Wine Storage
Wine storage – do’s and don’ts.
When storing wine there are a number of factors to consider to ensure that you aren’t disappointed when you finally open that expensive bottle you’ve been holding onto all this time!
Why are wine bottles stored horizontally? Wine is stored horizontally to keep the cork in constant contact with the liquid, this keeps the cork soft and supple so it can do it’s job properly. If a cork becomes dry it can shrink or crack this will allow air into the bottle causing your wine to oxidize and generally rendering it undrinkable.
Of course if your wine has a synthetic stopper then it won’t benefit from horizontal storage and in fact was probably designed to be consumed young and so will not benefit from long-term storage anyway.
The optimum temperature to store wine for any extended period is between 12 and 18 degrees Celsius (55 to 65F), depending on the type of wine you wish to store. A general rule here is that lighter bodied wines desire the lower end of the scale while full bodied wines can tolerate the higher end of the scale.
It is very important that the temperatures do not fluctuate too much, any area with fluctuating temperatures or light are not good places to store wine. In France a wine cellar is called a cave, historically wines were stored in actual caves because there is no light or temperature fluctuation.
When temperatures fluctuate in your wine cellar this will cause the wine to expand and contract, which changes the pressure within the bottle and can push your cork out of the bottle over time.
Another factor to consider is to avoid storing your wine near sources of excessive vibration, as excessive vibration can change the chemical structure of the wine almost always resulting in the wine ageing too quickly. The best example I can give of the worst place to store wines would be anywhere near your laundry room, this is a definite no-no!
The vibrations from the washer or dryer will constantly shake up your wine, while the temperature changes will ensure that your wine doesn’t know whether it’s coming or going!
Specially designed wine storage cabinets are the best solution, especially for red wines, white wines can be stored for short to medium periods in a wine fridge. Wine fridges are designed for white/rose/sparkling wines and can be set to the optimum temperature, regular household fridges operate at much lower temperatures which are not suitable for storage.
Also, always keep wine away from pungent odours, strong smells can permeate through the cork and the wine can take on the smells, which will inevitably ruin the wine.
Always keep a cellar diary!
Wine bottles will want to be rotated a half a turn every six months or so to stop any sediment build up along the side of the bottle, if you don’t keep track of this chances are you will over or under do it, resulting in your wine not being quite as good as it might otherwise have been.
In your cellar diary you should note when the wine is expected to be at it’s peak (there are numerous sites which will tell you when a specific wine will be at it’s best), there is nothing worse than getting your guests excited about a wine you have been saving only to discover that it has already passed it’s optimum age when you open it! The same goes for opening a special bottle only to discover it needed another year or two in the cellar!
You can keep a history of your wine ageing with any number of helpful observations about the conditions your wine ages in, for example to track the average seasonal temperature of your cellar to ensure you are providing the wine with the best possible conditions.
Collecting wine is a fun, rewarding and an often profitable pastime, don’t jeopardize your investment by being careless with your wine storage!
