Who has never dreamt of acquiring a Bordeaux Grand Cru or Burgundy for to let age and savour it for a special occasion many years later? However, if you don't pay attention to the conditions in which you store your red wine bottles, you are likely to be disappointed when you open them by a Tasting which will not live up to your expectations.

Indeed, the Red wine it does not stop its evolution during bottling, it is to allow it to improve that the wine must undergo a process of ageing bottled. However, a Bottle of red wine must be accompanied and stored in optimal conditions to hope to see the beverage fulfil its full potential Tannins and of’flavours.

What should be taken into account for good red wine conservation?

Four priorities must be mandatory in a space of red wine bottle storage temperature, darkness, humidity and positioning.

The temperature

A fine red wine needs time to reveal itself and reach its peak. Experts agree that the ideal temperature for optimal aging of a red wine should be between 11 and 13 degrees Celsius.

Constantly evolving in its bottle, red wine is susceptible to sudden temperature fluctuations and variations. Therefore, beyond maintaining an ideal temperature, it's primarily the thermal shock that must be avoided, to prevent irreparable damage.

The darkness

Wine is a living product that fears natural sunlight as much as artificial lighting. Although it requires prolonged exposure to light to harm the quality of red wine, it is best to give it every chance to improve by limiting lighting and storing your fine wines in the dark.

Damp

Contrary to popular belief, a wine cellar needs to be humid for red wine to age in the bottle. In fact, it is advisable to store your bottles in an environment with a relative humidity of between 75 and 80% to ensure ideal storage conditions.

Glass, being impermeable by nature, isn't about the desired humidity rate interacting with the wine's composition, but rather about preventing corks, particularly the corks made of natural cork which are the preserve of great vintages and wines meant for aging, from drying out, becoming porous, and thus allowing air to come into contact with the liquid.

You risk your wine evaporating quickly, but also premature oxidation which will make the wine undrinkable.

The positioning

To store your red wine bottles, the ideal is to favour the use of racks, shelves or’wine racks which allow your bottles to remain in a horizontal position.

A key condition for the proper conservation of red wine is that storing a bottle lying down maintains contact between the liquid and the cork stopper, thus preserving the cork's elasticity and the bottle's perfect seal.

If you do not have a place that allows you to meet all these criteria and you wish keep your fine wines a suitable red wine, then we advise you to’invest in a wine cellar tailor-made who promises you a Ideal ageing for your wines, whatever the outside conditions.