If you already store your wine in a wine cooler or a custom wine cellar, then you most likely understand the proper conditions to store and age your wine. But if you don’t, then you may wonder why bother with a storage system. If you intend to store your wine for long term, then storage system that can replicate the ideal cellar environment is what you need. Here is what you need and why.
1. Keep conditions cool
- Fine wine needs to mature slowly.
- If the temperature is too high, you’ll speed up the process and the wine will have less time to develop its structure and bouquet.
- Even worse, if it gets too hot, then you’ll effectively end up stewing your wine, spoiling the flavor and flattening the aroma.
- By contrast, wine stored below optimum temperature will develop far too slowly. Generally speaking, this isn’t such a serious problem, although you do run the risk of freezing your wine at a lower temperatures.
- Experts have yet to agree on an exact wine storage temperature, but you’ll find most recommend a figure of somewhere between 55 and 60° F.
2. Maintain stability
- Wine is particularly sensitive to rapid warming or cooling. In fact, sudden swings in temperature can cause far more damage than the actual temperature itself.
- Temperature fluctuations can cause unwanted chemical reactions within the bottle. What’s more, liquid expands and contracts. And that could mean wine seeping from your cork or even pushing it out altogether.
- Wine will also suffer if you subject it to sudden movement or vibration, especially in the case of older bottles with build-ups of sediment. So avoid storing wine too close to a busy highway, railroad or machinery.
- And make sure your cellar or cabinet is well organized so that you can find a bottle without disturbing your other wine.
3. Block out light
- The sun’s UV radiation can cause premature aging of wine, just as it does to our skin. It’s one of the reasons why winemakers generally prefer bottles made from colored glass.
- You should keep exposure to sunlight to the absolute bare minimum. And always remember to switch off your cellar or cabinet light when you leave.
4. Regulate humidity
- Your storage environment needs a good level of humidity. Otherwise corks may dry out and shrink, allowing air to come into contact with the wine. By contrast, if you allow it to become too humid, labels can come off bottles or even rot.
- A dedicated wine cooling unit is designed to help you maintain the right level of humidity, which should be somewhere between 50 and 80 percent. Avoid using air conditioning units to store your wine, because AC units are designed for people comfort – which makes the air far too dry for wine storage.
5. Give your wine bottles some air circulation
- Good air circulation is essential, as this will help keep away mold and prevent any intrusive odors from penetrating and spoiling your wine.
- Wine cabinets and wine cooling units accomplish this by using fans to keep the air moving inside the cellar.
6. Keep your wine cellar clean
- Insects, mold and vermin can pretty well make their way anywhere. So keep your wine cellar or cabinet thoroughly clean and never put food, such as fruit and vegetables, in the same storage area.
- If your wine spills, make sure to do a good job cleaning up, but avoid using scented cleaning agents, as these can pollute the taste of your wine.
7. Lay down your bottles
- Bottles are stored horizontally for a reason: to keep the cork moist and prevent air from getting into the bottle.
- Some wine racks may incorporate a slight angle into their design. The reason for this is simple — to encourage deposits to form at the base of the bottle. And if you live in earthquake territory, the angle will help keep your bottles from sliding off the racks.
- Finally, always remember to lay your wine down with labels facing up. That way, you can always see just what it is without having to disturb it.