Wine Storage

"When it comes to wine, I tell people to throw away the vintage charts and invest in a corkscrew. The best way to learn about wine is the drinking." Alexis Lichine.

Historians agree that wine was probably discovered accidentally in the Fertile Crescent area, the region between the Nile and the Persian Gulf between 4000 and 3000 B.C. Wine is made by fermenting grapes with the help of yeast to produce a beverage that is rich in esters which lend flavor to the wine. It is the optimal balance of these esters and biochemical organic compounds that make wines age well and taste great. Proper wine storage determines if this optimal balance is achieved or not and therefore plays and important role in wine collecting.

Wine collecting was previously practiced by the influential and was used to serve family and guests. Today many people consider wine collecting an investment; good wines stored correctly increase to a substantial value in time. Wine prices are determined by the type of wine, the country and origin and the age and condition of the wine so proper wine storage can lead to wine lasting for many years and accruing in value. Wine needs to be stored at the correct temperature and humidity to remain in good condition but consistent conditions as opposed to exact conditions are even more important. At VinoCool International Inc., cellars that provide these consistent conditions for correct wine storage and that suit any collection can be found.

Wine is correctly stored between 56 - 58 oF and at a humidity of between 60 - 70%. Recurring changes in wine storage temperature can lead to detrimental changes in the wine while too high humidity causes microorganisms to grow and age wine prematurely. Residential wine cellars can be either actively or passively cooled. Passively cooled cellars take advantage of naturally cool and damp areas but are less predictable due to seasonal and diurnal temperature variations. While these cellars are suitable for short term wine storage, actively cooled cellars are preferable.

Actively cooled cellars make use of specific wine cellar conditions and cooling systems to maintain the temperature and humidity. However, many of these systems only control temperature and not humidity and need proper construction, making wine storage a major task. Visit www.vinocool.com to see their range of ECO PANEL AND COOLING SYSTEMS that provide vibration free and digitally controlled temperature and humidity operation allowing collectors worry-free wine storage. This allows a wine collector to convert existing storage spaces such as cabinets into proper wine storage facilities eliminating the need to buy a wine cellar.

Another important concept to good wine storage is to store the bottles horizontally to allow the sediment to settle and keep the wine in contact with the cork. A dry cork can cause water to evaporate through the cork, which is not ideal for wine. Labeling bottles eases the task of getting what you are looking for and sediment deposits can be observed on the side opposite the bottle. VinoCool International Inc. cooling systems and cellars are designed to allow simple removal or replacement of labeled wines for shipping or maintenance. For the best in wine storage cellars visit www.vinocool.com.