Pick a good wine

The wines that store best for long periods are the Bordeau style blends; cabernet sauvignon and shiraz (Australian and Californian, as well as French); but usually only the better 'reserve' grades are suitable. The wine has to be made with long-term cellaring in mind, and are often very tannic if drunk too young. But a lot of red wine is made today for drinking in the short term, and some of it is very good indeed, but it is intentionally NOT made for long term cellaring.

A good wine made for cellaring will improve, but a not-so-good wine will only get worse. As others have advised, good wine needs careful cellaring, and if you don't have a good cellar, then it is a tall order to expect wine to last in unsatisfactory conditions (especially where there is a great variation in temperature).

As well as the red wines, some white wines will cellar, but they are rare: The better rieslings, and the best Australian semillon are two types.At my wine and spirits retail outlet that I run I post ratings from both Wine Enthusiast, and Wine Spectator. Theses rating cards also contain aging informartion, such as , drink now through 2010, or good in the bottle for 15-20 years.A premier cru bordeaux would be best like Chateau Lafite but choose a good year. Your wine merchant will advise

One wine that is easy to cellar for a long period (even decades) is good quality vintage port, which will last until the cork rots