8 things that you should know about wine storage at home
Along with the trend of wine, more and more people enjoy wines and store their favorite one at home. But it’s not easy to become a professional wine collector. The improper storage ways may deteriorate and even destroy your treasured wine. There are 8 things that you should know about wine storage at home.
- Keep the temperature stable for wine storage at home
The charm and taste of wine are coming from its complex chemical components after natural fermentation. And these components will keep slow reactions to enrich the flavor of wine, that’s what we call ageing. The ideal ageing is slow, but it will speed up when the temperature is high, and it will be out of control when the temperature is rapidly changed. To keep the temperature stably around 12 degree Celsius is important for wine storage at home.
- Keep a proper humidity
The influence by humidity is not about the ageing process, but about the corks and cleanness. How to know whether the humidity is suitable for wine storage at home? A proper humidity is around 70%. A simple psychrometer will show you both temperature and humidity clearly. If the space is too humid, the corks and labels are easy to be putrid. The polluted labels will reduce the value of wine, while the decayed corks will lead the bacterial invade the wine liquid and make the wine inedible. If the space is too dry, the cork will lose its elasticity, and not able to seal the bottle tight. The oxygen in air can get into the bottle through cork and cause uncontrolled oxidation, which will degrade the quality of wine.
- Reduce the light in the wine storage at home
Have you ever noticed why the tinted bottles for red wine and colorless bottles for white wine? The color material in wine which mostly come from the grape skin, is sensitive to the light, especially the sunlight, so the red wine should use the tinted bottle. But the tinted bottle is not able to shield all the light. On the other hand, red wine commonly has a better performance than the white wine in cellaring, so we should avoid the daylight when planning the wine storage at home.
- A good ventilation is needed for wine storage at home
The tiny pores in the cork allow the oxygen getting inside slowly to age the wine, while it also allow the other scents and smell getting inside to deteriorate the wine, so a good ventilation is important for cellars, and always remember that don’t storage the wine along with the things with heavy smell such as pickled food or cheese. And that’s also why we don’t suggest pantry or fridge for wine storage at home.
- How you put the wine bottle also matters
It’s better to lay flat the wine bottles which are sealed with cork, to maintain the good condition of cork. But laying or standing doesn’t matter for some of the wine from the New World which are using screwcaps.
- Dealing with the unfinished wine
Once took off the cork, the wine is not suitable for long storage anymore. As time goes by, the wine keeps reaction with the air, and turn to wine vinegar. If you cannot finish the wine in one time, you’d better store them in wine fridge and finish them as soon as possible. If the wine is partly or totally become vinegar, it is also a good seasoning for salad and other dishes.
- Not every wine is potential for cellaring
It’s a misunderstanding that, every wine is potential for cellaring, and longer it’s stored, better the quality. Each wine has its best taste period. Sparkling wine and white wine don’t need longtime ageing, or the longtime storage will degrade them. So do the red table wines. Only those potential wine will become better and enrich their flavor during the proper longtime storage. But if the wine storage at home is not ideal, the potential cannot be fully stimulated. If you regard the wine collection as an investment, you should learn more relevant knowledge as a wine collector and improve the wine storage environment and equipment, so that the wine can gradually appreciate over time. The wine is best when you taste it during its best period.
wine storage at home
- A set of well-designed wine racks enhance the practicality and aesthetic
Wine racks are musts for wine storage at home to put your wines all in order. The custom wine rack design also reflects the taste of the owners. When ordering the custom wine racks, designers will design the style of them according to the space size, the varieties and quantities of wines, the aesthetics of owners and the functions required. Ciematic is a custom wine rack solution provider. If you want to know about the custom wine rack design, welcome to consult us.