Monday, May 21, 2012

Storing Wine Collection Safely in a Wine Cellar

By Jeff Marshall


If you store a considerable number of wine bottles in your place of residence, then it is important to store them properly. This means that you should at least have wine cellar which acts as the fundamental storage unit for the wine. It should not just be a hidden area in the home. The cellar shields the wine while at the same time, allowing it to mature into the desired feel as expected. If you have a wine cellar, then you should keep the following things in your mind as you store the wine.

1.) Regulate Moisture Level and Temperatures

Controlling humidity and temperatures of wine cellars is a very important aspect of wine storage. But, several people seem not to be aware of the need to control temperatures and humidity in the cellar. For your information, humidity moistens the cork and prevents it from drying. If the cellar is not moist, then the cork shrinks and this may cause wine to be sucked through the cork. Additionally, oxygen may also pass through and cause mold. But, if the average humidity is maintained at 65%, then the cork will remain intact.

Additionally, extreme temperatures may ruin the wine, but at 55F, the wine remains good. Failure to keep track of temperature changes may lead to reduction in wine quality. A cooling mechanism should be installed in a wine cellar to create favourable temperatures for wine storage. This mechanism will eliminate reliance on external environment conditions when storing wine.

2.) Keep the Wine Still

When storing the wine, ensure that there is no disturbance or vibration of the bottles. Some people are too happy to stock wines above the refrigerator for convenience, but refrigerators have vibrations which agitate the wine. In turn, this prevents the sediments from settling in the wine and this destroys the quality of good wine. So, keep the wines stationed in a place with minimum vibrations to maintain its quality.

3.) Wine Bottles should be Kept in a Slanting Position

The next thing to do is to store the bottles in a slanting position. This has been the tradition for quite some time and there are reasons for this custom. Slanting the bottles of wine increases contact between the wine and cork. This is necessary to prevent the cork from reducing in size. When the cork is kept moist, oxygen is kept out and so the quality of wine remains intact. Naturally, oxygen turns the color of wine and its flavor too.

4.) Keep it Dark

As you would expect, colored bottles of wine come with UV filters to prevent light from passing through into the wine. But, this doesn't protect the wine completely. When wine comes into contact with light for a long period, then its flavor fades away. In effect, the wine then ages prematurely and loses its inherent quality. Most people think that white wine is the one which is only affected, but red wine is also affected by exposure to UV.

To sum it up, it is necessary to control the level of moisture and temperature in a wine storage facility. This helps create the best conditions for storage. Changes in temperatures and moisture levels reduce the value of wine. Wine bottles should be stored while leaning on the side and should be kept in places with least disturbance. These are among the tips you can try out when storing wine safely to secure its quality.




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