictine monk, was a cellar master at the Abbey in Hautvillers. The sign also notes that the Dom Pérignon brand is the property of Möet & Chandon Champagne House. |
| Dom Pérignon, Möet & Chandon © Spaswinefood |
How could we not tour Möet & Chandon Champagne House, home to the famous Dom Pérignon Champagne? Our early day trip to Hautvillers obviously set the stage for this visit.
Tasting Champagne at a family winery, encountering Dom Pérignon history, eating lunch at a village cafe made our springtime visit to Hautvillers so very special. Indeed there is so much to discover in the villages of Champagne. This article is part of a series of articles that I have written about our travels throughout Champagne Wine Country. Discovering the history of this wine region first hand is hard to beat.
