Rules Of Storing Wine If You Dont Have A Wine Cellar
When a great wine is stored well, it can age into an even more interesting and more valuable drop. However, most of us are storing wine all wrong.
Most people keep wine in the kitchen but its the worst place in the house to store wine, because its one of the hottest and most well lit rooms in the house, with a constantly fluctuating temperature. Wine should be stored somewhere with a cool, even temperature. Even if youre not planning on ageing the wine for years, storing wine well means youll get the most out of your wine when you want to drink it.
Dont have a wine cellar or wine fridge, and have no idea how and where to store your wine? Here are the top rules for wine cellaring.
On Top Of The Refrigerator
The absolute worst place to store wine is on top of your refrigerator. You cannot imagine my face when Im daydreaming and scrolling Zillow and see these elaborate kitchens with a freaking wine rack built in above the fridge! AAAAH! NO! The top of the refrigerator is hot, with lots of light, and it vibrates. Three strikes and its out.
Does Champagne Go Bad
First, I think you must determine if you have in your possession an authentic champagne and not just a sparkling or bubbly wine. That is not to suggest that other sparkling wines are not enjoyable, or of a poor quality. This could be a matter of personal taste and/or budgetary considerations. So for the purposes of this answer I am assuming that you have a bottle of authentic French champagne originating in the area north of Paris.
For the most part Champagne is not a wine to keep for too long. On average perhaps best to cellar for only 3 to 4 years. That being said there is always the possibility of exceptions. A particularly quality driven champagne may be somewhat viable up to 10 years, but why would you want to wait that long?
Possibly, the more expensive might be a determining factor. You do however experience some changes, most likely the champagne would darken slightly in colour, or you may lose some of the fizz, or effervescence. Again the quality of the champagne determines the chance of these changes. For most champagne drinkers you would expect to enjoy a bubbly experience and therefore it is best to target the lower projections of quality return.
For the most part champagne can be drunk immediately, no need to save it for anything other than your next special occasion.
-Valerie Van der Gracht at MyVanCity
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Do All Wines Get Better With Age
This is a good question because most consumers believe that all wines improve with age. It would be nice if they did, but most wines produced today are made for early drinking rather than for aging. They are made to enjoy soon after purchase rather than stored in a wine cabinet or cellar. Therefore, they dont substantially improve with age and in fact many have a very short shelf life, especially white wines and roses.
Whether or not a wine improves with age at all, depends on the type of wine and how the wine is aged. Red wines that have very firm tannins, like a youthful Bordeaux or Barolo or a wine made from Petit Verdot, are the most likely to benefit from extra time in bottle. However, as noted, today most producers intentionally make their wines, even big reds, for early drinking rather than aging in a wine cabinet or cellar. And they do this because thats the way most consumers drink the winesa very high percentage of wines are opened and drunk within a few hours of purchase.
-Mike Potashnik at International Wine Review
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A clean window lets in more light by making the living area brighter and more welcoming. Choosing a window cleaning company isnt easy. Suppose youve been considering hiring a professional window cleaner. In that case, there are a few things you should keep in mind to make sure youre hiring the proper one to achieve streak-free windows. You may also save money and effort by hiring a professional window cleaning.
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If I Dont Have A Wine Cellar Wheres The Best Place To Store My Wine
There are several options for those of you who dont have an actual cellar.
- Rent a wine locker. Many wine retail stores or speciality storage facilities have temperature controlled storage space that you can rent very affordably. These often come with perks like exclusive tastings or membership features.
- You can always buy a wine fridge. They come in various sizes from holding 12 bottles to over 200. I had a 200 bottle one in my old home and it fit fine. This is a great solution if you want your wines on hand.
- If you live in a house with a basement, the constant cool temperature can also be a great place to either build wine racks or just leave them in their cases
-Lindsay Pomeroy at Wine Smarties
Check If You Are Insured
In cases, window cleaning services do not include moving fragile items or furniture. No matter how careful and professional window cleaning services are, accidents can still happen. Its also important to ask for the additional cost if theyre willing to accept this type of service. It will protect you in case the window washers are injured. Even though the chances of a mishap are quite minimal, it is always better to be safe than sorry. Even though a cleaning company may not have the financial means to pay for the damages, if they are insured, they will be compensated.
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How Long Does Wine Last
Both red and white wines will stay good for up to one year unopened, while champagne and sparkling wine lasts about six months in the pantry. And how long is a bottle of wine good for after opening? The acid in white wines, such as rieslings and sauvignon blancs, helps keep them fresh after opening for about three days, whereas most reds should be finished in a day or two, says Andrea Robinson, a master sommelier and the author of Great Wine Made Simple. Champagne and sparkling wine on the other hand will only last one day in the fridge.
To make opened wine last closer to a week, remove as much air as you can with a device like the Rabbit vacuum pump, moistening the stopper first for the tightest seal, advises Michael Aaron, chairman of Sherry-Lehmann Wines & Spirits in New York City.
“You can easily get a quality vacuum pump for $10 to $20 and, while not perfect, it can add a few days to the life of your wine,” explains Hoel. Vacu Vin’s Wine Saver Pump is our favorite option.
How To Store Wine At Home
If you enjoy wine and want to store a few bottles or maybe you stocked up on some wine for holidays, Im pleased to tell you that you dont require a huge vaulted maze under the house to do it. However that would be really cool. Whether you are a beginner to buying wine or you have your own wine cooler already, these tips should guide you on how to store wine at home. Maybe you have an old outhouse or storeroom somewhere that already fits the bill, which would also be pretty darn cool. However, the rest of us make to make due with what we have.
Any space where the atmosphere is humid and the temperature is stable and fresh will do, as long as you follow a few basic rules.
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Do: Store Your Wine Somewhere Convenient
Although it may be good for the wine, its not practical or convenient to store your wine in that upstairs closet, away from harmful elements. Whether open or closed, wine is meant to be a conversation starter and a way to bring people together. Its important to keep it somewhere convenient and easily accessible, ever at the ready to be retrieved and opened.
Dont Throw Away Your Wine
Cooking a recipe requiring a small amount of wine is inconvenient when you dont have some at hand. You end up opening a bottle only for that purpose, leaving you with perfectly good wine to dispose of. We all have our own ways of dealing with the opened bottle problem and I used to approach it as follows. First I would definitely have a glass of wine with my meal. Im not a big fan of getting hammered by myself on a weeknight, Im more of a glass a day keeps the doctor away kind of girl, so that wouldnt take me very far. Secondly I would search for recipes that would use the leftovers but again the chances of finding one that works with my schedule would be slim. Thirdly, with all the best intentions, I would store it in my fridge, to stretch out its life expectancy, only to rediscover it a few days/weeks later, too late of course to do anything with it. Ive queried this strategy many times but only recently have I looked at the problem from a new angle.
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Practical Tips For Storing Wine At Home
So, youve bought wine, and you dont plan to drink it right away. At the same time, you dont want it to go bad or its taste to be compromised before you open it. You dont even have a fancy wine cellar to preserve it.
What should you do?
There are a few things to consider when storing your new bottle of wine. Whether you have one or a hundred wine bottles, the following tips can help you store your wine properly until you are ready to drink it.
Wine cellars may be the dream for most of us, but unfortunately many of us arent likely to be lucky enough to have one at home. However, there are still some essential tips you can follow to make sure you store your wine properly!
How to store wine bottles at home?
1. Mind the right temperature
From all the factors that have an impact on stored wine, the temperature is the most important one. Too cold or too warm temperatures can easily spoil a perfectly good bottle of wine.
Generally speaking, for both long-term and short-term storage, the ideal temperature should be 13º C .
However, some specific wines need to be kept at other temperatures, which are known to their manufacturer.
But even if it is the most specific wine in the world, it shouldnt be kept at temperature beyond 20º C or below -4º C . If the temperature is below that level, the wine can freeze. While if it is above the recommended range, the waging process can be accelerated, and some of its compounds can be inevitably lost.
4. Mind the Humidity
Dont: Keep Your Wine Upright
If you dont have a proper wine rack, storing wine horizontally as opposed to upright can be difficult. But, according to Papoutsakis, its important in order to keep the cork from getting too dry.
If the cork starts drying up, it can shrivel and allow air to come in the bottle, prematurely oxidizing the wine, Paoutsakis says, explaining that oxidation causes wine to lose its vibrancy, color, or both. If its for a short term , wine bottles can be placed upright, but for long term, the cork needs to have contact with the wine to sustain moisture. You can make an exception if the bottles have screw caps, glass or plastic corks.
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How Should I Store My Wine Once It Has Been Opened
A question we see a lot is what do you do with your homemade wine once opened and how do you store it? The first thing you should learn is to re-cork the bottle once you have poured each serving to stop the wine reacting with oxygen .
You should store your opened bottle of wine away from light and under room temperature, making the fridge the ideal place. With the bottle re-corked and kept in the fridge, this slows down the oxidation process, keeping the wine fresh for up to five days, although you should probably finish the bottle within three days of opening it for the best quality.
If I Want To Age My Wine Do I Necessarily Need A Wine Cooler
Some wines are purchased for immediate consumption while others to lay down and age gracefully. When wines are young, we taste their primary wine flavors such as citrus in Riesling or plum in Merlot that meld with secondary flavors from winemaking techniques like vanilla flavors from oak or buttery nuances from malolactic fermentation. But when wines age we begin to notice their tertiary potential, notes that come only with time like concentrated dried fruits. Honey, herbal notes, mushroom, stone, and earth also come to the forefront during the aging process as acids and alcohols react to form new compounds presenting as tertiary notes. Whites become more viscous and golden, and reds become smoother. Sounds enticing and worth the wait, doesnt it? So, how does one best age wine and do I need a wine cooler?
For many wine lovers who become collectors, looking back on an older vintage brings back the memories of that year where you bought the wine, what you thought to pair it with, and who to share it with. Not only will the aging process add finesse and complexity to the wine over the years, you may be pleasantly surprised to find that the wines have also appreciated in value.
-Christopher Colloca at Colloca Estate Winery
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How To Properly Store Wine
How to store your wine so itll last for years.
The idea of wine storage may evoke images of a vast cellar filled with dusty bottles of priceless vintage Bordeaux. But anyone with a few bottles on hand at home can benefit from learning these five Ws of proper wine storage.
Who: Any serious collector worth his tannin will want to purchase a professional quality wine cooling system, which can cost upwards of $1,000. Everyone else, from weekend wine drinkers to armchair oenophiles, need only follow a few basic storage guidelines to preserve wine at its best without breaking the bank.
Why: Not every wine is designed to age for a decade or more. In fact, most wines are meant to be consumed much soonerwithin a year or two after they hit the market. Still, like most items of quality, wine fairs best when stored with certain environmental factors in mind.
What: The pros advise storing a wine bottle on its side so that the wine comes in contact with the cork, thus preventing the cork from drying out. Bottles with screw-top closures or plastic corks, as well as sparkling wines can be stored vertically, though horizontal storage is often more compact and practical. Wine storage racks are easy to come by at most home décor shops or wine stores. If you tend to store more than a few bottles at a time, and have the space and funds to spare, consumer-grade wine coolers start at about $300.
Its Better In The Dark
Ever notice how wines, especially Champagne, come in tinted bottles? Theres a reason for it. Wines do better in the dark, and thick, colored glass bottles help keep the light out. For one, light creates heat, so leaving a bottle on a cabinet near a window will likely turn bad more quickly than the same bottle stored inside that piece of furniture. Sunlight also warms the wine without the necessary level of humidity, meaning the cork can dry out and the wine could oxidize when you dont want it to.
Also, UV rays break down the chemicals and molecules that allow the wine to slowly age, throwing off the balance of the process and potentially ruining your wine. To prevent this, store bottles away from direct sunlight, avoid bright rooms, and dont use fluorescent light bulbs near your aging wine.
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Putting Wine In The Fridge
Heres a little secret wine doesnt like super cold temperatures.
And putting your wine in a regular refrigerator is a quick way to spoil it. To put this into perspective, the ideal wine storage temperature is around 55 F whereas the average fridge is 40 F.
So instead of putting your wine in a regular fridge, put it in a wine fridge. That way, you can ensure your wine is staying at the correct temperature 24/7.
How Long Can Sparkling Wine Be Stored At Home
How long your sparkling wine will last depends on storing it the right way. If stored correctly, your bottle of sparkling wine should last up to three years, if not longer. Traditional champagne can be stored for up to 10 years under ideal storage conditions.
The production method of the sparkling wine also impacts how long you can store your favorite bubbly at home. French champagne, made using the traditional method is known to last longer than sparkling wine made using the tank method. While good champagne can be stored for up to 10 years, Prosecco is best served after being stored for two years. Any sparkling wine made with the traditional method can be stored for slightly longer, between three to four years.
If you leave your sparkling wine for too long, it will start to lose its carbonation with CO2 seeping through the cork. The flavors will become flat and even acidic with the aromas being lost during the aging process.
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