How long can unopened red wine last?

[TeabagTelepathy]

And which is best to keep?

I was going to get DP a bottle of something for Christmas off LO to keep until they are 18 (LO not DP ) but he doesn’t drink whiskey which was my original thought

I’m totally clueless with alcohol would red wine keep or should I get gin?

Don’t comment about how crap the gift idea is, it’s baby’s first Christmas and I’m struggling with ideas!

It would typically last a couple of years, unless you are buying a special bottle that you know will age and are planning on ‘laying it down’ in your cellar (I’m assuming not)

Unless you mean how long will it last once opened. In which case a couple of days.

How long are you planning on keeping it for?

If you want to keep it for 18 years, I'd get fortified wine or something like cognac.

A nice port would be good for this :)

Oh, sorry- I missed that you intend to keep for 18 years! You’ll need to go specialist for that, both wine and environment

Ah perfect thank you for your help! I don’t mind spending a bit on it

oh what a nice thing to do. what about a lovely, GOOD, Whisky? Or port etc? I think if you are buying good wine to lay down it is a very specialist area.

We bought a bottle of a very decent red for DS1 when he was born. It was bthe idea to open it on his 18th and share it, unfortunately he hates wine.

It is possible to do but you need a specialist wine merchant who can guide you, s bottle of something from the supermarket is unlikely to lady that long

We've done this. As others have said a wine merchant would be able to help. Or you could try the wine society. You will also need somewhere to store it where the temperature is fairly consistent.

Amazing thank you all for your help!

18 years is plenty time to develop a taste for whisky.

Lizzie you are right actually I’ll keep sneaking bits in his food and cups of tea and coffee haha he will love it by the time LO is 18 but have no idea why!

Yes we’ve got ports in the attic specially recommended for our dc’s when they reach 18. Really can’t imagine them wanting to drink it though.

I don't think the attic is the best place to store wine.
You'd need a cool place with less temperature fluctuations, ideally.

We have bought some
Champagne and it's is stored at Berry Bros London in their cellar until my DSs are 18/21

Plenty of wine that can be bought from the supermarket and laid down for decades... Waitrose is currently considered the best supermarket for wine and often has quite knowledgeable people serving in that department, but also Aldi and Lidl often do some superb wines...

White wine is generally now made to be consumed (other than perhaps sweet dessert wines and some champagne)

Red wine is a mix but most red wines from the specialist area of a supermarket may benefit from laying down. Often a red wine has do drinking points- when quite young, and then a window when the wine closes down and is not as good, then it opens up again...

Unless you have a higher budget avoid Bordeaux / Burgundy, look perhaps at some Spanish Rioja or Italian Barolo or left-field choice but amazing - Musar from Lebanon - one of the few affordable ‘Top 100’ wines in the world...

An independent wine merchant is also a very good idea. Wine though does need to be stored in a reasonably constant temperature (can fluctuate through the year but ideally not each day) kitchen is poor, under the stairs or a garage can work well - cellar temperature is about 12deg C and you really don’t want to go much above 20deg C

If you want expert online advice look at wine-pages.com the forum is full of amazingly friendly very knowledgeable people...

Ooo great advice thank you