does wine (including champagne) have a shelf life?

Answer 1

Yes.

Some wines are meant to be drunk withn months of bottling, some are best within a year, 99% of wines are ready for drinking immediately and very few will noticeably improve with aging, although most will keep OK for a few years if kept in good conditions.

There are some wines that are made for aging, that are not at their best when young. These wines are well known, the winemakers notes on their website or wine reviewers descriptions will identify them.

But anyone that tells you that all old wines are always better does not know what they are talkingabout.

Increasingly wine labels are having recommendations on when they should be best drunk by, for example see Stormhoek 's 'freshness indicator' -- http://www.stormhoek.com or the maturation graph on the back of Kanonkop wines.

Answer 2

Shelf Life Of Wine

Answer 3

Everything has a shelf life.
Unopened wines have different shelf lives depending on the vineyard, generally talking to the wine maker can provide the "peak" of the wine. Magazines and websites for fine wines also tend to list peaks of popular vintages.

If you are looking at $20-$50 bottles of wine, whites generally peak at 4-6 years old, and reds at 6-8, however this is my personal preference, and everyone likes different things about their favorite wines.

Bottles of wine less then $20 are generally not made for aging, and thus should be consumed within a year or so of purchase.

To age fine wines, either store them in a dark, cool (68-72 F) draft free place (like a box in the bottom of a closet) on their sides. Or you can spend anywhere from $200 to thousands on cellars/ wine chillers.

Serve whites at 40-45 F, and Reds at 60-65 F.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
does wine (including champagne) have a shelf life?

Answer 5

definitely - most whites including champagne other than exceptional product has limited shelf and generally s/b consumed w/in 2-5 years, 10 - 15 max. reds last much longer, but usually not much more than 20 years or so - w/o risking oxidation and other problems internal to the chemical dynamics. enjoy it when the time is right! buy a wine guide - like robert parker's. cheers.

Answer 6

Mick has some good advice on storage, but Pontac is really on point with his answer.
Virtually all wine is released for sale at the time when it is best to drink. If you wait more than a year the wine will probably not go "bad" but it will simply not be as good. The longer you wait, the more likely you will not enjoy the wine as much.

Why wait anyway? Drink now and buy a new bottle later.

Answer 7

Are you asking about a possible "expiration" period? There really isn't one, but proper storage is key. Wine and champagne only get better with age.

Answer 8

It depends about wine
and
it depends about shelf.
I

Answer 9

they can have an incredible shelf life providing they are stored properly

Answer 10

It all depends on how you store them!