How long wine lasts in the bottle

[wondersofwine]

Welcome to the wine board. Come back often.
Your friend might have more luck spending a little more and buying a 10-year Tawny Port ($25-$30) or a Barolo or classified growth of red Bordeaux or Hermitage, etc. Even then, except for the fortifed wines such as Port, Sherry, Madeira, its not guaranteed that the wine will be drinkable in 20 years. The wine should be store on its side (to keep the cork moist)at about 55 degrees F. with some humidity and not subjected to a lot of vibration, moving around or strong light. (I have less than ideal storage conditions myself, no wine cellar or cooling unit, so try to keep them at 70 degrees or less which means they may mature more rapidly than they would in a true cellar condition and may deteriorate sooner as well.)

[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 06-25-2004).]