“Men are like wine — age sours the bad and betters the good”

A wine quotation was credited to Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC-43 BC) in Gleason’s Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion (Boston, MA) on August 27, 1853:
 
“Cicero has said of men:—‘They are like wines; age sours the bad and betters the good.’ We can say that misfortune has the same effect upon them.—Ricker.”
 
The Latin source is not known. “Men are like wine — age sours the bad and betters the good” was printed in 1891 newspapers. “Men are like wine; age sours the bad and improves the good. CICERO” was printed in the book Classified Quotations (1905) by Cuyler Reynolds.
 
“The great Pope and ecumenicist Pope John XXIII once said ‘Men and women are like wine. Some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age’” was printed in the Congressional Record (Washington, DC) in 1982. “‘Men are like wine; some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age.’ Pope John XXIII” was printed in the Detroit (MI) Free Press on December 24, 1987. An original source of this quotation credited to Pope John XXIII (1881-1963) has not been located.
 
“Relationships are like wine they age and taste better with time…. Or turn to vinegar and u have to chuck them out” was posted on Twitter by Stephen m on March 26, 2011. “Relationships are like wine some get better as time ages and some doesnt some just turn into vinegar over time” was posted on Twitter  by Nicole on March 27, 2012. Paul Dickson wrote in The Official Rules (2013):
 
“Micah’s Musing. Relationships are like wine. Really expensive ones get better with age, but most turn to vinegar after six months. (Micah Charles, June 17, 2012; from Tom Gill.)”
 
             
Wikipedia: Cicero   
Marcus Tullius Cicero (/ˈsɪsəroʊ/; Classical Latin: [ˈmaːr.kʊs ˈtʊl.lɪ.ʊs ˈkɪ.kɛ.roː]; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, orator, lawyer and philosopher, who served as consul in the year 63 BC. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and is considered one of Rome’s greatest orators and prose stylists.
 
27 August 1853, Gleason’s Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion (Boston, MA), “Gems of Thought,” pg. 131:
Cicero has said of men:—“They are like wines; age sours the bad and betters the good.” We can say that misfortune has the same effect upon them.—Ricker.
 
Chronicling America
20 May 1881, Weekly Herald (Cleveland, TN), “Items of Interest,” pg. 1, col. 7:
Cicero has said of men: “They are like wines; age sours the bad and betters the good.” We can say that misfortune has the same effect on them.
 
5 January 1891, Wilkes-Barre (PA) Daily News-Dealer, “Grains of Gold,” pg. 2, col. 3:
Men are like wine — age sours the bad and betters the good.
 
Google Books
18 January 1894, Michigan School Moderator (Lansing, MI), pg. 306, col. 3:
Men are like wine — age sours the bad and betters the good.
   
1 May 1900, The Sun (Baltimore, MD), “The Age Limit For Usefulness” (New York World), pg. 10, col. 4:
“Mr. McKinley should consult history and revise his opinion to agree with the wiser dictum of Cicero, who said: “Men are like wine; age sours ,the bad, but improves the good.”
   
Google Books
Classified Quotations
By Cuyler Reynolds
New York, NY: G. P. Putnam’s Sons
1905
Pg. 243:
Men are like wine; age sours the bad and improves the good.
CICERO.
 
Google Books
Congressional Record
Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office
1982
Pg. 10144:
The great Pope and ecumenicist Pope John XXIII once said “Men and women are like wine. Some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age.”
   
24 December 1987, Detroit (MI) Free Press, pg. 3C, col. 3:
The voice of experience:
“Men are like wine; some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age.”
Pope John XXIII
 
Google Books
Webster’s New World Best Book of Aphorisms
By Auriel Douglas and Michael Strumpf
New York, NY: Webster’s NewWorld: Distributed by Prentice Hall
1989  
Pg. 24:
Men are like wine; some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age. — Pope John XXIII
     
Google Books
Debates of Parliament: Hansard
South Africa. Parliament
Volume 8, Issues 16-19
Government Printer
1989
Pg. 8311:
I do not drink wine at all, but I attach great value to the comparison Pope John XXIII drew, on occasion, between human beings and wine. He said: “Human beings are like wine — some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age.”
 
31 August 1997, Edmonton (Alberta) Journal, “More funny talk” by Ann Landers, pg. G2:
Gem of the Day: Most men are like wine—some turn into vinegar, but the best improve with age.
 
Twitter
Stephen m
@scribbz
Relationships are like wine they age and taste better with time…. Or turn to vinegar and u have to chuck them out
9:14 PM - 26 Mar 2011
 
Twitter 
Nicole 👠 👑
@nicotoolegitt
Relationships are like wine some get better as time ages and some doesnt some just turn into vinegar over time
9:43 PM - 27 Mar 2012
     
Google Books
The Official Rules:
5,427 Laws, Principles, and Axioms to Help You Cope with Crises, Deadlines, Bad Luck, Rude Behavior, Red Tape, and Attacks by Inanimate Objects
By Paul Dickson
Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc.
2013
Pg. 232:
Micah’s Musing. Relationships are like wine. Really expensive ones get better with age, but most turn to vinegar after six months. (Micah Charles, June 17, 2012; from Tom Gill.)
 
Twitter
Sam
@samlinksha45
Uncorked - Uncorked: Relationships are like wine. They can either get better with age or turn to vinegar. Listen… http://dlvr.it/47x0cv
5:24 AM - 15 Oct 2013
   
Twitter
Morandin FamilyWines
@BelindaMorandin
Relationships are like wine – some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age… http://ow.ly/HJt5X
12:05 AM - 22 Jan 2015
 
Reddit—Shower Thoughts
Relationships are like wine, they get better with age. Or turn to vinegar.
submitted September 11, 2018 by K3rbalking