Storing Your Wine for Optimal Taste
If you like wine, as I do, you can find any occasion to open a bottle. You may have a bottle or two around the house. That’s what I always did, that way I was always ready for a last minute guest or event, but I didn’t know one thing: how to store my wine properly.
There’s a lot of wine rules and standards that a bunch of wine enthusiast follow, but Ii was never one to follow them. I assumed that knowing the basics was all I needed to enjoy my wine just enough, without overdoing it. At first, I didn’t use a Ravenscroft wine decanter or even gave a second thought to the type of wine glasses I was using. This went for how I stored my wine as well. I decided to try something different, I stored my wine the right way and it made a huge difference in the taste of the wine.
Temperature: It does not matter what kind of wine you have, it should always be stored in a cool dry place! This is why wine enthusiast have wine cellars, for optimal taste! The best temperature for wine storage is approximately 55 degrees F.Any warmer than this temperature and you will definitly notice a difference in the taste of your wine. Try to keep your wine at a constant temperature, as this change will dramatically change the taste of your wine.
Light: Make sure if you want your wine to retain its original full flavor, that you store it in a place where not a lot of light can get at it. If a bottle of wine is in the light for extended periods of time, it will age the wine considerably, affecting its flavors.
Humidity: Another key consideration when it comes to optimal wine storage is making sure that the humidity levels are just right. Overall, It should be more humid than not in order to keep the wine corks from shrinking. Air will oxidize your wine, so make sure you don’t get cork shrinkage. So, what the right humidity level for storing wine? Between 65-75%. This is why damp basements and cellars can work so well for wine storage.
Sideways: So many wine racks and cellars hold their wine bottles sideways instead of upright, this may seem a strange one to some, but it’s worked for thousands of years? Yes. It is because in order to ensure that the cork is protected from shrinking, it needs to stay moist. That said, the best way to keep the cork moist is to store your wine on it’s side.
Travel: When traveling with your wine, you know, to a party or to a BYOB resaurant be sure to use a wine tote bag.This will protect your wine while boucing around during transport and hold the temerature as well.
