Over the years, wine consumption has become
more and more popular. With more and more money going into wine
both as an investment and for later consumption, the history of
the wine will always be in question. With this in mind, many
people often wonder how they can properly store their wine and
take care of it at the same time.
How you store your wine is extremely important. If you store it
right it can lead to euphoria, while if you store it wrong it
can lead to depression. When you tear into a bottle of wine that
has properly been stored, it can be glorious indeed, while
tearing into bottle of poorly stored wine can be quite the
letdown. Often times, drinking a bottle of wine that was poorly
stored is much like drinking vinegar.
To properly store wine, you’ll need to meet several factors,
such as humidity, temperature, lighting, the cleanliness of your
storage area, the angle of the bottle while it is stored, and
the vibration of the bottle on the rack. The temperature is the
most important, as you should keep it around 50 degrees at all
times. This way, the lower temperature can help to age the wine.
If there are any fluctuations in the temperature, you should
make sure that it happens slowly. As long as the temperature
doesn’t go to high and it fluctuates slowly, your wine should be
ok.
The proper level of humidity for storing wine should be around
70%, although it is perfectly accepted to keep it 10% above or
below the 70% level. If you have too high of a humidity
temperature, the labels can easily rot or mold, which can affect
the wine’s value. On the other hand, if the humidity gets too
low, around 50%, the cork could shrink and bring air into the
wine, which would ruin it in little to no time at all.
The angle that wine is stored is important as well. If the wine
stays in contact with the cork during storage, the cork won’t
dry out. If the wine doesn’t stay in contact with the cork, the
cork could dry out and allow air into the wine. You should also
strive to keep the wine out of the light, as light can ruin any
type of wine. Light causes the wine to age prematurely, making
it in your best interest to store wine in a dark location.
To prevent damage to the wine from sediment, you should also
store wine in a location that is free of vibration. If you store
wine in places that are free from vibration, it will give the
sediment in the bottle ample time to settle. Vibrations are
never a good thing for wine, as the sediment becomes unsettled
and can ruin the wine or shake it to the point where it tastes
horrible.
To protect the quality and investment of your wine, storage and
care is very important. Storing it in a proper location will
also bring the best taste. In the world of wine, nothing is more
disappointing than waiting several years to open a bottle of
fine wine, only to find that it is nothing but vinegar. You can
prevent this from happening though, by taking care of your wine.
Wine isn’t hard to care for or store, it just takes the right
conditions and location. Everyone loves some fine wine every now
and then - which is why storage and care is so very important
these days.
