to obtain have been evaluated by cross comparison of as many reviews or abstracts as possible. This publication aims at informing, on the one hand, chemists and food scientists regarding the state of the art and future possibilities of accelerated wine and spiritous beverage aging; and, on the other hand, winery personnel regarding the scientific understanding of the effects produced by various physical treatments intended to accelerate. aging. Many of the older reports are re-evaluated in the light of more recent developments. Since improvement in a wine is difficult to agree upon, particularly when different national, dietary, climatic, etc. factors are involved, emphasis is placed upon the more definite experimental results such as compositional changes.