Top Tips to Store Wine

As you might expect, December is an incredibly busy time of year for us here at Uncorked Ventures.  I think making use of this space whenever possible makes a ton of sense and given my relative lack of time during this time of year (hey, call to order a wine club or gift basket and I might answer myself) I thought another guest post might be in order. Enjoy and Happy Holidays! Oh and thanks Doreen for sharing our first wine storage article.  It's been said (and studied I might add) that 98% of wine is consumed within 48 hours of being purchased and even among our high end wine club customers, not all have cellars, but I'd be willing to bet that a greater number of our customers are patient with their wine than the average group of consumers.

Wine is a really great drink that can enhance your meals and even provide you with a lot of great health benefits. Collecting wine is a really great hobby as well and knowing some essential facts about wine can be a great conversation topic at dinner parties.

In order to ensure that your wine tastes great it is a good idea to pay attention to the way you store it.Here are some important tips for storing wine correctly.

The Right Temperature

One of the most important things to consider when storing wine is the temperature it is stored in. The key is to try and find a middle ground for not keeping them too cool or too warm.

It is essential to know that heat is the worst thing for a wine bottle. Storing your wine in any temperature above 20 degree Celsius for a long period and your wine will age quicker than desired.

Ideally you want to store your wine in temperatures between 7 to 18 degrees Celsius.

Yet this also doesn’t mean that storing wine in a colder temperature is going to be good for the wine either. For example, keeping your wine bottles in the fridge for longer than two to three months can result in the cork drying out and letting air inside the bottle.

If you are only going to store the wine bottle for a few months or even less than two years then you don’t need to worry too much about the temperature. As long as it doesn’t fluctuate too much your wines will be just wine.

Keep Light Away

Even more important than temperature is the amount of light the bottle is exposed to. The best is to keep your bottles stored away from direct sunlight or light in general. A box or a cupboard might be a really good idea to consider.

There are a lot of great ideas for storing wines and you don’t necessarily need to invest into a special wine cellar or a cooler either. Check out tips from websites such as BHG.com and get inspired.

Sideways Whenever Possible

One thing that you must keep in mind, especially with cork bottles, is that they need to be kept sideways. This is because having the bottle sideways will allow the wine to touch the cork and keep it moist.

And when the cork is moist it won’t shrink and allow the air in. Once air gets inside the wine bottle it’ll quite quickly turn bad. Therefore stay on the safe side with your wine and store it sideways.

Bottles That Have Been Opened

Sometimes you open a wine bottle but won’t finish it all in one go and you might worry if it’ll stay good for the next time. But there are ways to ensure you get to enjoy a glass on the next day as well.

Try to re-cork the wine as best as you can or buy a reusable wine cork that allows you to pump out the air as well. White wines tend to stay good for around two days and red wines can last one day longer in the fridge.

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Doreen loves wine and she is especially interested in learning more about the wine vintage chart and the history of wine. When she isn’t browsing the web for great wines she likes to spend time planning her next trip abroad.