![]() ![]() Is your cellar a room? Is it a dedicated space that has active climate control (i.e. These rules apply to both long and short-term storage however they are much more important when considering the long-term cellaring of your wine. Every effort made toward reaching these ideals improves the conditions under which your wine is stored. There are several fundamental rules when it comes to wine storage. Where has the wine been stored? If the answer is “In my wine cellar”, a whole new dialogue is opened concerning the nature of the cellar. I would worry more about the types of wines I like (fruity, earthy, light, full, oaky, buttery, etc.) than what the vintage is and even, in some cases, what grape it is. Wine may be a serious business, but it can also be serious fun! When is comes to everyday $10 - $40 wines you have to have an open mind. Modern wine making techniques allow for wines to be smoother, softer, more balanced and livelier at a younger age. The main reason that cellaring began was because the wines needed time, not because people wanted to wait 20 years before drinking them. I often hear customers say that they are not interested in current vintage wines that are ready to drink (i.e., 2004 Cabernet) – however, these wines can be as good as any. I recommend asking your retailer which wines are ready to drink. Most wines currently sold in retail shops are ready to drink or need only a few years of cellaring (knowing how long to cellar your wine, if at all, is a detailed topic that will be discussed in a future article). ![]() Some red wines and Sauternes have been known to age for over 100 years and still drink well. Some whites have been known to age for decades. Reds wines tend to be more age worthy than whites (with the exception of dessert wines) however, this is by no means an absolute. What type of wine are we talking about? As a rule of thumb, reds and whites have different ageability characteristics. In order to answer that question, I must ask several others: It is important to keep these conditions in mind when considering your own wine storage solution.Ĭustomers often ask me whether wines that they have kept in their homes for many years are still ‘drinkable’. A model for ideal wine storage is found in Europe’s top vineyards, where wine is stored in dark, damp, humid underground caves that naturally maintain a constant, cool temperature year round. Many customers choose a method without first understanding the basic tenets of wine storage. Wine storage methods run the gamut, from the very simple to the most complicated, scientific solutions. Critical to the longevity of a wine are the conditions under which the wine has been stored.
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