One of the most common questions we all get asked is if any given bottle is still good, and usually added with bated breath, have they perhaps found a valuable treasure. This is the wine professional's version of "hey Doc, it hurts when I do this." How do we best respond to their question, how can we make our best guess at the answer?

We really need to break the question down for ourselves before we can answer it. As wine folk, we hear the question and translate it ourselves into "is this wine past its prime?" Chances are they are what they really want to know is if the wine can somehow be turned into money. On the rare occasion they are interested in drinking and not selling the wine, they may erroneously assume the wine might have turned to vinegar because of the age or they are fearful that drinking the wine may somehow be harmful.

Shatter their dreams of newfound wealth

Dealing with the question of selling the wine is complicated by the various laws around the world and in the US, from State to State. Assuming one can get the wine to auction, legally and affordably, the question remains what are the expectations? Few wines are highly sought after at auction, and most of their names are relatively familiar. Except for the most august of these, a single bottle will rarely be worth the effort. Shipping, and fees will put a big dent into the sale price, which itself will likely be under wholesale, so less than half of any retail price they may have looked up.

Let your questioner down easy as you shatter their dreams of newfound wealth, but assure them that there is every reason to open the bottle and enjoy the contents. The worst that could happen is that they can learn what exactly a too old wine tastes like.

Chances are that they will be surprised to hear that it is probably not going to be vinegar. As wines go over the hill they become more and more water like. The sour flavor of vinegar requires the specific spoilage of acetic bacteria, and unless the cork is badly damaged, it is unlikely to have gotten in to the bottle to feed on the wine.

Wine is a three way balance between acid, tannin and fruit

Speaking of the cork, the condition of the wine, the amount of ullage (evaporation) signs of weeping (wine on the outside of the bottle) as well as the seal the cork is providing are all important indicators of how the wine might ultimately be received.

So we know that the wine is unlikely to be sellable, except in rare and wonderful occasions, and we know that at its worse it is unlikely to taste like salad dressing, but how can we best gauge where the wine is at in its development? What are the clues that will help us assess "if the wine is still good"?

The over simplified answer is that wine is a three way balance between acid, tannin and fruit. As wine ages, the fruit fades, the tannins soften, and the acid reacts with the alcohol to produces esters (bouquet). We want to find the perfect point on the curve, when the wine has improved but has not started to fall apart. Fruit doesn't really improve much with time, so we want the wine to have smooth tannins, and good aromas, but still have fruit left.

Not all expensive wines age well

Wines that age well have a great deal of tannin and or acidity (structure), in addition to fruit when they are young. A wine that is all fruit but has little structure may keep for some (5ish) years, but will never get any better. This encompasses most wines, especially those in the lower price points.

Grape variety, region and vintage are most responsible for acidity and fruit, and most, but not all of the tannin. Oak aging adds tannin to the wine, and most wines that improve with age have seen a fair amount of time in a barrel. The exception is mostly tart white wines, especially those with residual sugar, who develop amazing aromas, but don't have to wait around for the tannins to soften. Most of the longest lived dry whites, have been barrel aged.

You need to be able to recognize the wine and producer, variety and region

Barrels are expensive, and in order to impart enough tannin to the wine to improve its age worthiness, the barrel should ideally be on its first use. This adds yet more to the cost. Getting all those concentrated flavors, tannins and acids into the wine requires low yields in the vineyards, and this too adds to the wine's eventual price. Not all expensive wines age well, but very few inexpensive wines age at all.

All of this has to be taken into consideration before you can hazard a guess as to the drinkability of an older bottle of wine. It is no wonder that the layperson has no idea of the answer themselves. Therefore, you need to be able to recognize the wine and producer, variety and region, and ideally have an inkling of what the vintage was like, before you can level your pronouncement.

Fortunately, you don't really have to go through all of that detective work, because the very best answer to the question of whether or not a bottle of wine is still good, should be, whenever possible: "Open it up and let's find out!" Nothing teaches like experience.