Properly preserving wine is crucial for those who are building their own wine cellar, whether small or large. Here are some practical tips for organising the space in your home, useful for maintaining the properties of wine for longer.
Here is a small guide to storing wine at home, in 6+4 points. So that you don't make mistakes and store wine bottles in the best possible way, even for those who don't have a proper cellar at their disposal.
- In the cellar at home, wine should be kept in the dark to avoid oxidative processes and thus degradation;
- Bottles should be kept lying flat, with the label facing upwards so that it can be checked and easily recognised. In this way the cork will not dry out and will not let oxygen pass through (some fear that wine stored horizontally will pick up the taste of the cork, but if the cork is sound it will not transmit anything, despite direct contact). But be careful: if a fine bottle has been 'standing' for a long time then it is better to keep it vertical, because the cork will have started to dry out.
- Your home cellar environment must be ventilated - to prevent the formation of mould - and free of strong odours, which could affect the wine;
- In your cellar keep the temperature stable, between 10 and 18 degrees (10-12 degrees is ideal for white wines and 12-15 for reds - so 13° C is a good average for all types) and the humidity between 60% and 80%;
- Keep the bottles in this order, from the bottom: sparkling wines first, then white wines, rosés and red wines higher up. In this way the bottles will be at the most appropriate temperature according to type;
- Protect the bottles by preventing them from vibrating.
- Read also: how to choose Coravin
What to do if you do not have a cellar to store wine?
Even without having a dedicated room such as a wine cellar, it is possible to keep the properties of wine intact at home with a few small precautions that you absolutely must know:
- Store bottles that you intend to drink later in a dark place, always lying down;
- Bottles that you intend to drink at a later date should be kept away from large windows so that they are not affected by temperature changes and sunlight;
- Keep the temperature of the room used for storage as stable as possible, and absolutely avoid storing wine in the hottest parts of the house;
- Then there is the wine cellar fridge, the ideal and professional solution for storage, especially if you have valuable bottles to collect.
SIf you want to build a collection of your own: in our EXPERT PLAN we always include a mix of wines to uncork immediately along with others to collect.
