As an adult who enjoys a glass of red with your dinner or a Friday night glass of Merlot, you may wonder how long can wine age before it goes bad. When you open a bottle of wine, you’re drinking something that has been aging for years.
Once the expiry date noted on the wine label has elapsed the drinking window is extended by 1 to 2 years in white wines, 2 to 3 years in red wines, and 3 to 5 years for cooking wines if the bottle is stored properly and is unopened. Fine/ great quality wine on the other hand can be taken for decades. Opened wine bottles have to be consumed within 1-5 days depending on the wine.
Does wine have an expiration date? There are many factors that affect the length of time wine can age before going bad. It all depends on how much alcohol is in the wine, where it’s stored, and even variations in humidity.
However, most wines will keep fresh with the right storage conditions for quite some time. If you’re wondering how long can wine age before going bad, this article will answer your questions and more. Keep reading to learn more about storing different types of wine, as well as their shelf life once opened.
Wines are complex and sophisticated beverages with a rich history. They’re also fermented grape juices — which means they have a limited shelf life. Once you crack that cork, there’s a finite amount of time before your wine goes bad.
How Long Can You Keep Wine Before It Goes Bad?
To ensure that your wine has aged well, fine wine should be stored for 10 to 20 years in a wine cellar before it’s ready to drink. Most wines, however, age for two to three years before they are ready to be consumed. This is because the aging process — which consists of fermentation and the evaporation of some of the alcohol, water, and volatile acidity — only starts after the wine has been bottled.
Even then, the wine will continue to age in your cellar. The alcohol level can be cut by drinking a bottle within one or two years of opening. However, it’s best not to hold onto an open bottle for more than six months if you want things to stay fresh tasting.
Both red wine and white wine benefit from a longer aging period. However, the process needs great lighting and temperature control for the best results. However, too much aging is also not recommended for most wines.
Thus, with great control in temperature, because it is the other variable other than time, fine wine should be stored in a wine cellar for 10 to 20 years before it’s ready to drink, unlike most wines which are aged for 2 to 3 years.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Red wine will be fresh for 2–3 years past the printed expiration date after which it may go bad. It’s difficult to say how long a bottle of red wine will last for any individual consumer.
Red wines usually require at least nine months to a year, but older vintages can require up to five years or more to reach peak flavor (and cost). You can keep your bottle of red wine for a while after buying it to ensure it ages better.
Red wine can go bad after a long aging period. However, temperatures that are not optimal and too much light can speed up the process of the wine going bad. The best way to tell if your red wine has gone bad is by smelling it — if it smells vinegary, moldy, or otherwise off, then you should pour it out.
You should note that red wine does better with age, and thus offer more flexibility. Thus, the most common red wines need just three to five years of aging, unlike others which are either aged before bottling or bottled and remain in the wine cellar for over 10 years sometimes running into decades.
How Long Does White Wine Last?
White wine will be fresh for 1–2 years past the expiration date printed on the bottle. Wines are classified by color, and white wines are typically made from white grapes.
White wines have a much shorter shelf life than red wines and can last anywhere from one to two years past the printed expiration date. However, this largely depends on how you store it.
After opening, white wine and sparkling wines can easily go flat within 1 to 3 days. In the wine fridge, the white wine can remain in top condition for three to five days after opening it. The flat wine is still drinkable but is not as tasty and aromatic as fresh wine. You can find the flat wine sometimes being chugging.
How Long Does Rosé Last?
Rosé wines are typically made from red wine grapes that have been left to sit on the grape skins for a while. This process allows the red grape juice to lose its color, but it’s not going to keep your rosé wine fresh forever.
Unopened wine rosé if stored properly can last for a maximum of 2 years but the recommendation is to enjoy it within 3 to 6 months. On the other hand, rosé wine will be in optimal drinking condition for 3-5 days after opening it while in the fridge the rosé wine can last up to a week. This gives you more time to enjoy the soft hues and refreshing taste once you open the bottle.
Because rosé is made from both white and red grapes, it starts out in the sweet spot for aging at about two years old. After that, it’ll start going downhill — faster if you don’t store it properly.
The discussion in the field is that rosé wines should not be aged. This is true for some rosé wines and thus should be consumed immediately but for others, aging can be great for their taste.
The best way to store rosé after opening is to use an airtight container topped off with a small amount of wine or champagne. This will keep your rosé drinkable for about a year after opening.
How Long Does Sparkling Wine Last?
Sparkling wines come with a shelf life of about five years. This is because the wine’s natural CO2 bubbles help to preserve it for a time — but these bubbles eventually dissipate and are replaced with air.
This means you can enjoy your bubbly wine for up to five years after it was bottled before it goes bad. Unopened vintage champagne vintage can last for up to 10 years if stored properly. Moreover, it can still be enjoyed for at least 3 years after the expiration date.
Once opened, you should re-cork it and store it in the fridge immediately. If that is done the sparkling wine will be in optimal condition for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator. After the period, the wine is still safe to drink but will be flat without any carbonation and with taste degradation.
You always see the way sparkling wine loses its carbonation fast, therefore re-corking and refrigerating the wine fast can give you a long drinking window for the opened champagne.
How Long Does Cooking wine Last?
Cooking wine will last up to 3–5 years past the expiration date printed on the label. Most cooking wines have a shelf life of around 12 months. Cooking wine is a deceptive term. It doesn’t actually refer to the complex flavors that can result from cooking with wine, but instead, it’s an inexpensive, low-quality product meant solely for this purpose.
This type of wine usually has a very short shelf life — sometimes as little as six months or less. Manufacturers stamp a printed expiration date on the bottle and recommend you throw it out after this date.
Once opened, cooking wine can last longer than all the other types of wine described above. The opened wine with proper storage in a fridge can remain good for a little over one year. Moreover, cooking wine can be frozen and then thawed before use if you want to use it for longer.
What to Do with a Bottle that Is Already Going Bad
You should know that expired wine is not necessarily bad. It means that the manufacturer has given you a date when the wine starts losing its quality. However, you can use different types of wine for a different duration after expiry as explained below.
Wine in the cooking category can be used for 3 to 5 years after the expiration date printed on the label, while wines in the category of dry white wine should be kept for 2 to 4 years after its expiration date with proper storage.
For medium-bodied red wines, you can keep them for 1 to 3 years. Wines are affected by temperature and light. Thus, to prolong the shelf life ensure that unopened wine is stored in a cool dry place away from direct sunlight.
If the wine is going bad after opening the bottle, the recommendation is to consume it fast unless you have cooking wine that can last for longer. To ensure you use opened wine for a long time, it is important to re-cork it and put it in a fridge.
If you think your wine has gone bad, the best thing to do is to throw it away. Most of the time, flat wine is still Ok to consume but if the taste, carbonation, coloration, and other factors have markedly changed, the recommended thing is to dispose of it.
The Bad News: Once You Crack That Cork, It Doesn’t Last Long
The average shelf life of wines is anywhere from six months to two years. But the time period can vary depending on factors like temperature and how long the wine was aged before you bought it.
It’s best to store your wine in an area with a relatively constant temperature (around 60 degrees Fahrenheit), away from direct sunlight, and out of direct contact with wood or plastic (which can both cause cork taint).
Once you open the wine, you need to consume it fast. Most of the wine types will go flat even in a fridge within a week. Therefore, once you crack the cork, consuming it fast will ensure you do not lose your wine.
Opened wine can be stored in a fridge for up to a week if re-corked. This proper storage preserves the taste, aroma, carbonation, and color. Finally, flat wines can be consumed but care should be taken if it has stayed for long after the cork has been cracked.
The Good News: There Are Ways to Delay the Process
Wine will eventually spoil — but depending on how you store it, that time can be shortened significantly. The following are a few of the most common reasons wine is spoiled:
- Exposure to sunlight or fluorescent light can cause your wine to go bad.
- Too much air contact changes the nitric acid in your wine and can cause oxidation, a chemical reaction that leads to a host of potential problems like reduction of flavor and coloration. With oxidation, the wine can turn brown.
- Your cork might allow bacteria and other contaminants into your wine. This can happen if the cork has been treated with chemicals (like formaldehyde) or if it’s old and dried out. The longer a cork is exposed to oxygen, the more likely it is to deteriorate — which means there’s an increased risk of contamination. To ensure wine lasts for longer use a hermetic cork.
- Heat speeds up the spoilage process by encouraging evaporation, which means your wine won’t last as long in warmer temperatures.
- Remember to decant it into a smaller vessel. This ensures that the larger amount of wine stays fresh as you consume the small amount of decanted wine.
- Don’t open the bottle of wine at all if it will not be fully consumed within 3 days. If you are sure that you will not finish the bottle soon, do not open the bottle at all.
Tannin is The Key to Knowing When Your Wine Goes Bad
Tannin is the key to knowing when your wine goes bad. This ingredient, which is found in grape skins, helps give red wines their flavor. But tannin breaks down over time — and once it disappears, your wine will turn into vinegar.
Old tannins are a sign that your wine has gone bad and turned into vinegar. If you smell sour smells or taste tart flavors, it means your vino has spoiled. You’ll know if your wine has gone bad if you see signs like mold on the cork.
If you store white wines in dark places, like a cabinet with windows or a refrigerator with a light on, they will spoil more quickly than reds. White wines need to be stored at cooler temperatures for example in a wine cooler to avoid going bad faster (since they have less tannin).
Also, remember that white wines should never be refrigerated because it can lead to off-flavors or “corked” smells and tastes.
Aging Isn’t Just For Fine Wine
Aging wine is a process that happens after fermentation and leads to some pretty impressive results — assuming you wait long enough. Aging red wines usually require at least nine months to a year, but older vintages can require up to five years or more to reach peak flavor (and cost).
Some wines age better than others — for example, white wines tend to lose their freshness quickly due to their delicate aromas. That said, there are exceptions for aging white wine.
For example, some Champagne ages well because it’s typically made from a blend of grape varieties that produce different flavors over time.
And then there are wines like Malbec from Argentina which can develop a deep color and rich texture with age.
How long can you age a wine?
Some wines are meant to be consumed young for example aged for just three to five years, while others can be aged in a cellar for decades. Most wines fall somewhere in the middle and can age for three to five years before they go bad.
Aging wine is a process that happens after fermentation and leads to some pretty impressive results — assuming you wait long enough. Aging red wines usually require at least nine months to a year, but older vintages can require up to five years or more to reach peak flavor (and cost).
Keep reading for tips on how long you can safely keep different types of wine before they go bad — and what you should do if your bottle becomes infected beforehand.
- White wines: White wines are fermented quickly and don’t need as much aging time as reds. They typically have a shelf life of one year or less, so drink them soon after you purchase them.
- Reds: Reds require more time in order to develop their flavors for aging purposes. Some varieties, like Cabernet Sauvignon, can be aged for longer than five years due to their tannins — the substance that creates rich flavors in wine by extracting from grape skins during fermentation.
When it comes to reds though, most will last up to five years before going bad, but the better ones will last much longer than that (some even 20+ years).
Can wine last 25 years?
Most of the wines are designed to be consumed within 18 months of bottling but there are some that can be consumed within 5 years of purchase, however, some wines are designed for long-term aging where these wines can be cellared for decades.
In terms of the shelf life of your average wine, most wines will taste best within 18 months of bottling and should be consumed within five years. However, there are many wines that are designed to age and these types can be cellared for decades.
Can you drink wine that’s a hundred years old?
Some wine including a Port is ok while other types have already gone bad at the time it reaches 100 years old. Wine is a product of the vine, which is a fruit. As a result, it’s exposed to oxygen and other natural elements that can cause it to spoil and go bad.
The length of time that your wine lasts after you open it depends on how you store it. If you keep your wine in the fridge, you should use it within three days. Wine stored in the fridge will also change flavor due to contact with vegetables — so don’t put anything else in there with your wine.
In a cool place like an unheated garage or basement, your wine can last for up to five months or longer. You should avoid storing your wines near any sources of heat!
If you store your wine in a cellar or room where temperatures are below 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius), the aging process will continue at a slower rate and your wines will last for years or decades without spoiling.
However, if temperatures rise above 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius), this may make the beverage spoil faster than usual. In general, red wines age better than whites as they have higher levels of tannins that provide protection from oxygen and give them more complexity over time.
It’s recommended that you drink red wines between one year and four years old while still fresh; however, some red wines might be ok after 30-50 years! The type of wine can also affect its shelf life: certain types of red wine such as port can taste better after 100 years.
How long can you keep unopened wine?
Different wines have differences in how long wine is good for unopened. The length of time that you can keep unopened wine is dependent on the type of wine as shown below:
Type of wine | Years after the drinking window |
White wine | 1-2 years past the expiry date |
Red wine | 2-3 years past the expiry date |
Cooking wine | 3-5 years past the expiry date |
Can unopened wine go bad?
Unopened wine can go bad after some time. This is because of the natural process of fermentation that causes the alcohol and sugar to react, which in turn creates a byproduct called ethyl acetate.
This byproduct is what causes wine to go bad over time. Plus, it’s important to consider the quality of your wine. The higher-quality wines have a narrower peak aging window because they are more susceptible to going bad quicker than lower-quality wines.
Does all wine get better with age?
All wine gets better with age but that age varies from wine to wine and from vintage to vintage. After fermentation, all the wine is aged in different containers and for different periods of time.
Some types of wine are aged in oak, stainless steel, glass, or ceramic vessels. Thus, aging is a part of the winemaking procedure which needs to happen in order to get great wines.
Thus all wine gets better with age. However, this age will depend on the type of wine, ingredients, aging vessel, temperature, humidity, and lighting among other features.
For example, wines that age well include Maury, dolcetto, zinfandel, syrah, and shiraz.
How long is a bottle of wine good for?
Once you open a bottle of wine, it’s best to drink it as soon as possible. Unlike other types of alcohol, like vodka or gin, wines are more likely to go bad after being opened.
This is because of the oxidation process. The oxygen mixed with the wine can cause bacteria to form and sour the taste. Thus, opened wines should be enjoyed within a week when stored properly in a fridge in a closed container.
If you do choose to keep the wine for a bit longer after opening, be sure to store it in an airtight container and in the fridge — otherwise, it could take up to three days before it goes bad.
Can old wine make you sick?
In some cases taking wine that has gone bad can make you sick. Spoiled wine is more likely to be infected with a type of bacteria called acetobacter.
Acetobacter turns alcohol into acetic acid, which gives wine that vinegar smell. If a bottle smells like vinegar and has turned cloudy, it’s definitely been infected by acetobacter — and you should toss it out.
Bottom Line
Wine is a fermented grape juice, which means it has a limited shelf life. After you open the bottle, you have a finite amount of time before it goes bad – which depends on how long you store it and what type of wine you buy. Aged wines usually require at least nine months to a year to reach peak flavor (and cost), but older vintages can require up to five years or more.
Wines are complex and sophisticated beverages with a rich history. They’re also fermented grape juices — which means they have a limited shelf life. Once you crack that cork, there’s a finite amount of time before your wine goes bad. How much time depends on how you store it and the type of wine you buy.
How much time depends on how you store it and the type of wine you buy. Aging wine is a process that happens after fermentation and leads to some pretty impressive results — assuming you wait long enough.
Aging red wines usually require at least nine months to a year, but older vintages can require up to five years or more to reach peak flavor (and cost). Keep reading for tips on how long you can safely keep different types of wine before they go bad — and what you should do if your bottle becomes infected beforehand.
FAQs
How long can the white wine age before it goes bad?
White wines have a lower alcohol content than red wines and are meant to be consumed relatively soon. White wines should not be aged for more than two years, with one year being the maximum length of time you should wait before drinking.
How long can red wine age before it goes bad?
Red wines have a higher alcohol content and are best when they’ve been aged for at least nine months. You should wait at least five years or more if you want the best flavor — but know that the older the wine is, the higher the risk of spoilage.
How long can sparkling wine age before it goes bad?
Sparkling wines usually don’t need much aging at all. They’re fine to drink after two to three days of opening as long as you store them in a cool place and keep them away from light and other factors that can oxidize the wine quickly (like heat). The exception is Champagne, which typically needs about three years to fully mature.
What if my bottle of wine has gone bad?
If you think your bottle has gone bad, there are some telltale signs: if it smells musty or like vinegar, if it tastes sour or funky, or if it turns cloudy rather than clear when you pour it into a glass. In these cases, throw away any opened bottles of white or red grape-based wine within 24 hours to avoid food poisoning.