Thu, 07 May 2026 22:42:26 +0000

You Won’t Believe How Long Your Wine Lasts—Does It Really Spoil? Wine lovers often wonder: Can wine expire? If stored properly, the answer is more nuanced than you’d think. While wine doesn’t go off like milk or spoil quickly, it does lose freshness and flavor over time. Understanding how long wine truly lasts—and how to age it properly—can turn wine storage from a guesswork habit into a refined practice. ### The Science Behind Wine Spoilage Wine is a fragile liquid composed of water, alcohol, acids, sugars, and compounds derived from grapes and fermentation. Unlike perishable foods, wine does not spoil in the way you might expect. The high alcohol content and low pH (typically between 3.0 and 3.8) create an environment inhospitable to bacteria and most spoilage microbes. However, exposure to air, light, temperature fluctuations, and humidity can degrade its taste and qualities.