 I thought I'd share some tips for anyone wanting to start a wine cellar at home. This month and the next, we'll look at a few different factors, starting with where and how.
First, be sure that you have the right place to put a wine cellar in your house--a cool, dry location out of direct sunlight. Ideally, wines should be stored at between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius, but another five degrees either way shouldn't hurt. It's more important to have a relatively constant temperature and not to be too dry. Taiwan's natural humidity level should ensure that corks don't dry out, although it may be a little excessive and cause mould to form on cork tops and labels to deteriorate quickly. Neither of these should adversely affect the wine, but a nice balance with some humidity would be perfect.
Sunlight is also an enemy of wine, especially sparkling wines, which is why most bottles these days are darkly tinted and a lot of good-quality sparkling wines are even wrapped in paper. So try to find a reasonably dark place, definitely with no direct sunlight.
Next is how to store the wine. As noted in my previous columns, if a wine has a screw cap there is no need to store it lying down, but this is a must for bottles with corks. The latest school of thought says that tilting the bottle back a few degrees is even better, so long as the wine is still making contact with the cork. It is important that the cork stays moist so that it doesn't dry out and shrink, allowing in oxygen that will spoil the wine.
Get yourself a good-sized wine rack and make sure you have some space to store full cases of wine if you're lucky enough to be able to afford it. There are also some good options if you're interested in a wine storage fridge. Although generally too small if you are wanting to buy by the case, these are a great way to organise a few bottles of everything, ready for tasting when you want them, without having to move several boxes. As part of our wine services in Taiwan, we offer these fridges, pre-filled with hand-selected wines for those wanting to get a pre-packaged, head start on their wine collection. Please contact me if you'd like more information about this.
Next month, we'll take a look at how to choose and buy wines for your new collection.
Happy drinking,
Kris
kris@wineconnection.co.nz
0916-222-336 |
April 2014
