One common question many people have about wine is when is the right time to open a bottle of wine? While there is no single answer that applies to all wines, here are a few general tips to help you decide when to open a bottle of wine.
- For most value wines (under $30), they can be generally enjoyed immediately and for the next two to five years (counting from the vintage or the year on the wine bottle). Red wines made with Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz may be able to last a few years longer. Generally, these wines do not need to be decanted.
- Wines that are more generic (that do not have a year on the bottle), are meant to be consumed immediately or within two years of purchase. Generally, these wines do not need to be decanted.
- Most white wines, other than very high-end Burgundy white wines, will generally be good for drinking up to five years after the vintage. Generally, these wines do not need to be decanted.
- Most non-vintage (no year on the bottle) champagnes can be enjoyed immediately and for about 5 years after purchase. Vintage champagnes are best generally 10 to 25 years after the vintage date. As an example, a 2002 vintage champagne should be drinking at its peak right now.
- For red wines, usually more expensive wines (over $50) will need some aging before they are at the optimum time to enjoy them. These generally need five to eight years of aging from the date of the vintage. Generally, the more expensive the wine, the more aging it needs to get to its optimum drinking window. As an example, Chateau Lafite, a wine that costs almost $2000 a bottle, generally needs 20+ years of aging before it is drunk really nicely. Generally, this category of wine will taste better if you decant the wine.
What if you are gifted wine and have no clue about the price or quality of the wine? There are many wine applications on your phone that can tell you a lot about wine. I use Vivino and Wine Searcher and others use Cellar Tracker. All of these will give you some idea of the price of the wine and when you should drink the wine.
What happens if you open a really nice wine too young? Then you will not get the full scope of why the wine is so special because all the elements of the wine have not yet come together into balance. This is often why people are disappointed with very high-end wines.
How about if you open a wine too late? It is not the end of the world but generally, the wine will lose its flavours and it will either taste very acidic or very tannic with no other flavours. Again, that will not give you the best representation of what the wine has to offer.
As a general observation, most people keep their wines too long thinking every wine has an infinite shelf life. Unless you are pretty sure that you should keep the wine for longer, when in doubt, opening the wine is almost always to correct decision.
There is no substitute for a drinking experience so as you try more wines at different times in their life cycle, you will get a better sense of when to open a bottle of wine. Until next time, happy drinking!
Tony Kwan is a lawyer by day, food and wine lover by night. Kwan is an epicurean who writes about wine, food and enjoying all that life has to offer.
