What is the shelf life of champagne

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Champagne is a wonderful sparkling drink, a constant companion of any celebration, even for children (there are a lot of non-alcoholic analogues now). Divine "nectar" requires special, "privileged" storage conditions. As usual, an interval is indicated on a bottle of champagne: the time during which your drink will meet all the taste qualities described by the manufacturer.

The shelf life of champagne depends on proper storage conditions. In high-end stores located in the basement, these conditions are most likely to be observed. If you take champagne in stores, pay attention to bottles released no earlier than a month before purchase, and already at home create an "acceptable atmosphere" for it.

Why does it spoil

Carbonated alcoholic drinks don't last long - don't be fooled by the phrase on the label about the lack of expiration date, bottles of "Asti" or "Abrau" come withsuch information.

Quality vintage champagne will be exceptional in 25 years, it all depends on the type of wine and producer. If not aged properly, the drink can go bad in 3 months.

Types of champagne

These wines differ in the type of grape they are made from and in their sugar content.

1. "Extra brut". Produced without added sugar from high quality grapes.
2. "Brut". This drink has a low sugar content added from other fruits (watermelon).
3. "Extra dry". Sour grape varieties are taken as the base, because of the specific taste, there is very little demand for it.
4. Finally, "dry" and "semi-dry", as well as semi-sweet and the most sugar-rich "sweet" types.

Does champagne have an expiration date

The shelf life of a noble drink is directly dependent on whether it is vintage or not.

The highest quality is vintage sparkling champagne, made from grapes of one year of maturation. This precious "nectar" is aged up to five years in oak barrels.

Vintage wine can be stored for up to 25 years.

The label of such a bottle indicates the year of production, which means that grapes that ripened during this particular year were used in the manufacture of the drink, the expiration date is mandatorythe drink's shelf life and sugar content.

The shelf life of champagne made from berries harvested in different years does not exceed 4 years. This is not vintage wine.

The date of bottling should be the reference point when making a purchase decision. The closer it is to the day of purchase, the tastier the drink will be.

Home cellar

Under the right conditions, a three-year unopened bottle period is the norm, just drink wine during it, but does champagne have a "homemade" expiration date? It definitely should not be kept at home for more than a month, because, most likely, it was stored incorrectly in the store, and this affected the quality. In addition, it is hardly possible to provide champagne with the required conditions at home.

After uncorking, it is recommended to store the bottle in the refrigerator and no more than one day, well closed with a cork. Don't risk if you haven't drunk it within 24 hours, it's better to pour it out. Vintage champagne should be drunk immediately, it is not stored at all.

What are the rules to follow?

How to meet deadlines

Champagne needs proper storage conditions.

1. The temperature should not be lower than +5 °C and higher than +15 °C (optimally +10-12 °C), otherwise the gas will begin to decompose the cork, deformed, it will most likely "shoot" into the chandelier and the bottle will foam the guests.
2. Keep the bottle in a dark place, noble wine does not tolerate bright light. For whiteChampagne only needs twenty minutes of exposure to direct sunlight for it to deteriorate (there will be a smell of sulfur). Red wine, due to its color as a protective barrier against the sun, "holds on" a little longer.
3. The humidity level must be over 75% to keep the cork from drying out. A basement is ideal.
4. The bottle should be put down, as the cork should not dry out and break into pieces when opening the bottle.

In everyday life, such conditions can only be found in the refrigerator on the top shelf, darken a separate corner from the light bulb, you can wrap the bottle with dark textiles.

Moet

The shelf life of Russian champagne in a bottle is less than a foreign-made drink. Moet champagne with a strength of 12 degrees is classified as elite, the cost of one bottle of a luxurious drink can reach up to 5,500 rubles. Since the text on the label is not in Russian, this may create inconvenience for customers. Having carefully studied it for recommendations on expiration dates, we will see that the manufacturer does not write anything on this topic, which means that we can conclude that, subject to proper storage conditions, champagne can be drunk even after 25 years. On the etiquette there are recommendations for use - cool the drink to 8 degrees.

Champagne "Bosco"

This is the least strong drink of all such wines - only 7.5 degrees. There is a Russian-language text on the label of the bottle, GOST and composition are indicated among the written information, as well as a warning aboutthe dangers of excessive alcohol consumption.

Unlike Moet, the manufacturer determines a clear expiration date for champagne - up to one and a half years from the date of production. Keep the bottle at a temperature of 5 to 20 degrees Celsius, humidity should not exceed 85%.

The cost of this drink is low, about 200 rubles for a standard bottle of 0.75 liters.

Lev Golitsyn

The shelf life of the Russian champagne "Lev Golitsyn", bottled in stylish elegant bottles of 0.75 liters, has no restrictions. The price of a drink with a strength of 12 degrees is set in the middle range and varies from 230 to 250 rubles per bottle.

The label indicates the nutritional value, composition, GOST, storage conditions, which imply aging champagne in dark closed warehouses at a temperature not lower than five and not higher than 20 degrees. 85% humidity limit.

Asti

The shelf life of Asti champagne and other inexpensive wines from semi-dry, semi-sweet and sweet wines does not exceed 1 year and 3 months. These wines are made from several grape varieties, below are a few examples with expiration dates:

• "Asti Martini" and "Mondoro" - 12 months.
• Assortment - Russian champagne - 1 year.

Soviet champagne

In accordance with the rules of the standards established in our country, the expiration date of "Soviet champagne" does not exceed 6 months fromthe moment of pouring. It is also worth considering that a closed bottle should not be stored for more than one year, it will be safer.

Where to buy

You can buy a noble drink in almost any retail store. What do we see in supermarkets, small shops and chains? Wine bottles stand upright on ordinary shelves, the temperature is usually close to room temperature, which means it is far from required, the rooms are well lit, humidity is not controlled. These conditions are prerequisites for shortening the shelf life of champagne. That is why most labels are marked with a time interval suitable for storing a noble wine equal to one year.

If you want to buy excellent champagne and you care about its expiration date, because you appreciate and understand this drink, buy bottles either in wine boutiques or in shops from manufacturing plants and do not take a lot for future use.

Conclusions

1. Should I buy champagne bottled a couple of years ago and standing on the store shelf all this time? The cork is dry, the gas comes out… There is no guarantee that the goods are not damaged. Pay attention to the label text, carefully read the expiration date of champagne, take a drink with a "closer" date.
2. Don't keep the bottle at home for more than one month, because the storage conditions for it were not met in the store, and the champagne can quickly deteriorate.
3. Store the bottle in a dark cloth on the top shelf of the refrigerator away from light.
4. Drink it to the bottom! After all, ifyou opened the bottle, which means that there is a reason to enjoy a luxurious drink, you should not leave it for later. It is not recommended to store an open bottle, if possible, then no more than a day. Enjoy the aroma and taste here and now, the next day a bottle of open wine as a capricious fickle beauty can become dangerous for you.