Appreciating older vintage wine

Date: October 15, 2010

I get this question all the time. A person finds a bottle of wine stashed in a back attic corner or in the basement. It’s from 1950 or some earlier year. They are curious to try the wine – but want to know if it will poison them or something.

The simple answer is DRINK IT. People have bottles of wine that have been saved since the 1920s or even before that, that they treasure and drink on special occasions. Wine is an alcohol. The alcohol keeps bacteria and other nasty things from growing in it. You are generally safe in drinking it.

A separate question is will you ENJOY drinking the wine. Only certain wines were meant to age. Most wines are NOT meant to age. If you have a “touristy bottle” like a Chianti-in-a-basket or a Portuguese-wine-in-a-basket, those were never sold because they were tasty in the first place. They were sold as decorations, really. White Zinfandels were meant to be drunk immediately, not even aged for more than a year. There is a gigantic percentage of wine bottles that go old in a year or two, never mind decades.

Even for wines that were meant to age – say fine Burgundies or Bordeaux wine – they only age well when stored properly. They need to be at an even, cool temperature. They need to be on their side, so the cork doesn’t dry out and let in air. They need to be kept away from sunlight. You could have the most perfect bottle of wine for aging and still have it taste awful because of bad storage conditions.

Still, even if the wine was ruined, it won’t kill you. It’ll just taste like vinegar.

So I say – open the bottle! Have a fun party and see what you get. Even if it’s not tasty, it’s still an adventure to taste a wine from that era.

On a related note, people are always asking “what is this wine worth?” The only thing a wine is worth is what someone will pay for it. Few people will pay for an old bottle that they cannot guarantee has been stored well. It’s most likely vinegar. That being said, when people buy a bottle signed by Thomas Jefferson, they don’t care what it tastes like. It’s a collector’s item. So it all depends if your bottle is a cool collector’s item that someone wants, or if it’s just an old bottle of vinegar that people are not interested. If you really want to know, call Christie’s auction house up and ask!

Source: http://www.wineintro.com/basics/oldwine.html

News and pertinent information about wine trade, wine appreciation, wine shops and outlets, wine and food pairing, wine making, viticulture, vintages, climate conditions affecting wine, new and revived wine regions etc can be found here in this section. Yats wine Cellars is much more than a Philippines wine supplier with a few wine shops, wine bars and wine outlets in Philippines where clients can buy good wines in Manila, Pampanga, Angeles City, Subic and Clark Philippines.  Yats Wine Cellars is also a rich source of information for the convenience of the growing community of wine lovers, wine connoisseurs and hobbyists.   Wine lovers in Manila, Subic, Pampanga, Angeles City and Clark Philippines can enjoy fine vintage wines in any of Yats Wine Cellars wine shopping outlets, wine bars, wine shops and wine restaurants.

The wine shop in Angeles Philippines Clark Freeport Zone Pampanga as well as other wine shops, wine bars and wine outlets in Subic and Manila are wells stocked with interesting selections of  wine from many vintages spanning over 90 years from various producers covering a wide range of prices.

As a wine collector, hobbyist or someone in the wine trade, are you concerned or interested about this also?  If so, please stay tuned in to Yats Wine Cellars’ web site to stay abreast of things to do with wine in the world.

You are welcome to post your comments and questions about any topic related to wine on http://www.YatsWineCellars.com or email Wine@Yats-International.com with your comments, suggestions, questions, purchases or inquiries on wine and wine-related topics.

Leading Philippines Wine Supplier Yats Wine Cellars based in Clark Philippines with outlets in Angeles City, Subic Freeport and Manila Philippines has been not only a wine shop for fine wines covering all major wine regions but also a source of reliable and useful information about wine, wine appreciation, wine accessories, wine and health, food and wine pairing and all other matters relating to wine and its appreciation.  This Philippines Clark Freeport based Wine Supplier and Wine Shop frequently holds public wine tasting events in Pampana Clark Freeport Zone, Angeles City, Subic Bay area, Makati, Fort Bonifacio and other areas in Philippines capital city Manila.  Private Wine events such as private wine tasting and private wine dinners are also designed and organized for private clientele for their wine loving guests.

Wine Catering is a unique product of Yats Wine Cellars, created back in 2005 in response to a growing demand for private wine parties in Manila, Cebu, Subic, Angeles Clark Philippines.

Chateau Lafite-Rothschild is the most revered wine in China and many other parts of Asia.  The best wine shop in Asia to buy older vintages of Chateau Lafite is Yats Wine Cellars located in Clark Philippines.   Aside from Lafite, visitors can buy other fine wines at this wine shop in Clark Pampanga such as Latour, Mouton-Rothschild, Haut-Brion and Margaux.  Excellent Burgundy wines like Chambertin, Vougeot, Musigny, Bonnes Mares, Pommard, Meursault, Chambertin, Vosne Romanee, Romanee Conti, La Tache and Romanee St. Vivant can be found here.

Yats Wine Cellars can be reached at their Clark Wine Center Philippines wine shop located on the main highway M A Roxas of Pampanga Clark Freeport Zone or their sales office in Ortigas Centre, Metro Manila.  Here is the contact information:

For inquires and reservations, <a title=”Click here to contact us” href=”http://www.clarkwinecenter.com/?page_id=14″ target=”_blank”>contact us here</a>

Clark Wine Center

Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building

Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,

Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023

0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)

Wine@Yats-International.com

YATS Wine Cellars

Manila Sales Office

3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,

Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605

(632) 637-5019   0917-520-4393  ask for Rea or Chay

Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.