How long is wine good for?

I have some Chianti and Chardoney I botteled in 2002 and did not know how long it was good for. Any suggestions?

Open it- it may be fine!

So much with wine is "it depends"! For aging, "it depends" on several things- the amount of tannin in the wine, the amount of sulfites (either natural or added), the type of corks, the temperature it was stored at, if the corks were kept moist or got dried out, if there were temperature fluctuations, the amount of alcohol in the wine, etc. So, the only way to tell is to open one! If it's bad, then you know it's a lost cause. But, it may be really, really, good!

I was just reading about a winery in Italy that has lots of over 100 year old bottles. They open them under controlled conditions to test and refill, but the original wine is still fine.

smurphy1976 said:

I have some Chianti and Chardoney I botteled in 2002 and did not know how long it was good for. Any suggestions?

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so how was it?

One never knows with wines. I found a 1986 Fume Blanc (AKA Sauvignon Blanc) in the closet a couple months ago. Not known for its keeping qualities, but it was great. I've also had "good for 50 years" wines die at 10.

so.................... how was it?

Whites do not keep long but reds can keep for years. I've had a few wines that are 12 years old and they have been nice and mellow. So far not a bad one.
I have a 1997 and a 1999 waiting in the rack for me. Some day I'll open them.

One of my co-workers found a bottle of Peach Wine in the back of a closet he had forgotten about. It was 10 years old and he said it was the best wine he has ever tasted. One of the best wines I ever tasted was a 9 years old Kehrner Auslese white wine from the Mosel Valley when I lived in Germany. It's probably like Yooper said, "it depends".