What is the lifespan of an average bottle of wine?

Answer 1

There are many factors to consider when predicting the lifespan of a bottle of wine.

1. Red or white- reds will last longer than whites. Whites tend to last between 5 and seven years. Reds can be good for 20 to 30 years. Open an aged red 45 min. to an hour before serving to let the wine breathe. And for whites, put them in the fridge for only 30 min. White wine will start to crystalize after an hour in the fridge, and should never be served colder than 45 degrees for optimal enjoyment.

2. Bottle and Cork type- A darker glassed bottle is the ideal for aging wine. As far as corks go, the new cork/synthetic mixes are the best. A strictly natural corked bottle has a chance to become "corked" which happens to one bottle in every case. Corked means the cork becomes dry and brittle and lets air into the bottle. This causes the taste to become corrupted and expidites the process of the wine going bad.

3. Storage- This is the most important by far!! Wine needs to be stored at french basement cellar conditions. Between 65 and 68 degrees farenheit. Humidity is a must, but should be kept moderate. No direct light onto the bottles. And every bottle needs to be turned 180 degrees (half way around) every 30 days.

If you follow these steps, you have a chance to age your wine perfectly, whice can be a profitable venture. I have three bottles that are going to put my kids through collge!

Answer 2

Vintage is everything. a good bordeaux, which is a blend of cabernet, merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot, when cellared properly at 55 degrees and 70 % humidity in a dark room with no direct sunlight can age indefinitely. the same wine from different vintages will age accordingly. a bottle from a great vintage like 1982 has the potential of aging another 50-100 years from now, but these are not your 'average' wines, but are considered "first growths" as determined by a panel of experts back in 1855. there are 5 first growth wines, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Chataeu Lafite Rothschild, Chateau latour, Chateau Margaux, Cheval Blanc, and some people consider Haut Brion to also be a top wine. Any of these wines from a great vintage like 1982, 1986, 1990, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2003 and 2005 will age for many many years. these same wines from off-vintages like 1983, 1984, 1987 are probably allready over-the-hill and not worth the money or the time to open the bottle the wine would be so bad. remember, vintage is foremost, vintner is secondary. an average bottle in the $30-$75 range if stored properly should age about 10 years with no problems. A good 1st growth from 1982 will cost about $750/bottle!, the same wine from 1984 about $100

Answer 3

First, do you mean "The average lifespan of a bottle of wine", or "The lifespan of the average bottle of wine".

I will assume the latter, although the average bottle of wine does not physically exist - it's an abstract notion of something you'd get when you put all bottles of water together and divide them by their number. So, I'll work on the assumption that "the average bottle of wine" is the 5.95 variety of a well known Australian brand.

Also, let's define the life (or, rather the death) of a wine bottle - I will assume it's from the day it was bottled to the day it was fully drunk (the death of a wine bottle). If we define death as being broken the problem gets much more difficult. If we define death as all remaining parts being decomposed into other chemical form, then it's practically impossible to solve without heavy computational equipment.

Back to the point - the aforementioned 5.95 variety usually comes from a vintage which is about 1-3 years before the date of purchase. Which means the average bottling time was about 2 years back from the day of purchase. I would argue, that the average time of comsumption of a purchased wine bottle is 3 days (with the vast majority being bought at the weekly shop and drunk by Saturday morning).

This makes the average life (as defined above) about two years and one week.

Hope this helps.....

Answer 4

There is no simple answer. Longevity depends on the type of grape, sugar content, storage conditions, and other factors. Red wine grapes that age well are: Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. White grapes usually do not produce wines that benefit from age. Exceptions would be wines with high sugar content such as late harvest wines and wines that have been fortified. Examples would be late harvest Rieslings and Gewurztraminers, or Sauternes (combo of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion). The sugars act as a preservative. Other long lived white wines would be those from Burgundy i.e., Le Montrachet or some lesser vineyards. Some chenin blancs from the Loire in France that had substantial sugar levels and ideal storage conditions from 1945 peaked in 1993. I recommend that you ask your local wine merchant about wines that are long lived if you want to stock some for the future. Also, Cabs from Napa have more tannin than Sonoma, meaning they will need more time to develope. Red Zins do not require substantial aging. Hope that helps.

Answer 5

White except Burgundy usually go bad after 3 to 5 years even in good storage condition unless it has high sugar and acid content such as champagne and dessert wine. Chardonnay from Burgundy such as Montrachet can be stored longer but only under ideal temperature and humidity.

Red can last much longer if stored properly 55 degree and 65-70% humidity. The higher the tannin the longer it can last and more balance it becomes. I won't open a good Bordeaux unless it is at least 8 years or older. Pinot Noir and Syrah however can be drank sooner.

This is just a quick answer. Research more if you are seriously interested and you will love everything about wine. That's how I got started.

Answer 6

Depends on the bottle/type. A good red will last longer than white. I wouldn't keep white any longer than 1 year. A good red can last longer than you if stored in the right conditions. Do a little research on the internet to get a better idea. Or ask at your local wine shop.

Oh...and If you're gonna pop a bottle open....might as well drink the whole thing!

Answer 7

wine can last many many years,it improves with age.my father in law thinks nothing of drinking a wine 20 yrs old.the thing is you have to store the wine correctly,at an angle so the cork does not go dry.i think there is sometimes a bit of evaporation,but thats natural

Answer 8

OH my gosh that change into humorous. LOL thanks Jake xx Its no longer the dimensions of the bottle its what you could do with it. LOL. Sorry i have not been answering a lot nonetheless shifting and cleansing out stuff. i desire you've been nicely. xx Sugar trojan horse

Answer 9

about 2 days at most unless u get one of those vacu-vin stoppers, then youll get about a week, but hey, once a bottle is open it should be emptied!

Answer 10

About an hour after opening.