How do I find out if the wine is still drinkable?

[AlwaysCravingThai]

I have several wines in my basement, some stored properly, some not. I wanted to know how to find out if they are still expected to be drinkable? For the California wines, I sent off an email directly to the winery and am awaiting answers. For the European wines, I'm not sure what to do. Thank you for any help.

[Really Nice!]

Not to be a smart ass, but the best analysis is to open it up and taste. If you want to have it for a nice dinner and are not too sure about it, have a backup wine handy.

How old are these wines? If they're old, were they made to age?

[jayt90]

I remember a recommendation from Hugh Johnson, on red wines: Put a candle behind the neck of two or three bottles, and you will soon learn how to find a wine that is losing some colour through age. The young fruity wines will be somewhat denser. If a red wine looks truly faded, it should be opened and tasted to see if it is still viable.

[jsolomon]

My suggestion:

Wait til tomato season.

Make some good homemade bread that toast up beautifully, or find some from an artisanal place.

Get some good bacon. Gather some charming tomatoes with lots of flavor.

Pull one of your questionable bottles and chill it to the appropriate temperature.

Make BLT's. Open the wine.

Have the wine with BLT's. If the wine is good, it'll be a really memorable meal.

If the wine is bad, well, at least you had BLT's which are one of the, IMHO, top 5 most charming sandwiches ever to come with a recipe.

Seriously, from my current champagne-imbibing state, I'm jealous about the opportunity you have for discovery.

[carswell]

While one may not always agree with them, Robert Parker, the Wine Spectator and other wine buyer's guides often include drinkability windows for the wines they cover.

For a very general idea of where a region's wines are in their evolution, consult an up-to-date vintage chart. There are lots of them available online and in various wine publications.

You can also search tasting note archives on the various wine boards. Also, many wineries have websites with tasting notes for their products.

But why not post a list of the wines here or on another friendly board, like the Wine Lovers' Discussion Group (no registration required, just be sure to use your real name)? It's a pretty sure bet people will chime in with their thoughts.

I wouldn't hold out much hope for the improperly stored wines. You've got nothing to lose by pulling the corks and trying them, though. Just make sure, as suggested upthread, that you have a backup handy.

[winesonoma]

What kind and how old?

[James Colabelli]

actually, most experts agree that tomatoes are bad with wine in general, and certainly bad with older wine (red and white).

Just open the bottles and see.

[carswell]

actually, most experts agree that tomatoes are bad with wine in general, and certainly bad with older wine (red and white).

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Exhibit A (from Hugh Johnson's Pocket Encyclopedia of Wine):

Warning notice:

Tomatoes (with anything): the acidity of tomatoes is no friend to fine wines. Red (**) will do. Try Chianti. Try skipping tomatoes.

[Carolyn Tillie]

actually, most experts agree that tomatoes are bad with wine in general, and certainly bad with older wine (red and white). 

Just open the bottles and see.

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I think the exception is Barbera -- love Barbera with tomato sauces...

[carswell]

I think the exception is Barbera -- love Barbera with tomato sauces...

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Um. You forgot to mention pinot noir. Goes with everything, you know.

And barbera? Sure. But I thought we were talking about fine wines. <ducking>

[jeffZ]

I don't agree with the tomato=bad for wine. Most Italian wines stand up to the acidity because of their acidity. I drink Barbera and Chianti with tomato-sauced pizza. I especially like Chianti, Dolcetto or southern Italian varietals like Nero D'Avola, or Aglianico with a long-cooked tomato sauce.

The slow-roasted osso buccos and short ribs I make have some tomato paste and in some cases tomato added to the roasting sauce and then Barbareso and Barolo work very well.

So there are many instances where a good Italian wine works perfectly with tomato, hence the regional pairing of cuisine and wine.

[Daniel Rogov]

With re tomatoes - it is primarily raw tomatoes that can make for problematic matches to wine, that largely because of the acidity of the uncooked tomatoes. Once made into sauce much of that acidity it "taken up" by the cooking process and the addition of herbs, spices and perhaps even wine itself.