Expert: Paul Wagner - 4/10/2008

Question
hi, about 30 years ago my grandmother recieved a bottle of wine for a birthday present. she's thinking about opening it on her 80th birthday but we dont know if its still drinkable. it says beameister 1975 at the top and appears to be a riesling. it also says on the bottle "
berrich kernkastel riesling"

c shilz weingut weinkellerei munster-sarmsheim b bingen

and

jim beam comrp.

mosel saar ruwer

is this drinkable at all? also, is it worth anything? we are dyeing to know, please let me know if you can give me any information on this

Answer
HI John

This was a nice wine--it's a lovely region, and German Rieslings can be really delicious--but it's too old now.  This wine was made to drink within a few years of the harvest.  By 1985 it was already showing some age, and THAT was more than 20 years ago.

It won't hurt you--wine has such high acidity and enough alcohol to prevent anything nasty from growing in it--but it won't taste very good:  tired, faded flavors, the sugar will have caramelized, the fruit wil be pretty much gone, and the wine will probably have turned a bit brown.  

You could open it up and try it, but it sounds as if your grandmother has aged more gracefully than this wine!

Sorry to be the bearer of sad news.

Paul Wagner