We share a couple of tips on what you should do when you have bought a bottle of wine that you're not planning on drinking right away. Remember that only a small amount of wine benefit maturing for more than 5 years so be sure to let your consultant know when you're planning on storing wine so they may assist you with the correct purchase.
Follow the below tips to safely store your wine and enjoy investment or occasion wine in a couple of years.
1. Wine should be kept chilled, but not too cold
Keeping wine at room temperature is a mistake many people make. The warmer the temperature, the faster the wine will age and most likely go bad and become sour. Keeping your wine in the kitchen fridge is also a no-go unless it's a temperature controlled wine fridge. Kitchen fridges are usually too cold and can dry out the corks as the fridge removed humidity as well as preventing the wine from developing.
2. Store your wine on its side
The cork should be kept moist at all times to keep it from drying out and shrinking resulting in corked wine. Storing your wine for a couple of weeks while upright is perfectly fine but keep it on its side if you want to mature your wine for 2-3 years.
3. Keep your wine at a constant temperature.
A mild, constant temperature is best. Store your wine close to a wall on the inside of your house. Storing it close to an outside wall will result in fluctuating temperatures as the seasons change throughout the year. It is also important to note that wine should not be kept in direct sunlight or harsh interior sunlight. A closet or wine cabinet is usually a good space.
4. Don't worry too much about humidity
Unless you live in arctic or desert conditions, humidity won't play a big role in storing wines. Do, however, stay aware of very damp conditions as it may promote mould. It will not have an impact on the wine itself but will affect the label.
5. Keep vibrations to a minimum
This will not affect the average wine collector but is important to mention. Don't store wine on top of your fridge or close to a washing machine, tumble dryer etc. Vibrations may affect the sediment in older wines, keeping it from settling and making them gritty.
The best place to store your bottles is a basement, providing it is not too damp. An empty space in a closet will also work well if it's against an inside wall as previously mentioned. If you do decide to buy a wine rack consider doubling the amount of storage. Once you have started collecting wines it is hard to stop, and you may find yourself running out of space sooner than you think.
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Explore our Rosendal Reserve Range
1 comment
I found it helpful when you said that you can consider storing your wine close to a wall on the inside of your house since a mild, constant temperature is the best for storage. This is something that I will share with my brother so he can consider hiring a wine cellar consultant. He said that he is planning to store and collect wine which he would like to display in the bar area of the house that was constructed last month. He will surely appreciate your tips as he wants the wine to be stored properly. https://certifiedwinecellars.com/services/