Have you ever experienced this situation? Does it sound familiar? After buying a much-desired wine to consume in exclusive moments with family and friends, soon the question arises: how to store the wine at home and preserve its qualities?
Precisely so that you don’t worry about the correct storage of wine anymore, prepare these 5 practical tips, which will help you preserve your favorite drink’s qualities. It is worth emphasizing that the main villains of wine are heat, light, and oxygen.
So, whether in a particular corner of your house, in a cellar, door to door storage or the fridge, the wine needs to be protected from these natural interferences combined? So, let’s get to the tips!
Store Wine Standing Or Lying Down?
A fundamental concept among oenophiles is that wines sealed with stoppers need to be stored horizontally to keep the liquid in contact with the stopper, leaving the stopper always moist to expand and prevent air from entering the bottle.
This applies especially to so-called aging wines to avoid chemical reactions that are unfavorable to the aging of the drink. However, currently, there are few wines of this category produced in the vineyard to be stored for long years. Most bottles are sold for consumption within a few years.
Recent studies have evaluated the entry of oxygen into the bottles as a function of storage position (horizontal and vertical). For example, Australian researchers studied, for five years, the intake of air in bottles stored lying down and standing.
They found that the difference in oxygen concentration in these two cases is insignificant to affect the drink. So, for drinking wines in a few years, it’s okay if you store them vertically.
Best Place To Store Wines At Home
You learned that heat, light, and oxygen are the main villains in wine conservation, remember? Whether in the fridge, in a wine cellar (ห้อง เก็บ ไวน์ which the term in Thai), or any corner of your house, remember to take this into account when storing your labels. It is essential to highlight that the wineries, in most cases, are more recommended and functional for those who want to invest in guard wines. First of all, define a comfortable place to store your wine bottles protected from sunlight and artificial lighting. Light rays can affect the coolness of the drink. Also, avoid environments with low humidity, as they can cause the corks to dry out and, consequently, increase the entry of oxygen into the bottle, affecting the quality of the drink.
It is also worth checking if the place is firm to store the bottles. Places with stability – free from vibrations – should be preferred to avoid rocking and vibrations affecting the wine’s flavor and aroma.
Uncorked? And Now, What To Do?
Avoid using the same stopper to close the bottle again, as the cork can be contaminated once in contact with other objects. An alternative is metal seals.
Remove impurities from the outside with a clean cloth dampened with alcohol.
Remember that it is necessary to avoid shaking? So if you use the fridge to store the wine, avoid putting the bottle in the door.
