Wine storage,My in-laws want to buy a bottle of wine or port wine for our daughter with the intention that she will be able to drink it when she’ll turn 18. She’s turning 1 year old next week, so the wine would have to survive 17 years of storage. We don’t have a cellar or a special wine fridge (though within this time we may finally get those) – the wine will be kept in a cabinet or in a regular fridge, which why I thought of port wine – maybe it would age better?
In any case: I need a list of recommended wines or/and port-wines available on the market and costing below 0/bottle that one could reasonably expect to survive 17 years.
Brian // Dec 6, 2010 at 11:49 pm
Don’t keep it in a refrigerator, the light and vibration of a fridge/kitchen won’t help. You need somewhere cool, dark and dry where there’s little vibration and little temperature shift. If you don’t have a basement with a quiet corner, find a relative who won’t be tempted or a rarely used closet in the coldest (lowest) part of the house.
Any already-aged port will certainly hold up, but it probably won’t get much better. Port ages because it’s stored in wood barrels like whisky or brandy.
As for wine, Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir are the traditional age-friendly wines. Go Napa or Sonoma or Bordeaux/Burgandy. A local wine store with a top-end selection will have good wines, go ask them what they have that will improve over 17 years. I like Silverado, Frog’s Leap, Stag’s Leap and Cakebread, but I’ve never tried to age them for that long.
Make sure you get everyone to sign the bottle in silver sharpie.