Does wine expire❓A lot of us have held a bottle of wine in our hands and pondered over this question. You travelled all over the world to collect wine and built a wine cellar in your home so that you could flaunt your collection. Or maybe, you simply brought more bottles of wine than you thought you needed, a couple of which got shoved to the back of the cabinet. Even worse, you opened a bottle of wine and simply couldn’t finish it in one sitting. It is natural to think that your wine might have gone bad in such situations, but how true is that?

Just like any other food and beverage, wine does go bad after some time. However, this is subjective to numerous factors. One thing is for sure, once you open a bottle of wine, it has a very limited shelf life and thus has to be consumed promptly.

Drinking wine that is way past its expiry date usually doesn’t have any health consequences. But the exposure to oxygen can lead to increased bacterial activity in your wine. In rare cases, this could lead to food poisoning.

Does Wine Expire Even In A Sealed Bottle?

Some wines are designed to live for a longer period but a majority of them are meant to be drunk young and soon. The shelf life of your wine depends on numerous factors, including the grape variety, winemaking, vintage, wine storage.

Easy-drinking simple wines have a shorter shelf life as compared to more complex, nuanced and structured wines that are destined for cellaring for many years. Does that mean premium wine always has a longer shelf life? Not necessarily, it has a longer shelf life only if the winemaker has made it for prolonged cellaring. But if these wines have not been stored well, if they are kept in warm conditions, in intense sunlight, they will get spoiled. So, if you want your wines to last longer on the shelf, or in the cellar, make sure that they are stored in a cool and dry place.

When Does Wine Expire After You Open The Bottle

Most wines expire within 3-5 days of opening the bottle, however, the duration can vary depending on the type of wine. White wines usually have a shorter shelf life, as compared to red wines. Apart from storage temperature, another factor that greatly impacts the shelf life of an opened wine bottle is how well it has been re-sealed.

Here’s how long different types of wine last, once the bottle is opened:

  • Sparkling Wine: 1 – 3 days
  • Light Bodied White Wine and Rosé:  5 – 7 days
  • Full Bodied White Wine: 3 – 5 days
  • Red Wine: 3 – 5 days
  • Port:1 – 3 weeks

Once opened, the wine needs to be sealed back tightly and stored in a fridge, or else it will turn bad at a faster rate.

Read more about it here.

How to know your wine has gone bad

No matter how well you preserve your wine, there is always a small chance that it may go bad sooner than you expected. Thus, it is always a good practice to observe your wine closely for spoilage whenever you pour yourself a glass, and this holds true for both unopened and opened bottles of wine.

Check out some tips that’ll help you detect faulty wine like a pro here.

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