How long should you keep wine in your cellar? | Heritage Vine Inc. (2024)

FAQs

How long should you keep wine in your cellar? | Heritage Vine Inc.? ›

Zinfandel: 2-5 years. Chardonnay: 2-3 years. Better ones can keep for 5-7 years. Riesling: 3-5 years.

Most white wines are typically at their prime within 5 years of bottling. Most thin-skinned red grapes are ideal to consume within 5 to 7 years. Most thicker-skinned red grapes are best enjoyed with 5 to 10 years of age. Even the most cellar-worthy wines are not recommended to be aged beyond 20 years.

Unopened fortified wines last longer, often around 4 to 20 years, sometimes even longer, depending on the style, storage, and quality of the wine. Dessert Wine — Often high in sugar and acidity that help with preservation, dessert wines, like Sauternes and Ice Wine, can last around 2 to 20 years or more.

While it may not taste amazing, drinking wine that's past its heyday will not hurt you. Remember, you're better off not trying to age your wine. So few bottles benefit from aging and you could end up ruining a perfectly good bottle.

It never stops, no matter what precautions you take. That's why, while some wines can last a hundred years, they don't last forever. Eventually, too much change will occur. But somewhere on that continuum of a wine's ever-changing composition is a sweet spot, an optimal drinking window.

There is a widespread misconception that wine always improves with age, or that wine improves with extended aging, or that aging potential is an indicator of good wine. Some authorities state that more wine is consumed too old than too young. Aging changes wine, but does not categorically improve it or worsen it.

The best way to enjoy your wine fresh is to drink it shortly after you purchase it. However, you can still enjoy unopened wine about 1–5 years after the expiration date, while leftover wine can be enjoyed 1–5 days after it has been opened, depending on the type of wine.

The best wines can be stored for more than 100 years, but most great wines will reach their peak before they turn 50 years old. Find out if your wine is ready to drink now...

How Long Does Wine Typically Last? When stored properly and kept unopened, white wines can often outlive their recommended drinking window by 1-2 years, red wines by 2-3 years, and cooking wines by 3-5 years. Fine wine — as you may have guessed — can typically be consumed for decades.

For drinking now, the best 1989 vintage options would lie in red Bordeaux, Sauternes, Burgundy, Rhône, possibly some Alsace, definitely Barolo and absolutely the sweet Rieslings of the Mosel. Both Armagnac and whisky are also available from this year, and are likely to be drinking well.

At what age does wine become undrinkable? ›

Even in the case of wines made with the intent to age, I think the vast majority will be past their prime by year 30 or 40, with a few very special exceptions. The variables that go into an older wine continuing to age well are extensive, as you might imagine.

Pour a little in a glass, swirl gently, and take a whiff. Does it smell moldy, musty, acetic, or otherwise unpleasant? This could be a sign that the bottle is either flawed or was left open for too long.

Wine that has gone bad isn't likely to harm you if you consume it. Unlike perishable foods, wine probably won't harm you if it's oxidized or has gone through a second fermentation. However, "bad" wine is not the ideal way to enjoy a glass, so ultimately it's all about taste.

The South-West German city is home to the world's oldest wine bottle and, if experts are to be believed, it's actually drinkable. The Historical Museum of Palatinate, Speyer, is home to the 'Speyer Wine Bottle', a 1,700-year-old bottle of wine that was discovered in 1867.

Allow the wine to sit for two months to continue the fermentation process. Keep the wine at normal room temperature (65-70 degrees).

For a red wine that's upwards of 40 years old, it's a good idea to let the bottle stand quietly for four to six weeks—or until the wine becomes perfectly clear. In fact, no old wine should be opened until it's brilliantly clear, and the sediment completely settled.

When stored properly and kept unopened, white wines can often outlive their recommended drinking window by 1-2 years, red wines by 2-3 years, and cooking wines by 3-5 years. Fine wine — as you may have guessed — can typically be consumed for decades.

Typically, unopened bottles of red wine will last 2-3 years past the recommended drinking window. Their high tannin content ensures this long natural preservation. To maximise shelf life, store in a cool dark area away from sunlight.