Wine Cellar Temperature

There are some things in this world that grow better as they age. Some become more beautiful with wrinkles on their faces to evidence experience, while some things simply grow mellower, richer and tastier as they age. One such thing is red wine. Red wine stored in proper storage conditions grows all the more divine in taste as it ages slowly. Many believe that well aged red wine is fit for the Gods in heaven and is one of the very reasons to celebrate life and mortality.

Yet, I must say, I was never really a biggie on wines, neither the whites nor the reds, but the scent and color of red wines always had me transfixed. I have always loved to use wine in my cooking, as that secret extra ingredient, that gave my food the heavenly taste and delicious aroma. But with all my talk, I was always worried as to how to store it and keep it from getting spoiled. I am embarrassed to confess, that at least twice I had my lovely red wine turn to vinegar, for my lack of storing knowledge. To save all others like me, I have this article on its storage facts. If you have the wine, you will definitely need a good wine cellar.

Your wine cellar need not be a basement room and could be just a special place allotted to your wines. You can easily have a small storage in your flat or apartment as well. For the lack of better terms, you can call your allotted space your cellar and move on to more wine storage information, like the temperature and humidity, and the amount of light and vibrations that affect your allotted wine cellar.

Need of a Wine Cellar
Not all wines are meant for storage and only those that require aging are the ones put in a cellar. For starters, white wine is for straight consumption and should not be stored at all. But red wine, stored at the ideal temperature, ages gracefully to fetch higher prices and greater demand. They thus definitely need good temperature and humidity regulated cellars. If white wine is temporarily stored in the same cellar as red wines, it needs to be refrigerated at least an hour before actual consumption. If properly stored, in airtight containers, red wine is known to stay good for an unbelievable 100 years. Just imagine the price a hundred year old wine would fetch!

The Temperature
Good control over temperature is essential if you are to keep the wine in your cellar edible. It is also important not to hasten the mellowing process with inappropriate temperature, for the wine wouldn't taste half as good then, and there are even chances of its getting spoiled. Here are a few facts you would be interested to know about:

• The ideal temperature is documented to be between 55ºF (13ºC) and 58ºF (15ºC). This is known to be the best to encourage a slow mellowing of the wine. At 55ºF, the aging is complex and requires no additional attention as it will go about doing its own thing in a proper and desired manner.
• Any temperature between 40ºF (5ºC) and 65ºF (18ºC) also does well for the proper storage and aging of wine, provided it remains free of large fluctuations. Large or rapid fluctuations can not only harm your wines by aging them too quickly but will also change the chemical reactions taking place in them to give out unpredictable results in their taste.
• Along with the right temperature, it is absolutely essential to keep them corked in air-tight containers. If they are not stored in such a manner, oxidation will ruin them irrevocable and render it useless for consumption purposes. Even short time durations around 87ºF can harm them so it is essential to maintain strict wine cellar temperature control.
• Keeping wines at high temperatures even for short durations effectively cooks them and believe me, have a sip of such cooked drink and you'll never want it again! They will lose most of their freshness and character, making your expensive wine taste like somewhat rotten grape juice.
• One last thing, it is absolutely okay if your cellar temperature drops below the ideal figure. Just ensure that your wine doesn't freeze (i.e., keep the temperature of the cellar above 0ºC) and your wine will continue to stay good and age gracefully.

The Humidity
A wine cellar is expected to be somewhat damp but not in the extreme sense of the word. The dampness aids in preserving the bottle corks and prevents their excessive drying out. This is necessary to keep the corks in shape and even storing the bottles horizontally helps in keeping them well hydrated (with the stored wine) and expanded in perfect shape. Excessive dampness can also spoil the wine stored in the cellar so such a case should be avoided by taking the proper measures for the same.

Other Requirements
Just maintaining the proper temperature and humidity is not enough for the proper storage of wines. They need to be stored in relative darkness as harsh ultra-violet rays spoil their taste. This is one of the main reasons why it has historically been marketed in colored glass bottles. Apart from this, stored wine requires the least amount of disturbance and vibrations. It should be allowed to sleep in an undisturbed, unmoved manner for it to get the most uniformly mellowed aging. Last but not the least, it is very important to keep strong odors away from your cellar. Strong smells can effectively permeate through the corks of the stored wine and may end up changing their taste and character.

Even after giving your wines the perfect atmosphere and providing them with the best facilitation, they may not mature well. This is solely because, the taste and character is dependent on several factors like the type and quality of grapes and the sizes of the bottles. Now you know why the best of wines is always so damn expensive, after all, so much hard work and effort went into its making. Try some South African wine tonight, it is my personal favorite.