Storage
How to store your wine
If you’re even half serious about wine, you do need to think about where to keep it – and where not to keep it.
The first thing to say is that if you are keeping wine for a reasonably long period of time (ie, more than a few weeks), then do store it horizontally so that the wine is kept in contact with the cork to stop it from drying out and oxidising your precious liquid assets.
In addition, wine likes cool, dark and not too dry conditions for storage. So the perfect place is an underground cellar where the temperature is about 10-12C all year round.
However, most of us don’t have cellars these days. So the cupboard under the stairs is probably your next best bet. But do keep an eye on the temperature. As long as it doesn’t go above 18C and doesn’t fluctuate too much your wine should be OK.
If you have more wine than you can store safely at home what should you do? Well, there are alternatives including all of the following.
Phone a friend – who has a cellar with lots of spare capacity to keep your wine. But do pick someone you trust and make sure your wine doesn’t get mixed up with theirs! Buy a Eurocave or a similar temperature controlled wine cabinet. These aren’t cheap, but they do keep wine in tip-top condition. Two recommended suppliers are Eurocave and Transtherm. For more information visitt www.eurocave.com or www.transtherm.com Store it with a professional storage facility such as Octavian, Vinotheque or London City Bond. It is less convenient and more costly (at around £8-12 per case per annum) but can be well worth it for very expensive wines. Build or install a cellar. Spiral Cellars is a company which, as its name implies, supplies excellent underground spiral cellars for a cost of at least £8,000. For more information visit www.spiralcellars.com Another company which can design and install a cellar is Smith and Taylor at www.smithandtaylor.com.
Where not to store wine:
The kitchen – too hot, too much light and too much temperature variation. It’s OK for short-term storage. But no more than a few weeks, at most.
The garage. It may be dark, but it probably won’t be very humid and worst of all the change in temperature from day to night won’t do your wine any favours whatsoever. And if the temperature starts to get below freezing, then you’re in real trouble.
The Fridge. It’s ok for a few days, but not a few weeks as it can deaden a white or rose wine’s flavour when you come to pull the cork.
Under the Bed. Unless, you like your bedroom very chilly, this will almost certainly be too warm. | |
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