Protect your investment!

Wine lovers come in all shapes and sizes, from those who pick up a bottle for dinner two or three times a week to the passionate collectors with hundreds—even thousands-- of bottles of the good stuff.  And it seems everyone has an opinion on how to handle wine so it doesn’t go bad.  

First of all, wine doesn’t need to be treated like butterfly wings.  Except for older, more fragile wines, it’s pretty sturdy stuff.  That said there are a few basic rules you need to observe, and we’ll pass along some tips that will help ensure that your wine you serve your guests will taste the way the winemaker intended.

1.   Avoid fluctuating temperature.  A steady temperature—even if it is higher than the prescribed 55F that most collectors use as a benchmark—is the most critical factor in keeping your wine healthy.  If you keep your wine at a steady 60F it may age faster than at 55F, but you won’t ruin it.  On the other hand keeping wine in a house or apartment where temps swing from 75F to 65F on a daily basis will ruin your wine fairly quickly.  And whatever you do keep your wine out of the kitchen unless it is in a wine fridge.  Heat from the stove is like a gun to the head of fine wine.

2.   Avoid strong light and vibration…the laundry room is out.

3.   Store wines with corks on their side.  Don’t want the cork drying out and letting excessive air in that will oxidize your wines.  BTW everything we have read indicates that this isn’t an issue with screwtops.

Heat is the enemy of wine, so if you are collecting wine for the long haul be sure you have invested in reliable storage.  This is no place to be penny wise and pound foolish.