Tip: How To Store Wine

Cleaning Tip: How To Store Wine

 



Nigel Cart, former CEO of Oriel Wines, offers the following advice to ensure proper preservation of wine:

• Store wine away from direct light, which can damage or prematurely age your wine. Ultraviolet light can even penetrate dark-colored glass and impart unpleasant aromas.
• Optimum long-term storage temperature is 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit, and sudden dramatic changes in temperature should be avoided. That said, wine will likely last for a year or two between 40 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, as long as changes in temperature are gradual rather than sudden.
• Humidity should be between 50 and 80 percent so that the cork doesn't dry out and crumble or lose its seal.
• Store wine on its side rather than upright to keep the cork damp.
• Wine should be stored in a calm place, as excessive vibration can disturb the sediment and damage the wine.
• Face the label upward so that you don't disturb the bottle to check what it is.
• Store all wine accessibly so that you're not constantly moving it to get to the bottle you want to drink.

If your most special wine will be opened in a year or two, then you certainly don't need a wine refrigerator. However, if you're saving a special case of wine from the year of your marriage or your child's birth for a big celebration a couple of decades later, then a wine refrigerator is a worthy investment.