For centuries now, wine has been the epitome of guest entertainment both for plush hotels and the better off homes as well. However, the challenge many restaurant and homeowners face has been how to store the aver so expensive wine till the next time it will be required. Since, while is easily affected by several environmental factors such as humidity, light, vibrations and many others, you need to be well informed on how to store your precious drink whether before or after it is opened.
Best Conditions
Before understanding the various ways you can store your wine, it is important that you get to know the ideal conditions required. The easiest way to spoil your white or red wine is to store it under the wrong conditions. Before selecting the perfect position for your bottle, consider the lighting, temperature and humidity of the place. Wine is better stored in a place with consistent temperatures, humidity and light intensity. Regular deviations in any one of these conditions will greatly reduced the life span of your drink. Here are some of the ways you can store your wine:
Cellars
These are the best places to store your wine, and are thus common in many hotels and pubs. For such wine collectors who have a cellar where they can store their wine, the process is much easier. But what about those who keep whines at their homes? Here is a look into how you can store wine even at home.
Racks
Another good practice when storing wine is to keep the bottles on a rack so that they can lie sideways. This way, the cork remains moist most of the time and air is thus kept out. In addition, sediments will be kept from settling at the bottom. When using racks, red wines should be closer to the top, whites in the middle and sparkling wine at the bottom.
Basements
Despite not being considered by many, the basement is one perfect place to store your wine bottles. This is because:
- Basements will always remain cool even during the summer.
- Unless you live in a place that experiences occasional earthquakes, you can be guaranteed minimum movement in the basement thus limited vibrations.
- Basements remain dark most of the time so you need not be worried about changes in light intensity.
- Wine lives longest when stored under 55-650 F and at 70-80% humidity, conditions well met in basements.
What About Opened Bottles?
In case you had already opened your wine bottle, always return the cork tightly into position. In case the remaining wine is less than half the bottle, pour the drink into a smaller bottle and replace its top. This is will ensure that minimum air accesses the wine surface. To make the wine last even longer, store the bottle in a refrigerator.
The trick with storing wine is just in striking a balance with the right conditions. With all the above methods in mind, the days when your expensive wine used to go bad should be long gone.