"Periwinkle" > wrote in
:

> 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
>
>
>

This question comes up a lot open and see what happens worst case they
won't taste like anything and you will pour them, best case something
interesting. Though 35 years without temp control is a stretch.

--
Joseph Coulter, cruises and vacations
www.josephcoulter.com

877 832 2021
904 631 8863 cell

> This question comes up a lot open and see what happens worst case they
> won't taste like anything and you will pour them, best case something
> interesting.

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
--
You can choose whom to befriend, but you cannot choose whom to love.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Periwinkle wrote:
> 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.

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
...
> 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

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
:

> 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
>
>

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.

--
Joseph Coulter, cruises and vacations
www.josephcoulter.com

877 832 2021
904 631 8863 cell

On Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:53:58 -0800
"Periwinkle" > wrote:

> 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
>
>

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

--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ecom
by removing the well known companies
Questions about wine? Visit http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

On Feb 14, 12:53*am, "Periwinkle" > wrote:
> 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

Welcome Peri,

I think the first question I have about your wine is whether the
bottles were stored on their side. If they were standing up all of
these years, the corks likely dried out, therefore not providing a
good seal in the neck of the bottle. In that case, you might have
vinegar 8-P
I have no clue about the champagne or beer, though.

Dan-O

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

>We once found a 71 Las Cases (of all things) under the floor board
>of a kitchen cabinet in a house rental. (Curious place

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.

--
Steve Slatcher
http://pobox.com/~steve.slatcher

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
www.BrainChampagne.com
Brain Champagne: Clever Comedy for Smart Minds (sm)

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??