Wine does not expire, but it does deteriorate
Start with the reassuring part: wine is not perishable in the everyday sense. It does not become dangerous to drink after a date. What it does is lose its aromas, its balance and its freshness, until there is little pleasure left in the glass.
Wine changes over time, in both directions. A Barolo ten years in a cellar can be extraordinary. A Vermentino bought three years ago and left next to a radiator is almost certainly flat and oxidised. Every wine has a window, and knowing roughly where a bottle sits in its own window is the whole skill.
The wines built to last, Barolo, Brunello, Amarone and the Supertuscans, have the structure, tannin and acidity that protect them for years and sometimes decades. Supertuscan is worth a word, because the name confuses people: these are Tuscan reds, often with Cabernet or Merlot in the blend, made outside the local rulebook. For years that meant they were legally classified below a modest Chianti while selling for many times the price, which tells you exactly how much the classification measures quality.
The wines made to be drunk young, most whites, rosés and fizzy wines, want opening within a year or two of purchase. Keeping them does not improve them, it tires them out.
Always look at the vintage on the label. A basic white from 2019 opened in 2025 will very likely be flat. A serious red from 2015 might be exactly where you want it.
How to tell a bottle has gone: the three signals
Open it and use your nose and eyes before your mouth. Three things go wrong, and each has a signature.
The first is cork taint. You recognise it immediately: damp cellar, wet newspaper, cardboard. The culprit is a compound called TCA, a contamination of the cork itself. It is harmless to drink and it makes the wine thoroughly unpleasant. It has nothing to do with the age of the bottle and can turn up in a young wine straight off the shelf. If you smell it, pour it away without regret. A shop will normally replace a corked bottle if you say so.
The second is oxidation. An oxidised white turns yellow towards amber and smells of sherry or baked apple. An oxidised red loses its fruit and heads towards vinegar or old wood. Colour is often the first clue: a red turning brick orange at the rim of the glass is ageing, and if it was a wine meant for drinking young, it is probably past.
The third is an unwanted second fermentation. You open a still wine and find bubbles that should not be there, or a faintly yeasty smell. Not always a disaster, but rarely what you were hoping for.
An open bottle stored badly deteriorates far faster than any of this. Left open at room temperature you have 2 to 3 days for a red and about 1 for a white before it stops being worth drinking.
How long does an unopened bottle keep?
There is no universal answer, but by type you can orient yourself well.
Light aromatic whites want drinking within 2 years of the vintage. That covers Pinot Grigio, Vermentino, Soave and Müller-Thurgau, a grape grown in the cool north of Italy that you may know from Germany. They are made for freshness, and freshness leaves. A more structured white like Fiano di Avellino or Greco di Tufo holds 3 to 5 years, sometimes longer with good storage. The whites that age for 20 years exist, mostly in Burgundy and Alsace, and they are the exception rather than a guide.
Light reds have a window of 2 to 3 years: Bardolino, dry Lambrusco, young Sangiovese. A Chianti Classico Riserva or a Ripasso reaches 7 to 10. Ripasso is a Valpolicella made by re-passing the young wine over the dried grape skins left from Amarone, which gives it more body and more life. Barolo, Brunello and Amarone run to 15 or 20 years and beyond, in genuinely good conditions and not otherwise.
For sparkling wine the rule is simple: non-vintage Prosecco and Franciacorta should be drunk within 2 years of purchase. The bubbles flatten and the freshness goes. Vintage Champagne is a different conversation and not what is usually sitting on a shelf at home.
Domande frequenti
Is an old wine always better?
No, usually the opposite. Most wine on sale is made to be drunk young, within 2 or 3 years. Only a small share of labels genuinely improve with age, the structured reds and a few serious whites. For everything else, sooner is better.
Can an unopened bottle become dangerous?
No. A deteriorated wine can be flat, oxidised or unpleasant, and it does not become toxic. The worst outcome is pouring it away.
How should I store a bottle to make it last?
Steady temperature between 12 and 16 degrees, away from direct light and any heat source. Lying down if it has a natural cork, so the cork stays damp. The kitchen and anywhere near a radiator are the two worst places in most homes.
Is sediment in red wine a sign it has gone off?
Not at all. Sediment in an aged red is normal: tartrates and polyphenols settling out over time. It usually means the wine was not heavily filtered. Decant before serving and the question disappears.
Can I drink a wine that smells slightly of vinegar?
Better not. A marked vinegar smell means prolonged oxidation has taken hold. It will not harm you and it will not be enjoyable. If the acidity is mild you can cook with it, otherwise let it go.
Can I order age-worthy Italian wines from outside Italy?
The famous ones travel: Barolo, Brunello and Amarone are stocked by specialist retailers across Europe. Ripasso and the Campanian whites are patchier, and young regional reds mostly stay in Italy. The shop linked on this page ships within Italy only, so if you are ordering from outside Italy it cannot deliver to you.