There is nothing worse – as happened to a dear friend of ours recently – than when opening a treasured bottle of wine (in his case a Meursault) you discover all you can do is pour it down the sink! While talking to friend and colleague Lucy Hargreaves of Spiral Cellars recently, we suggested she share some of her thoughts on storing wine successfully so that you can enjoy it at its best even if it’s been kept for a while.
Wine is a living product and as such needs to be treated
appropriately to ensure it is enjoyed at its best.
Creating the right conditions is the key to prolonging the
life of your wine collection, including the correct temperature and humidity
ranges and a dark environment, which is vibration free.
Temperature is the most critical aspect in storing wine; if
it becomes too warm it speeds up the ageing process and the wine will lose its
vibrancy, becoming old and flabby. Wine is happy in environments where any
temperature changes are very gradual, such as slow fluctuations between summer
and winter temperatures in below-ground cellars. The ideal temperature range is
around 8-18°C and, as long as there are no sudden fluctuations, the wine will
be happy at either end of the scale. The impact of high temperatures on wine
can be catastrophic - individual wine collectors in France felt the full
effects of extreme temperatures on their wines when the heat wave of 1976
struck. There was no commercial way of storing wine at that time and, unless a
house had an existing cellar the wine was often stacked up in the garage, an unprotected
space where temperatures can fluctuate easily and frequently. Many bottles were
tipped down the sink that year, in some cases no doubt followed by the owner’s
tears.
Humidity is also key to wine storage. By storing wine
bottles horizontally and in a slightly damp atmosphere the corks aren’t able to
dry out and so air can’t enter the bottle and oxidise the wine. This is of
course a balancing act in itself as an environment that is too humid can damage
the bottle labels, and so identification and display are affected. One may
assume that the success of selling on the wine may also be hindered, but a
collection for investment should be stored in a bonded warehouse rather than at
home, to avoid paying duty and VAT but also to help prove the provenance of the
wine.
Direct sunlight on wine creates adverse chemical reactions
that can spoil it. Aside from the packaging of wine, often in dark green
bottles, which helps to prevent the impact of light, collectors can also
protect the wine by ensuring it is kept in a dark environment. Ideally, this
should be within professional storage, whether that be a wine cabinet or a
cellar, as both have been designed to eliminate this risk.
Vibration of wine is likely to accelerate the ageing
process, as any movement disturbs the sediments in the bottle and disrupts how
it would age naturally. A stable environment is therefore critical so that,
once laid down, the wine is then not disturbed until it is ready to be drunk.
Above-ground storage, such as cabinets, is subject to everyday floor movements
as residents walk around, whereas below-ground cellars are more stable as they
are cushioned by the surrounding earth. I have heard many horror stories over
the years of collectors storing their wine under the stairs, in the garage or
even in the conservatory, and each time they have opened bottles to find the
wine is spoilt. These areas of the home all receive regular, and sometimes
sudden, fluctuations in temperature and are usually dry environments with
heating and damp proofing contributing. They may be dark spaces but are rarely
vibration-free.
One area where many homeowners consider storing their
collections is in fact a main contributor to spoilt wine – the kitchen. Wine
racking built into cabinetry may offer an ideal place to stack bottles so they
are close to hand but this is usually the warmest room in the house, with
temperatures changing on a daily basis as the oven is used and then switched
off. If you have bottles stored in this way, please move them to a cold corner
of a north-facing room now! And then think about professional wine storage.
There are various factors to consider when deciding on which
professional wine solution is most suitable for your needs, from the size of
your existing wine collection and how much you intend to collect annually, to
whether the wine storage should be a behind-the-scenes operation or a feature
of the room. With all of this in mind, a reliable, proven and aesthetic
solution is required.
There are a range of options available, from wine cabinets
and temperature controlled rooms to full basement conversions. Basement cellars
are the traditional solution and offer the perfect conditions, but can be an
extremely costly undertaking. Wine cabinets provide easy access to a small
collection of wine but are subject to failure, just like temperature controlled
rooms, if there is a power cut. Not only does this cause the temperature to
increase suddenly, but if the owner is away the wine will sit in warm
temperatures for a dangerously long time.
The other end of the scale can be just as disastrous – I was
once told by a client how, whilst on holiday, their wine cabinet failed and got
stuck in freeze mode. The owners came home to bottles of wine resembling giant
lollypops!
Just like a traditional cellar, a Spiral Cellar makes the
most of the earth’s attributes but is a cost-effective and maintenamce free.
The Original Spiral Cellar, which works well in more
traditional or country-style properties, is based on the original design
introduced in the UK in 1981 and incorporates natural grey concrete, with a
range of depths up to 3m. The White Spiral Cellar features smooth luminous
white concrete and incorporates larger bins in each of its depths to allow for
up to 1,870 bottles. Not only does it provide more storage but it also looks
great, particularly as part of contemporary interior schemes. Spiral Cellars
has recently expanded its range to include the external Garden Cellar, the
cost-effective Essential Cellar and a range of build-your-own cellars for the experienced DIY enthusiast.
www.spiralcellars.co.uk T: 0845 241 2768