Champagne is one of our favorite drinks for celebrations and having fun with friends. Special occasions are always delighted with the presence of this delightful spirit in it. Perhaps for this reason you decided to stock on it for future parties. You left plenty of them in the pantry and then the question struck your mind: Does Champagne go bad?
Don’t worry about it, I was there before. This is why I am writing this article to untangle this question with you and help you understand if the bottle you have left there for ages expires or not.
I will also give you Tips on How To Store Your Champagne in a way that keeps it fresh for as long as possible. Then, I will teach you how to differentiate bad drink from a good one. So, follow along!
Table of Contents
Does Champagne Go Bad?
I can’t exactly say the definitive answer to such a question, because we can generally say that it can last for an immensely long time, that it’s quite hard to tell if it has gone bad.
Don’t get me wrong, champagne does go bad. but you won’t find a risk of drinking it way past its expiry date other than a bad taste.
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Difference Between Vintage and Non-Vintage Champagne
As you are going to the store and checking the brands, you might find a champagne labeled vintage and others that are labeled non-vintage.
If you asked yourself what is the difference, well, here it is.
Vintage Champagne
This is basically champagne that has been made out of one year harvest of grapes. They used only this year’s harvest to give you the tasty champagne that you love and enjoy.
This makes it a slightly higher quality than the other option, as it’s using freshly harvested grapes in the making.
Non-Vintage Champagne
The manufacture may have plenty of other years harvest that hasn’t been used in the vintage champagne. So, he mixes them all and makes a spirit out of it. and hooray, you now have non-vintage champagne that you can enjoy.
Because they use a mix of different grapes from various years, the quality might be a tad off compared to a vintage mix. This difference will be more clear as time passes and the shelf life varies.
How Long Does Champagne Last?
This is another hard thing to pin down. The bottle generally doesn’t have an expiry date. you won’t find it printed on the bottle, which could complicate things a little bit.
Take into account that champagne is nothing like wine or whiskey, which is known for getting better the older it ages. Champagne is not like them and it just degrades in quality the longer it’s stored.
To tell the estimate, check if you have a vintage or non-vintage champagne as this is crucial to know the shelf life of your drink.
Vintage champagne
Vintage champagne is bubbly and can last for longer periods of time compared to non-vintage ones. You can ensure your unopened vintage champagne can stay stored from 5 to up to 10 good years. This is why vintage champagne is considered better, for its high quality and long-lasting effect for decades.
Non-vintage champagne
It doesn’t have the same long-lasting life like it’s vintage counterpart. it also tends to be of slightly lesser quality when compared to the vintage version. you can estimate around 3 to 4 years of good storage for the non-vintage champagne to stay in a good shape for drinking at a party.
Opened champagne
Once you pop open the cork, your drink will barely last. The shelf life will drop to 3 to 5 days at best. After that, the taste is all gone. Make sure to consume the drink at this time so you can enjoy it.
Champagne Shelf Life [Full Chart]
| Champagne | Pantry | Fridge |
|---|---|---|
| Unopened - (non-vintage) | 4 – 5 years | |
| Unopened - (vintage) | 10+ years | |
| Opened | 4 – 5 years |
How To Store Champagne?
Storage of the champagne should be fairly easy and simple, all you need to do is to put it somewhere away from the sunlight and heat.
The perfect temperature is slightly below room temperature, around 18-celsius degrees. This is why the pantry and the cellar work quite well to store your beloved bottle of spirit.
Also, avoid any exposure to sunlight. Sun seems to decrease the quality of the champagne and avoiding heat and sunlight seems like the right thing to do to store your bottles.
We need to also note that The way you Store Champagne Matters. If you decided to store it for a really long time. The best way to store it seems to be on the side of it. Lay it on the side, as this will keep the cork moist and thus avoid causing the cork to be stuck and deteriorate.
If you opened your bottle and now you want to store it, make sure to seal it well. Bad sealing will cause it to lose most of its fizziness in a short period of time, making it taste terrible and not worth drinking.
Keep it In the fridge till the next round of drinking with your friends, but try to consume it as soon as possible as it will lose it’s quality the longer you store it.
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How To Tell If Champagne Has Gone Bad?
As we said before, champagne itself doesn’t go bad in the traditional sense, but it does lose its fizz and taste which makes it not worthy of drinking.
However, if you have a bottle that seems to have been stored forever, pour some in a cup and take a small taste test. If you are okay with a flat drink, enjoy your spirit then.
Take note tho of any unusual signs. if it tastes weird or off, or it seems like it’s unusual and not tasty, perhaps it’s better to discard it than take the risk of it
Should you Freeze Champagne?
Let’s assume you totally forgot about your it. You left it in the freezer overnight. What to do now?
First of all, you should not freeze it. There are plenty of reasons why this is such a bad idea:
The Bottle
The bottle is usually made of glass and under the expansion of the liquid inside, it would be quite bad for it. The bottle could easily explode if left long enough in the freezer.
The glass of champagne bottles seems to be good enough to stand it, but we can’t rule out the possibility of having a faint mess in the freezer because of you freezing your drink.
The Taste
Once you freeze the bottle and then thaw it, you won’t get the same taste. freezing your drink changes some of its compounds and thus makes it lose some of its tasty flavor and aroma.
The Carbonation
When your bottle is frozen, it’s quite easy for it to lose its fizz.
Overall, freezing your it is a really bad idea. We suggest chilling it instead of freezing, It’s safer and much more helpful to enjoy your drink.
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Wrapping Up
Champagne is probably many people’s favorite alcoholic drink. This is why it’s important to answer “does champagne go bad?” question with care. We hope we managed to help answer this question probably.
If you happen to have any questions, make sure to leave them in the comments. Thanks for reading and have a great day!
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