In this article, we suggest some useful and practical advices for keeping wine at home in the best possible way.
Surely an electric cellar solves all problems in terms of storing wine: it is adjustable, maintains constant temperature and humidity and protects your bottles for their entire life.
But, how to store wine at home if we don't have a cellar? Here are some tips for you.
♦ Avoid direct light
If you want to store wine at home, you will have to keep in mind a fundamental rule: avoid direct light.
In fact, regardless of the type of wine you have purchased, you will have to keep the bottles in the dark.
The light that strikes a bottle of wine (both solar and artificial) can accelerate the evolutionary process and reserve us nasty surprises when opening it, in fact UV rays can trigger chemical reactions.
The ideal environment is therefore a dark place with a controlled temperature.
♦ Horizontal or vertical position?
If you want your wine to keep its quality for as long as possible, never place the bottles vertically.
To keep the wine in the best possible way, you will have to place the bottles horizontally: you will prevent the cork from drying out, allowing air to enter the bottle and cause oxidation. If you are wondering "But in doing so the wine will not taste corked?" the answer is no. The defect you think of is due to mold and bacteria, not to the contact between wine and cork.
♦ Temperature
The longer the wine is left at a suboptimal temperature, the more likely it is that the wine will lose its quality. The best place to keep wine at home is certainly a cellar or a cool, dry place, where the temperature stays around 14 °C, without sudden changes.
♦ To summarize...
Once the cellar is filled, the bottles should remain in place until the day you choose to uncork them. This means:
- they will not have to be moved;
- they should not be subjected to vibrations or loud noises;
- avoid changes in light or temperature conditions, the room must be kept in the dark;
- avoid storing foods that can spread strong odors in the same room: no cheese, cured meats, smoked fish or smoked meat;
- the same with paints or solvents.
Aging and maturation give the wine character and personality: make sure that they improve over time...
...undisturbed!