Wine is one of only a few consumer products that can actually improve if kept over a long period of time. The amount of time a wine should be kept depends on the type, as some are able to last a lot longer than others. There are wines capable of lasting 20-30 years before reaching their peak, whilst the majority are intended for drinking within 12 months of their release.

 Wine has been appreciated by many different cultures throughout history. The Greeks are believed to be the first to appreciate keeping wine for ageing. Through the combination of good storage vessels and the high natural sugar content in the wine they were able to keep wines for up to 10 years. The Romans were also known to store wine for consumption at a later date. Here in the United Kingdom the storing of wine became popular around the Eighteenth Century, although it was only the very rich who could possibly afford to do so.

Keeping wine at home in a storage rack or cellar is no longer the preserve of royalty and the rich. Anyone can have a small store of wine at home. Its just a question of deciding how much you want to keep and what available space you have to store it in.

So What Kind Of Wines Should I Keep

It’s perhaps easier to state which wines not to keep for longer than 12 months. As a general rule of thumb any wine under £5 in price is not going to benefit from extended keeping. Neither will wines sold in boxes, plastic bottles or any container other than a glass bottle. Branded wines such as the basic ranges of Gallo, Hardy’s, and Jacobs Creek are unlikely to benefit from keeping. As are wines labelled Nouveau and Vins De Pays from France, QBA from Germany and Table Wine from just about anywhere.

The best wines to keep are those that have the potential to improve over time. Firstly, decide what time scale you would like to keep your wines for. Secondly, take some good advice on what’s available at prices suitable to your own budget and tastes. Think about what kind of wines you like and read up to see if any of them are ideal for keeping. As a very, very, rough guideline we have listed some of the main grape varieties below and the amount of time that they may keep for in a bottle if stored correctly.

Of course, each individual wine’s potential to age well will depend on a whole host of other factors, not least the vintage conditions, growing conditions and the winemaker’s skills and objectives.

The best advice is to consult a good local wine merchant or contact us here at The Grape Escape.

Storing Wine At Home

If you are going to store wine at home you need to ensure that the spot you choose has the necessary requirements to be a suitable place for keeping wine safe and secure. The essential elements to consider are Temperature, Humidity, Light, Vibration and Security.

Temperature

There is quite a wide band of temperatures within which wine can be stored safely. The ideal temperature for storing wines is eleven degrees centigrade; although anywhere between nine and fifteen can be considered suitable. The biggest factor to consider with temperature is dramatic temperature change. If your storage zone is subject to considerable fluctuations between day/night and summer/winter temperatures then you are likely to spoil your wine. Wine is ideally stored in an environment where the daily temperature changes by no more than a couple of degrees centigrade between night and day and by no more than 5-6 between winter and summer.

Humidity 

A small degree of humidity is considered essential to prevent the exposed end of the cork from drying out in the bottle. If allowed to dry out the cork may lose its ability to prevent the wine from oxidising by allowing oxygen in. The ideal level of humidity is reckoned to be about 70% Total Humidity. Any lower and you run the risk of allowing the cork to dry out completely. Be careful though not to allow your cellar to get too humid as this will encourage damp, which although it won’t adversely affect the wine it will cause the labels to rot. This may lead you to opening bottles of wine without knowing what they actually are and drinking your best vintage wine with a pizza on a wet Tuesday evening.

Light

One essential aspect of keeping wine is to avoid exposing it to strong or direct light; this includes both sunlight and artificial light. The darker the conditions the better, particularly for white wines in clear bottles which are at most risk from over exposure. Light will heat the wine inside the bottle and if the temperature within the bottle reaches over 25 degrees centigrade then the wine will spoil and be unfit for the cooking pot let alone your wine glass.

Vibration

This is not greatly important, as light vibration will cause no real adverse effects to most wines. However, if the wines you are storing are prone to throw a sediment then you may wish to avoid disturbing the wine as any movement of the sediment may affect the balanced ageing process of the wine. Therefore, a wine rack in the kitchen on top of the washing machine or dishwasher is not the ideal place to store your prized wine collection.

Security

Wine is worth money and to some people wine cellars and stores represent some very easy to steal “Liquid Assets”. Be careful where you store your wine. Garages, garden sheds and cellars with unlocked access are easy prey for the opportunist thief.

It is also essential to store your wine away from any strong odours and any chemicals or other materials that may seep into the surrounding air and taint the wines quality and flavour.

Equipment

If you shop in any houseware store you have no doubt encountered wine racks. They come in all sorts of sizes, styles, finishes and shapes. Some are self-assembled and others are bought as fixed units. The type of rack that you choose will depend on your needs, tastes, available space and budget. When choosing your wine rack ensure that the space intended for holding the bottle is able to hold a bottle of Champagne, as this is one of the widest bottles you are likely to encounter in your collection.

If you are lucky enough to have a cellar in the house, which is damp-free and keeps a pretty stable temperature throughout the year, then this is the ideal place to keep your wine. If you are limited for space and have difficulty finding a suitable area to fit a wine rack you may be best served by keeping the wine in its original cardboard or wooden box. These are ideal for storage for at least a year and should be tilted on their side to allow the wine inside the bottle to stay in contact with the cork.

Purpose Built Storage Systems  

There is a proliferation of systems advertised as the “perfect” item within which to store your wine. These systems range from relatively simple wooden cabinets starting at a couple of hundred pounds and go all the way through to elaborate and expensive cellar installation systems with temperature, humidity and vibration control which can be fitted into an existing cellar or even placed into a specially constructed gap underneath your house. Whether you have the desire, the need or the budget to install such a system is down to the individual. However, if you wish to investigate the possibility of installing such a system we suggest you call an expert on the subject. Call us and we would be happy to recommend a reputable company in your area.