Thread: Question about 10yr old wine / Wine coolers...

Hey everyone,

I have been poking around this forum for some time and I cant get enough. I learned how to smoke a cigar from this forum I dont know why I never created an account, but I guess better late than never. Anyways, I have a question regarding old wine... I found a large stash of 2001 white and red wines at my grandparents house. They said I could have it since they no longer drink I dont know if this is a blessing or not because it all appears to be from $10 a bottle vineyards. All of this wine was kept at lower temperatures, but I am wondering if any of it is still good. I heard that cheepo wine does not age well, esp. white. The white wine has a bit of a dark tinge to it, im thinking this is bad. Any and all help with this would be appreciated.

Also my parents and I are doing a complete remodel on a house and are putting in a complete set of viking appliances... Does anyone have any experience with viking wine coolers? Thanks!!!

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that that wine is probably not very good anymore.

I forget the actual percentage, but something like 90% of wines are not meant to be aged and should be enjoyed within a few months of purchase/bottling. Only a relatively select few wines are meant for aging, although that may seem skewed on L4P based on the high-end connoisseurs we have on here. Typically your less expensive wines are meant to be opened within a few months; not that price is necessarily an indicator of quality, but you don't typically age an everyday $10 bottle of wine.

Storage at "lower temperatures" is a subjective term, but you can usually tell if a wine is still good by looking at it's color. Red Wines tend to turn brown/rusty when they oxidize and go bad; white wines turn a bit more of a straw yellow-brown (think urine color) as they oxidize and go bad. If the cork has shifted in the bottles, sometimes that can be a sign that they were stored at incorrect temperatures.

That being said - if you have a large stash - pop one open and try it for yourself. You might enjoy it or you may just spit it right back out. It's not like 2001 was really that long ago, so a few years may not be as bad as 15-20 years of poor aging.

Very true. I plan on popping a red and a white open and seeing how it goes.

If I am allowed to, I would say that a white wine that as kind of a visible change in color is probably not good anymore but anything beats you owne taste. After all it is worth opening one and tasting it.

Wine needs to be kept at steady temperature and with the least esposure to light as possible in order to get the best out of it. Like it was already said some wine are to be aged and drink when ready and others are just ready to be drink of the shelf.

One other thing I would suggest maybe, do a search for the wine name on the web and you will probably find the wineyard and some info on the wine they produce. This might tell you if they could get better with time of if they simply need to be drink as is.

It is quite an experience to sometime see the difference few months could make on a wine so it might be worth a try and good or no good you will only gain some wine tasting experience. Keep us up to date with your wine tasting experience, this is very interesting and if you wish, let us know fo the wine you are trying someone might know if it.