Wine has been stored in wine caverns as well as underground cellars for hundreds of years – the optimal storage conditions can be continually complied with: cool, dark, humid as well as still environments. While storing wine is not rocket science, there are a few rules that will ensure your wine has the very ideal opportunity for long-term survival and optimal aging.
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Keep it Awesome
Ideal wine storage is right around 55 ° F, too much heat will certainly wreak havoc on a bottle of wine. You additionally desire to aim for consistent temperatures, as remarkable temperature variations will certainly also adversely influence a kept container of wine. Moisture is another factor to keep in mind when keeping wine. A higher humidity level helps to keep the corks from shrinking and allowing oxygen in, resulting in oxidation of the wine. Suitable moisture is in between 65-75 %.
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Keep it Dark
Most tinted glass containers of wine have actually UV filters incorporated into the container glass, but this does not necessarily offer full UV protection. If a wine is in direct light consistently, it will certainly affect the flavor of the wine significantly, a result of premature aging. Typically, whites wines are the most conscious light degradation, but reds will also lose if they are subjected to excessive light.
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Keep it Still
For whatever reason, the top of the fridge seems to be one of those places that people naturally have the tendency to keep their wine. Maybe, it’s the convenience of it, maybe it’s that the cute wrought iron wine racks fit well there – but in either case this is just one of the worst areas to hold onto wine. Initially there’s the heat and the direct light, then there’s the risk of losing bottles out of the rack every single time the frig is opened and closed, yet there’s also the vibration from the fridge itself. The steady vibration of the fridge or various other major home appliances near simply agitates the wine and also can keep the sediment from clearing up in a red wine. Constant or consistent vibration will certainly ravage a wine.
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Keep it Sideways
By intentionally storing a wine on its side, you will aid hold onto the cork in continuous contact with the wine. This will certainly keep the cork moist, which should keep the cork from shrinking and allowing the enemy of wine, oxygen, to seep into the bottle. When oxygen comes into contact with wine the result is bad – the wine starts to oxidize (think brown apple) and the aromas, flavors and color all begin to spoil.
Wine Coolers: Wine Storage Units
While a lot of us do not have on-site stone wall, wine caverns or underground cellar accommodations for our preferred wines, there are lots of choices to copy these primitive, but ideal conditions. Since, light and heat destroy wine in hardly any time, see to it to safeguard your containers from both by discovering a great, dark spot to protect your wine. Basements are ideal storage space facilities – given that they usually fulfill the awesome as well as dark needs. If a basement is not an option, then just keep the bottles in an amazing closet. Or if you want to be more intentional with these prime storing conditions then consider among the many wine refrigerator or wine storage closets on the marketplace. These climate controlled cabinets come in a variety of sizes and price points, offering as few as 16 bottles a safe haven to over 600 bottles a snug area to sleep.
Storing wine is a breeze, simply remember to keep it cool, dark, still as well as laterally as well as you’ll locate that you can successfully store wine for both the short as well as long term with confidence.