Aging wines at room temp for 5 years or so?

Does it make any sense to age wines for 5 years or so at room temperature (~68 deg)? Or does it not even make sense to keep them more than a year or two at room temp.

Hi Abe -

For a number of years, my wine was kept in a closet in my house. Given the climate here, I would guess that 68 or so was probably about what it was maintained at. I had reasonable success in keeping wines for around five years or so. Most of them were fine, a few did not hold up so well (but then, you can say that about most cellars). Of course, I wasn't keeping top level Bordeaux or Burgundy there, either. These were mostly mid-level California cabernets and such.

I think as long as the wines are built for some aging potential and you keep the temperature consistent (and not much over 68), you're likely to do fine. Just my experience, though.

Thanks!

My oldest is a 2000, and it shouldn't be that good, at the time I bought that to drink right away and I got and and expensive one to save, but I accidentally drank the expensive one instead.

I would have to say that for fine wines storage for 5 years ag 68 degrees Fahrenheit is a highly questionable practice. As a rule of thumb you could say that your wines will age far more rapidly than at more ideal temperatures. Indeed though sometimes a question of dumb luck. The question is whether you want to trust to dumb luck for holding your wines....

As a general guide all wines should be stored at a steady temperature of between 8 and 15 degrees Celsius (46 - 59 degrees Fahrenheit). Even though nearly everyone agrees that wines in a cold cellar will mature more slowly and keep longer than wines in a relatively warm one, not all agree on this precise temperature range and several world famous restaurants keep their wines at a permanent 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit). Although red wines can be stored at as much as 20 degrees Celsius for several months without fear of damage, they will age more rapidly and this temperature is far from ideal. My own ideal is 12 degrees Celsius (54 Fahrenheit), because I consider this ideal for aging red wines. It also has the advantage of leaving the white wines in the cellar at or nearly at their perfect serving temperature.

Best
Rogov

Before I bought a temperature-controlled box, I kept wines in my closet, and I didn't find any particular problem over a few years. Very few of them stayed there for as long as 5 years, though! The temperature was usually around 70-72 F.

John

Before you store any wine for five years at any temperature, you need to do your best to determine when the best time is to consume any given wine. There is a lot of stuff, expensive stuff, being made in California and elsewhere these days that won't last five years under any conditions. We try to drink everything that we put into "rotation" (that is, ready to drink) from one day to three years. Those we put into "laid down" are each designated to drink in three to twelve years, and once in a while even longer. How do we make these determinations? It is through experience, advice, and Kentucky windage.