How do you ‘keep’ your wines?

storageStatistically speaking, most wines are consumed within 24 hours of purchase.  When it comes to premium wines intended for ageing however, the correct storage of wine is hardly debatable.

Historically, storage of wine was handled by wine merchants.  Since the mid-20th century however, consumers have been increasingly storing their own wine at home in wine cellars, wine fridges or in antiquated ways, which can lead to early decay of wines…

The fact is that wine is one of the few commodities that can improve with age if it is stored correctly.  Wrong storage can lead to the destruction of wines and this can be attributed to three factors that influence the storage of wines: light, humidity and temperature.

Jancis Robinson gives a few examples of incorrect storage and also lays out some guidelines for the correct storage of wines in her recent blog post on ‘How to keep wine’.

One of the most important criteria for wine storage is that the temperature remains constant and if possible below 18 degree Celsius (preferably between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius). Ideally wines will never reach 25 degrees, which in South Africa is of course rather tricky if you do not have an air-conditioned wine cellar.

Cellaring your wines off-site seems to be a good solution for those that do not have the perfect storage conditions at home. Another positive aspect is that when on a whim one becomes ‘trigger-happy’, corkscrew in hand, one is not able to do too much damage. Off-site storage is also a great way to keep peer pressure at bay…

Wine Cellar offers cellaring space in Cape Town at a very reasonable price. View our cellaring rates.

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