Let’s say that you have just found a wine that you love and are interested in buying a case or so to lay away and enjoy over time. The biggest questions here are where are you going to keep it and will it age?

As far as wine storage in your average living space, be it a house, condo, flat, or tent, the most important points of all are:

1)       Darkness- wine hates light. Ultraviolet rays degrade the compounds in wine faster than heat does, as well as heating up the contents of the bottle.

2)       Bottles MUST be kept on their sides, or better yet, upside down. Why? Corks must remain in contact with moisture so they will remain plump and so keep the bottle airtight, not to mention keep the contents in the bottle.

3)       Temperature- you don’t need to invest thousands of dollars in a wine refrigerator / wine storage cabinet if you aren’t planning on keeping wine for more than a year or so. The most important point here is wherever you are storing wine, the temperature MUST be as constant as possible. No temperature swings of more than a few degrees in either direction. This is why basements are such great wine storage areas. The temperature of a typical basement swings very little from month to month. Garages, as a rule, are BAD. Every time the garage door opens, the temperature changes. Good, typical areas to consider are closets and cupboards without an exterior wall, under beds, or at least in dim rooms with consistent temperatures. Keep this in mind: for every 5 degrees Fahrenheit over 55 degrees F, wine ages approximately 3 months faster.

4)       DON’T KEEP IT IN YOUR REFRIGERATOR! A terrible environment for extended storage of wine. Why? First of all, the corks dry out from the labours of our “frost-free” ‘fridges. Secondly, the constant vibrations of the motor actually force the wine to age faster! A few weeks is OK, just not for longer.

Ageing

If the previously mentioned case is purchased for ageing, the most important question you need to ask yourself is “What do I like about this wine?” 98% of ALL wine made is specifically tailored to be consumed within 2-5 years of its vintage. Ageing of wine causes, most noticeably, the fading and disappearance of fruity scents and flavours. If you like the wine because of these flavours, DON’T AGE IT! Those wonderful flavours will not be there down the road and you will be disappointed. How do you know if a wine CAN age? Well, price is the first notice. Any wine destined to be aged demands a higher price due to the amount of work that goes into it. Careful, slow fermentations, ageing in oak barrels, and critical choices made in the vineyard all cost a lot. Chemically, as wine is really only an exceptionally complex chemical solution, acids, tannins, and other compounds are required to balance the ageing wine’s character. If this triad is out of balance, the wine will simply not age well. Tasting the young wine will let the experienced palate know if ageing is a possibility. How do you get an experienced palate? By tasting as many different wines as you can from as broad a range as you can possibly afford, will your palate develop the ability to choose. And remember: KEEP IT COOL! If you feel strongly about the age-ability, do yourself a favour and buy more than you’ll want. This way you can try it as it ages and see the subtle changes being brought about.