Bottle of wine to keep for 20+ years?

[KAknight]

I once was at a wedding where the father of the bride had a bottle of wine he bought the day his daughter was born. At the wedding reception he opened the bottle and the family all had a glass.

My sister had a baby girl today and I thought I would go buy a bottle to keep for her. I have no idea what to kind of wine to buy and or the best way to store it. Any help OOT?

[nyc999]

Definitely go to a good wine shop and ask for help. Strong reds (Bordeux/Cab) have a good change to hold up over time - but it depends on the vintage and vineyard. As for storage, get a small wine fridge unless you have a basement or other dark place that maintains a constant temperature year round (I believe high 50's is ideal).

[lippy]

What a great idea. Very deep and thoughtful.

[AquaSwing]

You probably want a wine that is dated 2007. There aren't any 2007 wines out there yet and there probably won't be any age worthy wines until 2009 at the minimum. Right now the Southern Hemisphere is going through their harvest and fermenting so you won't see any 2007 wines until later this year. The grapes for the Northern Hemisphere wines haven't even started growing yet and you won't see any of those until early 2008. Most ageworthy wines spend 12-30 months in barrels before bottling, hence the 2009 date.

[Rhone]

OP, there are two things to consider here. First of course is the wine, but that's the easy part. Go to a reputable wine merchant and get some advice.

But you also need to figure out where to keep it for 20 years. That's not trivial. If you're going to get an age-worthy wine for many years, you can't keep it in a closet in your apartment. It's got to be stored properly. Talk to the wine store about storage places in your area where you can rent space. I know in most cities you can find temperature and humidity controlled places to rent by the case, but I'm not sure about by the bottle.

[MrMon]

Although it's a great idea, quite frankly, it's much easier to go out a few weeks before her wedding and find the best bottle out there that has emerged from the year of her birth. Not nearly as romantic, but way more practical. You don't need to try and guess what will ultimately be a good wine, you don't need to store it properly, you don't need to worry about breakage, and let's be frank, except in rare cases, wine is not a good investment and it's cheaper in real terms to often buy it when you want to drink it.

[gamblore99]

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it's much easier to go out a few weeks before her wedding and find the best bottle out there that has emerged from the year of her birth. .

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If you do that you ruin the whole gesture, and should just forget about the whole thing.

My friends dad did the same thing with a bottle of scotch and his bar miztvah. Does scotch have the same storage problems as wine?

[limon]

[ QUOTE ]
Although it's a great idea, quite frankly, it's much easier to go out a few weeks before her wedding and find the best bottle out there that has emerged from the year of her birth. Not nearly as romantic, but way more practical. You don't need to try and guess what will ultimately be a good wine, you don't need to store it properly, you don't need to worry about breakage, and let's be frank, except in rare cases, wine is not a good investment and it's cheaper in real terms to often buy it when you want to drink it.

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i dont agree w/ this. 1st its not as romantic, 2nd it will cost a fortune. a robert parker 100 bordeaux is a couple grand. a rp bordeaux "future" is a couple hundred and many need 20 years of cellaring.

[MrMon]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Although it's a great idea, quite frankly, it's much easier to go out a few weeks before her wedding and find the best bottle out there that has emerged from the year of her birth. Not nearly as romantic, but way more practical. You don't need to try and guess what will ultimately be a good wine, you don't need to store it properly, you don't need to worry about breakage, and let's be frank, except in rare cases, wine is not a good investment and it's cheaper in real terms to often buy it when you want to drink it.

[/ QUOTE ]

i dont agree w/ this. 1st its not as romantic, 2nd it will cost a fortune. a robert parker 100 bordeaux is a couple grand. a rp bordeaux "future" is a couple hundred and many need 20 years of cellaring.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is almost true, and almost impossible to pull off. First off, 100 pt wines don't go for thousands after only 20 years or so. An '82 Latour is currently about $900, and it wasn't cheap when it came out. 100 pt wines are few and far between, you can't predict them now, or even as a future, and not every year has them. Second, it's going to be years until you know you have one, so that eliminates the romance angle as well. If 2007 has a 100 pt wine, it'll be at least 2012 before we even know it exists. Now, you could always take a shot with a 2005 future, but the year doesn't match, and you've got no wine in hand for another two years at least. There is simply no way to pull it off now. When the kid is five, yes, if a 100 pt wine exists.

The idea of putting a Scotch down now for 20+ years has been discussed before. Nice idea, but you gotta buy a lotta Scotch.

[bluef0x]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Although it's a great idea, quite frankly, it's much easier to go out a few weeks before her wedding and find the best bottle out there that has emerged from the year of her birth. Not nearly as romantic, but way more practical. You don't need to try and guess what will ultimately be a good wine, you don't need to store it properly, you don't need to worry about breakage, and let's be frank, except in rare cases, wine is not a good investment and it's cheaper in real terms to often buy it when you want to drink it.

[/ QUOTE ]

i dont agree w/ this. 1st its not as romantic, 2nd it will cost a fortune. a robert parker 100 bordeaux is a couple grand. a rp bordeaux "future" is a couple hundred and many need 20 years of cellaring.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think the less romantic the OP is to his sister, the better off he will be.