Perfectly Aged or Time to Pitch It? Master sommelier shares insights about storage, aging & spoilage

There’s nothing quite as disappointing as opening a bottle of wine, only to be met with an off-putting smell or a strange, sour or sharp vinegar taste. Whether you’re a casual wine drinker or a seasoned collector, understanding how and why wine transitions into something that’s not drinkable can help you avoid the disappointment of spoiled bottles… and wasted money.

While some wines are meant to age gracefully, others can quickly deteriorate if stored improperly or exposed to certain conditions. From oxidation and heat damage to cork taint and bacterial spoilage, several factors can turn a once-enjoyable bottle into an undrinkable disappointment.

But, how can you tell the difference between a perfectly aged vintage and a wine that’s past its prime? Luckily, there are clear signs to look for, as well as storage techniques that can help keep your wine fresh for as long as possible. 

Below, Matthew Cocks, DipWSET—a vinicultural expert with the "VinoVoss AI Sommelier” smartphone app and web-based semantic wine search and recommendation system—details what causes wine to spoil, the telltale signs of a bad bottle, and expert tips to ensure every sip is as it should be.

“The good news is that wine does not spoil, but it does degrade over time,” Matthey said. “The air starts this process, and heat controls the speed. You can't stop it from happening, but you can slow it down. The most important factor is temperature. Not all wines will transform at the same rate. Interestingly, the less you want to share a wine, the longer it seems to last. If you remember nothing else, remember these things: keep it sealed and keep it cool.”

Q: Is wine safe to drink as it ages?

MC: As a beverage, wine is naturally acidic and alcoholic, which makes it inhospitable to harmful bacteria. Potentially dangerous organisms cannot survive in the levels of acid and alcohol found in wine. Additionally, many wines, especially those shipped in bulk containers or made with residual sugar, undergo filtration that removes microbes. As a result, wine always remains safe to drink, no matter how long it has been stored.

However, wine does not always remain enjoyable to drink because it is a perishable product with a life cycle. Wine moves irreversibly through the stages of youth, maturity, old age, and decay with the passage of time. This transformation initially offers the drinker more charm, then progressively less, and eventually none.

Q: How does wine change over time?

MC: Over time, the compounds that give the wine its smell and taste can evaporate or break down. This makes the aromas and flavors seem less vibrant as they fade away.  A wine's structural elements, such as acids and tannins, also degrade or precipitate out of solution in lockstep with the changes to aroma and flavor. At the endpoint, wine simply becomes a solution of vinegar in water. This transformation is driven by oxidation and heavily influenced by temperature.

Oxidation, caused by exposure to oxygen in the air, drives the changes in the aromas and flavor of wine. In its youth, no oxidation has occurred, and wine is fruity but simple. As it matures, some oxidation takes place, and the aromas and flavors from this oxidation mix with the remaining youthful fruit to create complexity. This is when the wine reaches its drinking peak. In old age, the youthful fruit is gone, and only oxidative notes remain. The wine becomes simple again but in a different way. Since we mostly drink youthful wines, people tend to find wines in this state less enjoyable. At the point of decay, oxidation dominates completely, and all sense of balance is lost as the wine turns to vinegar, reaching its transformative endpoint.

The transformation wine undergoes is a complex series of biochemical reactions. Heat accelerates these reactions, making the aging process significantly more rapid above 55°F. Conversely, lower temperatures slow the rate of change. Keeping wine at 40°F will delay its transformation and extend its drinkable life. However, nothing can halt this process entirely.

Q: How should wine be stored to maximize its shelf life?

When you buy wine, it comes in a sealed package designed to preserve its intended condition. To ensure a wine achieves its maximum shelf life, you only need to do two things: first, keep the wine sealed, and second, store it at a stable temperature that prevents heat expansion from breaking the seal. Keeping wine at around 55°F is ideal. Storing it at 60°F is acceptable for a year or two, but keeping it at 75°F for even 24 hours risks breaking the cork seal. Knowing how to maximize a wine's shelf life is one thing. Understanding what a wine's shelf life is to begin with is another.

Q: How Long can a bottle of wine last?

MC: Not all wines are intended to have the same lifespan. A rough estimate of a wine's aging potential can be made by considering its density of flavor and structure.

Flavor density is the combination of how pronounced a flavor is along with its texture on the palate. To illustrate this, consider chocolate mousse, chocolate ganache, and couverture chocolate. All three are chocolate-flavored but show increasing intensity. Mousse is light and airy, ganache is denser and gooey, while couverture chocolate is firm and profound. Similarly, in wine, a greater intensity of flavor and structure suggests a longer potential lifespan.

Wine structure is defined by its acidity, alcohol, sweetness, and tannin. A high level of one of these extends a wine's potential lifespan, while a high level of all four extends it significantly. The structure provides the framework that supports a wine's concentrated aromas and flavors, allowing them to develop and evolve over time. Tasting a wine is the best way to understand its structure. Over time, one notices that wines from a certain region or producer tend to have a quality range and potential lifespan in common.

When in Doubt, Drink It Younger

“When uncertain, it's always better to drink a wine younger rather than risk it becoming too old to enjoy,” Matthew notes. Wine cannot be consumed too young, but it can certainly be consumed too old. If you can't keep a bottle sealed, then at least keep it covered and store it in a cool place rather than a warm one.”

These small steps will help ensure you get the best possible experience from every bottle.~~~

***Some or all of the accommodations(s), experience(s), item(s) and/or service(s) detailed above may have been provided or arranged at no cost to accommodate if this is review editorial, but all opinions expressed are entirely those of Merilee Kern and have not been influenced in any way.***