deapthought

Being an avid wine yuppie, I thought it necessary to educate the masses about proper wine storage. It just makes me cringe when I go out to eat anywhere here and they bring me out a bottle of chilled red wine. Simply blasphemous….read on.

1. Why does wine require special stoarage?
Wine is a natural, perishable food product. Left exposed to heat, light, vibration or fluctuations in temperature and humidity, all types of wine, including red, white, sparkling, fortified, can spoil. When properly stored, wines not only maintain their quality but many will improve in aroma, flavor and complexity as their mature.

2. What is the ideal temperature for wines?
Temperature centered around 57 degrees Farenheit, 14 degrees Celsius, much like the cool caves used to store wine in Italy in older days, is ideal for both short-term storage and long-term aging for all types of wines. Keep in mind that white wines are better had the closer the current year is to their vintage.

3. Aren’t all wine cellars only necessary for the finest, more premium wines?
Not at all! All wines will continue to develop in the bottle, especially reds. Whether you buy an inexpensive wine or an expensive one, proper storage is necessary to preserve the qualities that led you to buy the wine in the first place. Certain wines (again, more of the reds), will need to spend some time in storage in order to truly unlock it’s potential from a flavour and complexity standpoint.

4. What role does humidity play in wine storage?
Proper humidity is required to prevent corks from drying out, therefore preventing oxidation that can lead to spoilage. There is a growing hysteria regarding the need for very high humidity when in reality it should not be a major concern if you are over 50%. Too high, and you could experience mold issues. An important thing to mention here are recent verifiable studies that screw tops can actually preserve a wine better than the age-old tradition of using oak corks. Most credit PlumpJack Winery to be the first high-end premium vintner to go out on a limb and use screw tops for all their varietals.

5. How should bottles be stored?
Storing bottles on their sides is also vital for keeping corks moist (again, screw tops aside). This horizontal position can be achieved with various types of racking, including individual bottle bins, diamonds, champagne, case storage, etc. that helps you organize your collection.

6. How does a wine cellar work?
The heart of a wine cellar is a cooling unit. A thermostat senses temperature variation, leading the cooling unit to turn of and off as needed to maintain constant temperature at 57 degrees Fahrenheit or 14 degrees Celsius, and humidity between 50-70 percent.

7. Aren’t wine cellars expensive?
Again, some are certainly more expensive than others, depending on size, as well as technical and decorative features - but a wine cellar is an investment designed to protect an even more valuable investment: your wine! Taken in the context of the value of your collection along with the added enjoyment you will get from tasting wine the right way, the cost per bottle of most wine cellars will eventually approach zero the more wine you purchase and store.