Storing Wine

The process of wine production, from preparing the vines all the way through to opening and enjoying a good wine, is something few of us really stop to consider.

However, the quality of the final product has a lot to do with the way that the grapes have been handled and processed, from harvesting through to bottling as well as corking or sealing, transportation, storage and retailing.

If you enjoy good wine then you will want to ensure that it is stored correctly – so that there is no deterioration in the quality by the time you choose to open a bottle. If you are lucky enough to have a cellar within your premises then this can be the ideal solution for the storage of wine. For most people though a cellar is a luxury, so making sure that your wine is stored in the best way possible is very important.

A good wine cellar should have a solid door with a strong lock. It should be free from odours, noise, vibration and light. A relative humidity of around 90% and a constant temperature-as near as possible to 10 – 11 degrees Centigrade is also desirable. A wine cellar needs to remain cool as if a cellar is too warm it will accelerate ageing and therefore deprive the wine of some, if not all, of its quality.

If you have purchased a large number of bottles then it is a good idea to keep a register of all of your wines so that you are aware of how they are maturing and when they are ready for drinking. The wines should also be laid down horizontally and clearly labelled.

Even if you do not have a cellar the same broad principles apply for storing wine because the more care that is taken about storage, the better the wine will mature, and better it will ultimately taste.

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