Everybody’s tastes are different and by no means am I a wine expert. But since joining an amazing Wine Of The Month Club and receiving fine wines to my door every month. I decided to do some research on the best ways of storing wines. The last thing any of us needs is to have a bottle of wine go bad. Because the only way to know is to open it. And who wants to have company over for a great meal planned around a certain bottle of wine. To only open it and find it had turned bad. So I hope you get some useful tips from this.
Storing Wines: Some Tips I have Found
Keep it cool:
Wines’ worst enemy is heat. Your fine wines will age faster at any temperature of 70 degrees or higher. If the temperature gets high enough it could even “cook” the wine. This may result in flat aromas and flavors. So you will want to leave the cooking for the meal you are going to serve the wine with. An ideal temperature to store you’re fine wines is between 45 and 65 degrees.
Not too cold:
Storing wines in your refrigerator is not a good long-term storage idea. This meaning your regular old kitchen refrigerator. If you have or plan on purchasing a wine fridge this is fine. As they are designed for storing wines. This is fine for the long-term storage of your fine wines. There are plenty of excellent affordable ones on the market today but that’s for another article. But you can leave your wine in your kitchen refrigerator for a couple of months and you will be fine. This is because your refrigerator tends to fall below the lower end of the ideal temperature (45 degrees F). Plus the lack of moisture can dry out the cork. This allowing air in and destroying the wine.
PLEASE NOTE: never let your wine freeze (like leaving in an unheated room in the winter). Too much ice may form and push the cork out.
Steady as it goes:
The only thing worse than not having your wine in the ideal temperature range (45 to 65 degrees). Are the pitfalls of rapid, extreme, or frequent temperature swings. These swings in temperature cause the expansion and contracting of the liquid. Which may result in the cork to pop or let air in the bottle. Both not very ideal for your wine and could be very messy and upsetting. When you find the bottle of wine you were going to serve all over the fridge floor. Don’t sweat the minor swings as they pose no real danger to the taste of the wine. The only way to know if the wine is bad is to taste it. Never assume a glass of wine is bad.
Lights out for the wine:
Light most of all sunlight can cause longterm storage issues. The UV rays from the sun can degrade or age the wine faster. This is why wine bottles are colored. this helps block some (not all) of the UV rays. Household lights do not seem to pose a threat as the sun does. But why take a chance with your fine wines. So better safe than sorry lights out on the wine.
Do not sweat the humidity:
You might have heard that 70% humidity is ideal for wine storage. The thought there is the dry air will cause the cork to dry out. Allowing air in the bottle. So really anywhere between 50% to 80% is considered safe. A simple pan of water in your storage area can improve conditions. Or better yet a dehumidifier can greatly improve the conditions in your storage area.
See things sideways:
Traditionally bottles have always been stored on their sides. The theory there was this kept liquid up against the cork. this was supposed to help keep the cork from drying out. truth be told if you are going to drink them in near to mid-term. This is not necessary. But if you plan on storing the wine for a period of time. You will want to store it on its side. However, storing them on their side is a great space-saving way to store your wines.
Do Not shake After Storing Your Wine And You Are Ready To Pour:
There are lots of theories on how vibrations affect the wine. Some believe this speeds up the chemical reactions in the wine. There is very little evidence that documents the impacts of vibrations on wine. Unless you live above the subway and host concerts every night. Vibrations should have no impacts on your wines. But of course, do not shake your wine there is no reason to.
Some good places to store your wine are. A cool but not to damp basement. You can improvise and use racks in a safe place. Try to avoid warm rooms like kitchens and laundry rooms. Too many temperature swings in these rooms. And of course, light does not put them near the window. An unused closet would be good. Well, you get the point. But if you are really worried about your wines. Then you could always invest in a system for your wine storage. I hope you found some good tidbits from these tips.
Response Magic