Newbie with a dumb question

If they are not interesting at first, cork them back up and taste them the next day, after they have had a chance to "open up". Sometimes that reveals a nice wine. Sometimes not.

Jose

Most whites I collect won't last 20 years even temp controlled but I have heard some will. Most of mine (Chards, Viogne, Pinot Grigio etc.) peak and flatten out long before 20 years. Non temp controlled anythings possible. Just never know till you open it.

"Periwinkle" skrev i meddelandet news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com...

The 70-year brandy is almost certainly drinkable. As for the wine, it depends very much on what kind. Champagne from 1973, provided the corks are holding up, will quite likely by drinkable and possibly enjoyable (we had Veuve Cliquot ten years older the other SUnday and it was very good indeed). Beer, on slab, sounds to me like beer in cans - I wouldn't bet on those being drinkable.

Cheers

Nils

"Periwinkle" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

slabs of beer, OZ? at any rate, if you have friends who like wine it might be fun to give the whole thing a go as a party.

No such thing as a dumb question. The dumb thing is not asking! :)

There are some whites that will go 35 years. I agree there's a chance for the champagne, too. (A small one.) Anyway after this long it won't hurt them to wait another few months until after the happy event.

We once found a 71 Las Cases (of all things) under the floor board of a kitchen cabinet in a house rental. (Curious place, don't know who lived there before but when we arrived there were large homegrown "plants" hanging from the basement ceiling.) This was I guess around 85, the Las Cases was drinkable but not up to snuff, of course.

In answer to your original question the wines aren't worth anything except the possible pleasure they'll bring to your friends.

-E

Hi all.. I know very little about wine and upon moving house I've come across bottles of white wine and champagne from approx 1973. These have simply been kept beneath a bar in a non temp controlled atmosphere but haven't been moved or opened in 20 years. I'm wondering if I should simply pour it down the sink or do these have any value?? Thanks for your help :)

Unusual, but I have seen it recommended somewhere, and it makes sense to me. Close to the floor and under kitched cupboards is about as cool and dark as you get in some houses, and it is a space seldom used for anything else.

Don't give up on them. I've had 35 year old Champagne that was fine, albeit stored around 55-60 degrees. Many whites will last that long too.

One important thing-- if you open a bottle and it isn't good, don't assume the rest are the same. There's a lot of variation and you may have found the only bad bottle in the bunch. There's certainly no harm in opening five bottles, discovering that the first four were bad, and enjoying the fifth.

And corks don't automatically dry up if bottles are upright-- after all, inside the bottle the humidity is 100%. So they may be fine.

But if by 'do these have any value' you mean that you want to sell them, it's going to be very difficult if they've been stored without proper temperature control.

So enjoy. At worst you spent a few minutes tasting wine you didn't like (or someone you give them to does).

Shaun Eli

Thank you for your help.. As I am not a wine drinker I wouldn't even know if it tastes alright (plus being 6 months pregnant I am in no position for sampling ;) It's more a case of whether we should throw the lot out or pass it on to someone who'd appreciate it. Considering we've since discovered a 70 year old bottle of brandy and slabs of beer from the 1983 Oktoberfest I've come to the conclusion my father had problems throwing things away. lol

I had no intention of keeping the slabs of beer which are already on their way to the tip and decided to toss the wine but keep the Champagne. Thank you all for your help. Moving out of a house that has 30 years worth of accumulated crap (pardon my french but generally the stuff we've found is) - anything that can be thrown away is a good thing. Now, we're onto the computers kept in the garden shed (lol don't ask). Does anyone need a Commodore 64?? ;)