Categories
How long does wine keep?
Based on the factors influencing the ageing potential, the following basic, rough rules apply to the shelf life of wines:
- Red wines can be stored for longer than white wines (keyword: tannin).
- Wines matured in wood can be stored for longer than wines matured in stainless steel (keyword: smoke).
- Residually sweet and noble sweet wines can be stored longer than dry or semi-dry wines (keyword: sugar).
- High-acid wines can be stored longer than low-acid wines (keyword: acidity).
- Winesrich in minerals can be stored for longer than wines low in minerals (keyword: salt).
- Wines with a higher predicate level can be stored for longer than wines with a lower or no predicate level (keyword: must weight).
- Wines with a low yield can be stored for longer than wines with a high yield (keyword: extract).
However, these rules can only serve as a rough guide. In the end, a shelf life prognosis depends on each individual wine and not least on its storage conditions. In principle, grape varieties with a high acid and/or tannin content favour shelf life - for example Rieslingnebbiolo, Sangiovese or Cabernet Sauvignon. Some factors can be immediately recognised or deduced from the bottle label, others cannot be judged without background information or tasting.
At least 80 per cent of all wines produced in the world are intended for consumption within the first one to two years after harvest. Only a very small proportion of wines can withstand or even require ten, 20 or more years of ageing. This is where many of the shelf life factors come together: either a lot of sugar, a lot of acidity, a lot of minerality and a high must weight (noble sweet Riesling, mainly from Germany) or a lot of extract, a lot of tannin, a lot of minerality, relatively high acidity and ageing in wooden barrels (great red wines, mainly from France or Italy, for example Bordeaux, Barolo, Barbaresco or Brunello).