I have a white wine by Taylor wines from 2004, I think, unopened. It has been kept in a relatively cool, dry place, but not a wine cellar nor a wine cooler (fridge?). Is this wine good? better than when new? Or, now vinegar? Is there some rule of thumb to judge? (If it matters, I believe this wine has a cork seal, but it was NOT stored horizontal. I understand a wine is to be stored horizontal and keep the cork wet (from within the bottle). Why is this? I WAG the cork with rot, otherwise?
What’s the SD on all this: wines, aging, and wetting the cork? …Any tips on today’s now-vogue bottle caps?
Oh! I noticed some wines recommend to serve chilled. A wine steward once told me there’s nothing wrong with chilling wine, although it seems most are served at room temp. What’s the SD say about the perfect serving temp, too? Or, does it vary by wine?
Corks can dry out, which means that air will get to the wine. If that happens, the wine can go bad. That’s why it is generally recommended that they be stored on their sides.
White wines are usually supposed to be served chilled. Red wines cellar or room temp. Stronger fortified wines like port or sherry are typically served at room temp. It’s also up to personal preference, though. I like to put my red wines in the fridge and then let them warm up a little before serving, since I don’t have a cellar that would keep them below the temp in the house. I don’t like room temperature red wine, especially in the summer. Ports and sherries are fine at room temp for me.
If the cork on your wine looks like it’s in good shape (not dark brown or deteriorated), the wine might be fine. The only way to really know is to open it, though. I’ve had white wines that were bad even though the corks looked fine.
ETA: Faux plastic corks and metal caps are in theory supposed to keep wine better, and they are also cheaper. I guess we’ll see as time passes. If either were to get damaged and let air in, though, see above.
First remember that the overwhelming majority of wine produced in the world is meant to be drunk immediately. Not in the parking lot of the liquor store immediate, but that season. 90+% of the wine in the world falls into this category. So your Taylor hasn’t likely seen any improvement in the last 15 years. Secondly, with some limited exceptions white wines don’t age well. Thirdly, the matter of the cork… So the chance of that bottle being anything I’d drink is close to nil.
There are some generally accepted “rules” about serving temperature. Whites get chilled, reds get slightly cooled (to cellar temperatures). Brandy is brought to temp by cupping the glass in your hand like a gentleman.
To add what Silenus said - generally the higher the alcohol content of a fermented beverage, the better age treats it. Beer => cider => mead => wine => fortified wines => distilled spirits is a basic way of looking at the timeline of aging, from least to most. A Scotch aged for 20 years is desirable. A beer that old, not so much! White wines don’t age as well as reds.
Liquor doesn’t age in a bottle, it just gets older. A bottle of 20 year Scotch that you bought 40 years ago is still a bottle of 20 year old Scotch. Aging takes place in oak barrels.
Good red wine that’s designed to age will improve in the bottle, if stored properly.
Silenus hit a lot of the high points. Keep in mind your dining room may be warmer than the dining rooms where “reds should be served at room temperature” originated. Higher temperatures, all else equal, will heighten aromas and the sensation of alcohol on the palate. I tasted awhile ago with someone who thought that a lot of the “the wine is opening up with airing” had more to do with the wine getting warmer than with any extra oxygenation. I think he had a point, though aeration gadgets exist and wines taste differ after their use. ‘Ideal’ serving temp varies by wine. Experiment to see which you prefer. I’ll use an ice bucket for red, here in Texas.
I like alternative closures, mainly to alleviate “cork taint”. Cork taint - Wikipedia (Which can be in other foodstuffs that don’t come anywhere near a cork, but that’s another story.) It has gotten a lot better, down to sub percentile contamination, if ANORIM is correct. It used to be quite the pain in the ass, particularly if there was a borderline contamination. Classic cork taint smells like wet moldy newspapers. Minor cases just take the fruit and lushness out of the wine, without the telltale moldy nose. As fruitiness decreases with age, it then becomes a guessing game of, “Does this wine (or storage) just suck? Or was it aged too long? Or is the cork screwing things up?”
The Australians have done oodles of research on aging with Stelvin closures. The wines age like they do under cork, just a tad slower, IIRC. Champagne uses crown caps to store bottles en tirage for years on end. No problem.
Lots of beers can be aged, generally stouts, some Belgian style, etc. IPAs and other hoppy beers are generally bad for aging; the hops are too volatile. Homemade ciders and meads generally do best with a moderate degree of aging in the bottle, though I don’t hear much about aging store bought ciders.
Meads definitely improve with aging, I cracked open some 3 yo metheglin the other day and it was smooth and silky. Definitely wasn’t like that 2 years ago. Of course, the risk of spoilage is greater for homebrew.
Forgot to mention, screw caps are better in every way than corks. They last longer without spoilage, are easier to bottle, and eliminate the need for storing wine on its side. Except for missing out on the theater of the waiter popping the cork, there are no downsides.
But as said upthread, nearly all wines sold are not designed to be laid up for years. They are meant to be consumed right away or at least within a year.
As already noted, not all wines improve with age, and red wines are more likely to. But some wines are meant to be drunk almost immediately. Pepper Mill is fond of Beaujolais Nouveau
I used to visit the Taylor wineries every fall when I lived in upstate New York. I seriously doubt that their wines are going to significantly improve with age. But Bully Hill wines, from the winery literally next door, might.
(There’s been considerable friction between Taylor Wines – owned by Coca Cola – and the Bully Hill wines since Coca Cola bought the Taylor Wines from the Taylor family, then started suing the younger Taylor when he started up Bully Hill wines and dared to put his family name – in small letters, not prominently – on the label. )
When I make mead, I let it age for at least 6 months. One or two years is definitely better. The only beer I’d let sit that long would be a really heavy style, like a barleywine, but those sorts of beers are the exception.
I got a bottle of Mogen David concord grape wine as (I hope) a gag birthday gift. I put it in the liquor cabinet, unopened, and didn’t think about it for a few years. When I found it, about a half-cup of sugar had settled to the bottom.
From what I understand, only certain wines are really suitable for extended aging, and they’re the ones that have huge levels of tannins and other molecules that change and lessen over time. For example, a brand new Barolo is probably nearly undrinkably astringent, but give it 10-20 years, and that will have changed, and the wine will be good.
Most wines aren’t like that- they use varieties and techniques that make the wine ready to drink in about 3 years. In the case of white wines, more like a year or two is all they take.
What he said. Plus, there’s a difference between, “Will it survive 10 years on my shelf?” versus “Will it get better after 10 years on my shelf?” Plenty of wines will fit number one—I had a 2008 Aglianico the other night that was still drinkable, albeit it should’ve been drunk a few years earler—but a lot fewer will get better after aging. Some are white wines. Then there’s storage to consider.
You’ll rarely screw up by treating all wines as though they’re as good as they’ll ever get when you buy them at the store.