How to store wine ?
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How to store wine ?

You have just bought one or more beautiful bottles that you wish to keep for a special occasion.

How can you keep your wine so that it will look its best on the day you serve it?

In this episode of EXTRA BRUT - our educational web-series about wine, we take a look at this question with the gastronomic agitator Nicolas Rieffel. The objective: to answer in record time all the questions you may have had about wine...

Answers delivered by the "Moon Chasers", members and employees of the Bestheim winery.

THE IDEAL WINE CELLAR

The perfect wine cellar should be buried, constantly at 12°C, damp and with a dirt floor. If these conditions are difficult to achieve in an apartment or a new house, you should know that more and more insulating materials, air conditioners and optimised bottle racks are now available for sale to help you keep your wine in the best possible conditions.

THE HUMIDITY OF YOUR WINE CELLAR

This is the main factor in the good ageing of your wine. If your cellar is not humid enough, this can have irreparable consequences on your bottles. The corks will dry out, the wine will evaporate and the levels will drop. If the temperature is too high in the cellar, these phenomena will be accentuated. It is therefore better to keep in mind that it is better to have a cellar that is too humid than too dry.

WHAT TEMPERATURE FOR A WINE CELLAR?

The higher the temperature in a cellar, the faster the wine evolves. A harmonious rise in temperature, as in spring or summer, will not cause irreparable damage (up to 18°), it is the important thermal shocks that will damage it. A diffuse and progressive heat will allow the wine to take on a patina and live normally.

THE DARKNESS OF THE WINE CELLAR

Light is the enemy of wine. Especially white wines! They can take what is called "a taste of light", which dilutes the aromas. Banish neon lights from cellars and make sure that darkness is master.

HOW LONG DOES WINE KEEP?

How do you know if a wine is good to drink now or in a few years? Know that the shelf life of a wine depends essentially on its storage conditions, in addition to its initial potential. Three degrees are enough to see the difference: a wine will age much faster in a cellar at 15° and a little dry, rather than in a damp cellar at 12°. It is therefore important to evaluate the quality of your cellar and to regularly check the condition of the bottles stored there. There is no age limit for the wine and some bottles that are more than a hundred years old are still incredibly young. It is also a matter of personal taste, if some people like wines that develop the tertiary aromas of a long ageing, others prefer them on their fruit.

APARTMENT WINE CELLARS

First of all you have to define your needs to buy the most suitable cellar! Read here our article on this subject.

Discover the next episode of Extra brut by Bestheim - Where do the bubbles of Crémant d'Alsace come from?

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