Wine Storage

Wine is always a fascinating alcoholic beverage, starting from the Great Greece. One of its great differences to other alcoholic beverage is that it can improve with age. However, wine is a very fragile product that requires extra care and pristine condition for aging. Thus, it leaves us a question mark on how a bottle of wine should be stored.

Bottle Position

First of all, a bottle of wine should be stacked on its side or stored upside down. This is to keep the cork moist and swallow fully so as to stop the air going into the bottle. Oxygen is an enemy of wine. It deteriorates wine’s flavour and makes wine taste oxidized. However, it is not the case for screwcap, also called ‘ stelvin seal’ nor for the Champagne.

Temperature

Temperature is very critical factor for any wine. The idea temperature should be around 7 to 18 degrees, whereas 10 – 11 degrees will be the best temperature for wine storage. If it is not able to achieve, at least, the temperature should be no more than 25 degrees. If it is too cold, the wine will expand and push the cork out, causing leakage, oxidation and microbes growth etc. Any wine stored above 35 degrees will loss its subtleties and will be tasted cooked.

Light

Light, especially ultraviolet kills any wine. Therefore, a wine should be stored under dark, avoiding light. Bottle colour could also play a role of reducing the deterioration from light. Ideally, brown and dead-leaf colour is the best protection. Dark green could also help as well.

Humidity

There is no direct proof that humidity will alter the taste of aged wine. But relative high humidity will help to keep the cork moist, hence keeping oxygen away from wine. However, a high humidity condition will simulate the growth of mould, which deteriorates the wine label. A mouldy label is not ideal for premium wine trade.

Security

Security is one major key factor to be considered when the cellar is constructed. No one would like to cellar any wine for burglars, especially those multi-millionaire cellars. Security alarms, video camera, lockers and etc. are heavily used for commercial and personal cellar.

FAQ

Why would I need to cellar my wines?

Wine is a luxury consuming product that could develop and evolve in storage. However, it only goes into the good way under the right conditions, which only a cellar could provide. For a wine drinker, the ultimate goal is to enjoy a wine. It is necessary to have a cellar as it could keep all your wines away from spoilage, thus to maximize your enjoyments and excitements when you drink them. Investors would like to buy wines, especially those super premium wines when they are young and sell them for profit when they reach their peak time. For that, wines should be kept under the pristine condition to maximize the profitability.

 Do I need a cellar for good wines?

The answer is definitely ‘yes’. Any good wine needs fully attention and care. Temperature and humidity are the keys for a good wine to develop and mature. Under the right condition, which a good cellar would provide, good wine will develop, evolve and give you, the consumer extra excitements and joys. Without that, wine will develop in an inappropriate way, to the extreme, giving unpleasant drinking experience.

What are the key factors for selecting/building up a cellar?

General speaking, temperature, lights, humidity control are the primaries for a cellar. Being qualified as a ‘cellar’, it has to have the ability of providing right, stable and consistent temperature and humidity conditions all the time. It also has to be dark inside or at least dim light. Then, dimension and capacity are the secondary factors for a cellar. But they are still important for a long term cellar investment. The dimensions of the cellar you are choosing must fit with the condition of the house where you are living. As a counterpart, the capacity also has to be considered – as the ultimate goal for a cellar is to drink the right wine at the right age. You need to consider the average time that your wines are going to be stored in your cellar and the volume you would like to drink from your cellar within a year time frame