Wine connoisseurs know all the basics of wine: the flavors infused in a Chardonnay, how to properly swirl and sip during a wine tasting, or perhaps even cheese pairings for your own collection. But it’s equally important to know how to store wine in order to keep your bottles in pristine condition. Follow these steps for successfully transporting and storing your wine collection!
Prevent Breaks
Be sure to cushion your wine collection on the way to a storage unit. It’s a crucial step in avoiding any broken bottles, and a wine shipping kit is a perfect way to keep your wine secure on the road. You can fit up to 12 bottles in each kit.
Control the Temperature
Keeping wine the right temperature is extremely important, as temperatures higher than 70 degrees run the risk of aging your wine too quickly, and temperatures below 45 degrees could dry out the corks, letting air into the wine or causing it to freeze. Any added heat might even flatten the flavors–so it’s important to keep it at just the right temperature: around 55 degrees. If you don’t have a cellar or another way to properly store your wine collection, you can opt for climate controlled storage. In climate controlled storage, you can keep tabs on the temperature of your space to ensure that your collection stays fresh when storing your wine.
Manage Lighting & Positioning
Wine is affected by light, particularly from the sun’s UV rays. That’s why the glass bottles are tinted–so opt to keep the lights out in your storage unit when storing your wine. Keep your bottles stored horizontally (rather than upright) so the cork stays moist; you don’t want to let any air or impurities in, should it dry out and leave openings. The horizontal organization also offers more efficient use of space.
Keep It Steady
Storing wine requires a stable environment for the bottles so that there aren’t any chemical reactions unintentionally sped up within the liquid during transportation. A storage room provides a safe spot for your wine collection, so you won’t have to worry about any damaging movements to your bottles.
Just as it’s important to consume wine responsibly, storing your wine responsibly is also paramount. Follow these tips to keep your wine collection as good as new!
(flickr: stevendepolo / via CC)
What tips do you have for storing wine? Let us know in the comments below!
