8 tips to properly store your wine bottles over time
To allow your best wines to reach full maturity, it is essential to follow certain storage precautions. Here are 8 essential tips to pamper your vintages and appreciate them at their fair value when the time comes!
The temperature of the place
It is essential to keep the bottles in a cool atmosphere to ensure the stability of your wine. The ideal temperature is between 10 and 13 ° C , with a margin of tolerance of 2 to 3 ° C very well supported by the wine (as well as progressive temperature variations over the seasons). In these conditions, the content of your bottles will not change much, even after twenty years. However, to fully appreciate a long-aging wine (between 10 and 20 years old), it is advisable to start the ripening process 2 to 3 years before serving it. During this period, do not hesitate to store it in a place enjoying a slightly higher temperature: it will reveal all its flavors to you when you drink it.
Know that a few extra degrees (provided you never exceed 20 ° C) will evolve your wine faster without denaturing. For wines kept between 16 and 20 ° C, it is better to consider a consumption in the few years after the purchase.
Good to know: white custard wines can withstand small increases in temperature more easily than red wines .
To avoid absolutely: negative temperatures and, especially, brutal hot / cold: thermal shocks are always detrimental to the good conservation of a wine!
The position of the bottles
The experts are unanimous: your good bottles of wine must remain lying down ! This "forced rest" horizontally causes the cork (usually cork) to remain in permanent contact with the liquid which makes it slightly damp. An infallible tactic, which guarantees perfect insulation and the most suitable seal for these soft beverages. This will prevent any risk of drying out and crumbling which will lead to the oxidation of the wine and the presence of cork residue.
Note that this tip is only valid for bottles with a cork. Wine sealed with a plastic stopper can be stored upright without any problem . As for mutated wines (natural sweet wines and liqueur wines such as Porto, Banyuls, etc.), they benefit from being stored vertically.
Good to know: contrary to popular belief, it is useless to turn the bottles regularly because this manipulation leads to an alteration of the wine!
Avoid vibrations
Wine is a living product. Naturally, it contains particles (deposition) which must at all costs avoid being in suspension, under penalty of changing its aging process, or even to awaken harmful bacteria to its quality. It is therefore essential to keep it safe from repeated shaking . Avoid the proximity of a washing machine and any source of vibration. If your environment is subject to this type of nuisance (you live above a metro line, etc.), take care to take a few precautions to ensure it is perfectly immobile. The lucky ones will enjoy a dirt floor or gravel in their cellar. If you do not have this option, do not hesitate to place cork boards or rubber pads under your wine racks.
Ensure the absence of light
Natural or artificial, light is the enemy of wine. Although bottles are often made of dark glass, this protection is not enough. To prevent your wine guard from having the "taste of light" (located somewhere between cauliflower and rubber) it is better to expose it as little as possible to the light sources. To occasionally light the place where your bottles are stored, ban neon (too violent), but also sources of light emitting heat . Choose low energy LEDs and bulbs!
Attention to bad odors
The caps that seal the bottles are not 100% waterproof. They allow the wine to be isolated but allowing it to "breathe" just enough. Through this odor-permeable stopper, the wine can soak up unexpected aromas. Oil, fragrant vegetables(leeks, onions ...) or mold , always be vigilant about the olfactory environment of your cellar. Strong ambient odors could definitely "mark" your wine and bring it an unpleasant taste. What will spoil the best vintage!
The right humidity
To ensure the best possible conservation of the cap, the hygrometry must always be greater than 50%. Remember: Insufficient moisture causes the plug to dry out, as mentioned earlier in this article. The ideal humidity level is even between 70 and 80% . In addition, this humidity must be accompanied by good ventilation. The place of storage of your wines must remain wet, but also benefit from a circulation of air to avoid the proliferation of mushrooms and bacteria. If the place you have chosen does not have sufficient ventilation, you can set up a ventilation system equipped with activated carbon, or even an air conditioning system specifically adapted to the cellars.
Learn about the shelf life of each wine
The goal is not to keep a wine indefinitely, but to drink at the right time, it is important to know the shelf life of each vintage you have. Indeed, in the face of time, all wines are not equal! To obtain a vintage worthy of the name, and to taste it in perfect maturation, it is essential to inquire: your cellar or, failing that, a little tour on the net will bring you the necessary information . Once the conservation conditions are met, time will do the rest ... You will only have to wait a few years to bring it to its climax!
If your cellar is not optimal, opt for a wine cellar
A wine cellar is an effective solution if you want to keep your bottles without having a cellar. Reliable and specifically designed for this purpose, it requires little space. The ideal solution when living in an apartment or in a house that does not have the ideal conditions! Many models exist in varying capacities, and all will allow you to perfectly control the environment of conservation of your best bottles. Lovers of great wines, this is an investment you will not regret!
>> Looking for a wine cellar? See you at one of our professionals!