The ideal situation would be if we all had great big wine cellars that had air conditioned systems and air purifiers. These mean you can put your feet up and not concern yourself with your wines welfare as they will always be in the best environment to age beautifully. Sadly, this is not often the case and so most of us need to use what we have available to us. Outlined here are the top pieces of advice for the storage of wine.
Location. Your bottles, both white and red wine, are best placed in a cool room, away from the light and with moderate humidity levels. The most efficient temperature for storage of your bottles should be between 10° and 16° C (50° to 61° F).Anything warmer than this will start to have negative effects on the quality of the wine, and a temp 25° C or more will have even more dramatic consequences on flavour. leaving the bottle in direct sunlight can not only discolor it but also affect the air temperature inside the bottle. The bottle’s cork can expand or shrink depending on the levels of moisture in the room air. This can lead to oxidation, a common problem where air seeps into the bottle and causes the wine (over a period of time) to react with the oxygen.
Positioning. The bottles should be laid down flat or with the neck very slightly higher when being stored. This is because the cork will dry out and shrink if there is not liquid in contact with it at all times. This can cause the wine to suffer from oxidation, a mentioned previously.
Display. You don’t want your pride and joys to be hidden away the whole time. occasionally you have an urge to bring them out and show them off. A good choice is often a wooden wine cabinet due to the fact these tend to maintain a steady temperature and always go for one that lets you store your wines on their side.Don’t pick any that have a glass cover or doors as they can often trap heat inside when there is light on them.
