Ask Me Help Desk - Red wine shelf life?

Red wine shelf life?

What's a safe estimate for storing unopened red wine if you don't have a wine cellor or cooler? I just keep it in a cool and dark place, but don't want to risk it turning. How long do I have?
Janie

Janie could you give me a little more information what the exact wine is that you are wanting to keep i.e grape variety and region.

Depends on the temperature where your storing them, if you can keep them around 50 to 60 degrees F then as long as you like. Bottles of wine from the 50's are extremely valuable but also rare. Put a thermometer in the area you store your wine, if it stays below 70 then your wine should keep fine.

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Storage Guide - Wine Storage

Most corked varieties should be leftt in a cool, dark place away from bright light. Its best to store them on their side, rather then upright, if there's a cork , this keeps the cork moist and airtight. Red and white wine, when opened, will do well in the refrigerator 3-5 days, Champagne/sparkling wines also. White wine just needs chilling beofre serving. The idea conditions to store good wine is temperature of around 55 humidity 70-80%.:)

Quote:

Originally Posted by lovelesspa

Most corked varieties when left in a cool, dark place away from bright light will survive for a few weeks,

Loveless, this is twaddle!
It is impossible to make sweeping generalisations about wine storage as there are so many differing factors affecting storage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lovelesspa

Red and white wine will do well in the refrigerator 3-5 days, Champagne/sparkling wines also.

This is ONLY true for opened bottles and NOT as the OP says UNopened.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lovelesspa

The idea conditions to store good wine is temperature of around 55 humidity 70-80%.

Almost there.

Temperature is probably the most important factor. Wine ageing involves a complex series of chemical reactions, and these take place faster at higher temperatures. The problem is, not only do these reactions speed up as the mercury rises, but their nature also changes. So while a wine kept at a steady 20 °C will mature faster, it is likely to be less interesting and complex than one kept at the conventional cellar temperature of 11–12 °C. Still higher temperatures will cook wine, completely ruining it. With a paucity of decent scientific data it’s hard to be precise, but keeping a wine above 25 °C for a few months will inevitably kill it, as will shorter exposures to temperatures above 30 °C. At the other end of the scale, temperatures below 10 °C aren’t going do damage wine, but they will slow down its maturation. But go down too far and there’s a risk that the wine will freeze. Not recommended.Wide temperature fluctuations are also detrimental to long term storage.

Other extremely important factors are lack of vibrations, lack of light. A constant humidity isn't that inportant as the wine keeps the cork moist.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Curlyben

Loveless, this is twaddle !!
It is impossible to make sweeping generalisations about wine storage as there are so many differing factors affecting storage.

This is ONLY true for opened bottles and NOT as the OP says UNopened.

Almost there.

Temperature is probably the most important factor. Wine ageing involves a complex series of chemical reactions, and these take place faster at higher temperatures. The problem is, not only do these reactions speed up as the mercury rises, but their nature also changes. So while a wine kept at a steady 20 °C will mature faster, it is likely to be less interesting and complex than one kept at the conventional cellar temperature of 11–12 °C. Still higher temperatures will cook wine, completely ruining it. With a paucity of decent scientific data it's hard to be precise, but keeping a wine above 25 °C for a few months will inevitably kill it, as will shorter exposures to temperatures above 30 °C. At the other end of the scale, temperatures below 10 °C aren't going do damage wine, but they will slow down its maturation. But go down too far and there's a risk that the wine will freeze. Not recommended.Wide temperature fluctuations are also detremental to long term storage.

Other extremely important factors are lack of vibrations, lack of light. A constant humidity isn't that inportant as the wine keeps the cork moist.

Twaddle you say, well since the question was a generalization," red wine", doesn't say if it is corked, or cheap. Or brand... Sorry I answered incorrectly!:(

Lovelesspa, my twaddle response had nothing to do with the "quality" of the wine in question, but your advice.

Your implication that wine will only last a few weeks and in some cases days is misleading in the extreme.

Yes I'm on my High Horse but after spending 10 years in the UK wine trade, many professional exams and teaching the subject I get narked when I see such crass advice given to a question.