How Long Do Sherry Last? Does Sherry Go Bad?

If you long store an open bottle of Sherry in the fridge, you notice that the taste is not as flavorful as before.

So everyone think about how long they can store it or do Sherry go bad.

Some people do feel as Sherry is a wine, thus this cannot go bad.

However, it is incorrect because of the ingredients used in its making.

Besides that, bad storage condition can also be a problem, as wines like Sherry needs good preservation to increase their longevity.

Best-before dates are not the date of expiry; therefore, your wine still is fine to have beyond that date but can degrade in taste.

What is Sherry?

This is a fortified wine that originated in southern Spain.

Sherry is made of white wine grapes, and the primary grapes used in their production are muscatel.

It includes different flavors such as Fino, Manzanilla, amontillado, Oloroso, Palo Cortado, and many more.

The taste of the wine can vary from light to intense or dry to sweet.

Other than that, you can also find dried fruit, saline, and nutty flavor wines too.

The wine is also used in cooking and baking; its ABV level ranges between 15 to 22%.

These wines have a rich amount of antioxidants like epicatechin, catechin, and proanthocyanidins which deal with free radicals and neutralize their effect.

Sherry can also protect you from cell damage and chronic diseases.

How Long Do Sherry Last? Does Sherry Go Bad?

When talking about the shelf life, understand that bets by dates are not shelf life.

These are just an indicated time period provided by the manufacturer.

This is the time till the wine retains its best quality and will tend to decline in taste and smell after that.

However, one can retain the quality of the wine till its shelf life by providing good storage conditions.

The shelf life of an unopened bottle of Sherry is one year at room temperature or in the pantry.

It will be better if you keep it unopened until you are not sure whether to use it.

That is because the wine will come in contact with other elements as soon as you open the bottle.

These elements will make the wine go bad if they get excess exposure.

An opened sherry will only serve you for 1 to 3 months after opening in the fridge.

This shelf life can be shorter if you do not store the bottle correctly.

Do not keep an open bottle at room temperature, as the wine might get worse in no time.

Therefore it is advised to finish your Sherry before it reaches its best date or stores them with good storage measures.

How to Tell if Sherry Has Gone Bad?

• Check the Appearance.

As you find an old bottle of Sherry that you are not sure is good or bad, then look for changes that had taken place to find bad Sherry.

If you are able to see sediments at the bottom, then do not worry; they are common when the wine is stored for a more extended period.

One can drain them if they want; otherwise, the Sherry is entirely fine to have.

• Check the Cork.

Check if the bottle’s cork is dried out because if that happens, the bottle will develop black specks.

These specks also float in the bottle; thus, you need to closely examine and differentiate these from the earlier-mentioned sediments.

Once these pieces of cork get into the bottle, they will develop mold, so it would be better to throw your Sherry out if you find black specks in them.

• Taste It.

It can be risky to taste the wine as it can be harmful, but if there is no black speck present, you can take a sip.

You can pour it out in a glass and see if the flavor is still intense like before or if all its flavor is gone.

The flavor fades away as you prolong the storage of the Sherry.

How to Store Sherry?

• Stable Temperature.

While storing, you need to be careful that the temperature should not be high.

That is because wine cannot endure higher temperatures; therefore, storage in the fridge will be the best.

However, avoid storing it on the door shelf because, during the day time, we frequently open the door, which fluctuates the temperature a lot.

Therefore keep the wine in a place where the temperature will be stable.

• Reseal the Bottle.

When you open the bottle, and you have leftovers of it, then it is crucial to reseal the bottle before storing it.

Once the lid is open, then the wine will be prone to bacteria and mold.

Therefore, you should either transfer it to an airtight container or find a new cork for the bottle to reseal.

• Check the Guidance Tips.

As mentioned earlier, these come in a lot of varieties; thus, every bottle has some guidance tips labeled on them.

One can follow these to retain the aroma and flavor of the wine until it lasts.

Some of the bottles have different compounds; thus, they need special care and storage.

So following the guidance provided by the brand will be best.

Conclusion

Refrigerating the bottles is enough, as freezing will decline their quality.

The temperature that is required to be maintained must be 9 degrees to store wine for an extended period of time.

One can prolong the life of their Sherry by keeping their store according to the above-provided information.

Checking is essential if you have found an old bottle as bad Sherry can cause you food poisoning.