How to store wine?

Unlike other drinks that no longer evolve when placed in bottles, the Wine is an extremely sensitive living product to its environment.

To ensure your flacons an Wine ageing in the best conditions and the preservation of their full potential, many criteria must be taken into consideration, both in how you store your bottles and in maintaining a Good temperature, of a humidity level mastered or again for light protection.

Here are the different factors to consider if you wish to store your Grands Crus and all the cellaring wines under optimal conditions:

• Your wine cellar, and its location, will play an essential role in the conservation potential of your wine bottles. Beyond respecting the scoring criteria for white or red wines, you should also take into account your vision for the wine cellar.

Depending on whether you wish to admire your bottles and make your wine cellar a real feature room in your home, or if you prefer to install it in the dim light of your basement or natural cellar, the equipment will differ.

• Damp is an essential factor for the proper preservation of your bottles and the safeguarding of aromas and tannins. Contrary to popular belief, the more humid a wine storage room is, the better it is for the quality of the beverages.

Indeed, the surrounding humidity in a wine cellar prevents corks from drying out and the beverage from coming into contact with ambient air, which is a source of evaporation and oxidation.

The only deterioration that can occur is to the label, which you can protect by wrapping it in a layer of cling film, for example.

• The heat. A high temperature in a cellar will accelerate the process of evolution and ageing of the wine. If this temperature remains stable or varies progressively, there is not too great a risk to the quality of your fine wines.

However, damage to the wine can be irreparable if temperature changes are too drastic, causing thermal shock which can be fatal for the wine, especially if repeated.

• The light. The true enemy of wine, light in a wine cellar should be limited, especially for white wines which fear natural light as much as artificial lighting, which gives them what is known as «light taint».

Light in a cellar should be limited to the times you spend with your bottles.

• The choice of Bottle formats. It should be noted that wine will tend to oxidise more easily in small bottles. The larger the container, the more likely the wine is to retain its freshness. For wines you plan to age for more than ten years, it is customary to prefer the magnum. This condition applies to all types of wine, particularly champagne.

As you have understood, wine is a drink to be respected and requires great attention in the Storage conditions to be respected.

But to keep one's wine is not an end in itself; you must also know how to open your bottles at the right time, without waiting too long, at the risk of the aromas deteriorating, your patience and efforts going to waste.