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Wine can be enjoyed at the table with a simple meal, or it can be collected as an investment as long as you’re careful. Even if you don’t see yourself as a wine connoisseur, you certainly want to have a special place where you can store and keep your wine bottles safe. This is the role of a wine cellar. To keep intact the taste of nectar, it is best to keep wines in ideal conditions. The storing place must meet certain criteria such as lighting, humidity, and temperature so the wine’s flavors remain intact.
Temperature and humidity
Temperature
The storage temperature should be between 10°c and 13°c, however, an amplitude of 3°c is tolerated. A lower temperature will slow the ripening of the wine, higher temperatures accelerate it. We must be sure of the stability of the overall temperature in the cellar. This is why caves, basements, and buried stone walls are ideal.
Humidity
The relative humidity should be between 70% and 75%. A place too dry leads to a drying of the plugs that become less tight. We can place buckets of sand that we wet periodically with water.
Moisture causes a little less damage to the wine. Place the bottles in wooden boxes to limit the risk of excess moisture. You can also wrap the bottles in plastic film. Ventilate the room regularly to prevent the spread of odors and possible mold growth.
Light and quiet
Light
The wine must stay in total darkness. Heat from the light accelerates the aging of wine. The light should come from cold lamps when visiting the cellar.
Calm
The wine should not be subjected to shocks or vibrations. They tend to wake up the bacteria that have a negative effect on wine quality. For example: the ultra-sounds alter the tannin and dye stuffs. To prevent unwanted vibrations, we can slip rubber mats under the storage area to absorb vibrations.
Care and storage
Maintenance
We must clear the basement of food that could be kept fermented like cheese or fruit, because cork plugs can absorb these odors.
Wine Storage
The storage tanks must be horizontal. Bottles shouldn’t move too often so it is best to label them so they aren’t picked up by mistake. Sort them by name, vintages, etc.
Little trick
Put the white wines on the bottom, red wines for aging in the middle, and the oldest vintage wine at the top. Buy a thermometer and a hygrometer as they will be very useful. If you do not have a place suitable for the conservation of old wines, which are the most fragile, you can buy a wine cellar appliance. These cabinets meet the conditions for perfect preservation.
