Do you know how to preserve wine at home? You don’t need to be a great wine enthusiast for having a few bottles of wine at home. What many people don’t know is that the bottles that they so carefully preserve are at risk of going off.
Yes, that’s the way it is. Wines need optimal conditions if you want to have them preserved over time. Do you want to know more? Keep reading and, at the end of this article, you will know where to store those bottles.
How to preserve wine bottles at home
Actually, most part of the wines we have at home do not improve with time. However, there are indeed more special and select bottles that need a better care.
Some wines cannot be even sampled the very moment they are purchased and they have to be stored for some time before consumption. And they will only improve if they are under the best possible conditions. But how to properly preserve wine and prevent it from going off? What is it that really affects its preservation?
Temperature
Wine’s preservation temperature should range between 15º and 20º C and, ideally, it should be maintained as constant as possible. If wine is stored in a place with excessive heat and the cork is exposed to an excessively high temperature, it might dry out and let oxygen –one of wine’s worst enemies– pass through.
There is a test you can perform in order to know if your wine has spoiled: checking if the cork has an edge-to-edge stain. If that is the case, there is a strong likelihood your wine has spoiled.
Humidity
The ideal humidity for proper wine preservation is around 80%. If it is exposed to too much humidity, the cork may show mould. Conversely, if humidity is scant, there is a similar problem to that associated to the excessive heat: letting air pass through the cork and oxidising wine.
Another factor worth having into account is wine’s storage position. Best put it in a horizontal position, since that is the way for the wine to be in constant contact with the cork, thus keeping it humid and preventing it from losing elasticity.
Light
UV rays might alter wine’s condition and, although many bottles are protected against solar radiation, prevention is better than cure. Therefore, if you want to preserve a bottle of wine for a relatively long period of time, you would better choose a dark place.
Odour
Although it might seem that odours have nothing to do with wines, they actually have an influence. Hence, in order to preserve wine in good condition, choose a place free of strong odours. Intense odours might pervade the bottle (especially, the cork). An odour-contaminated cork would transfer the smell to the wine and spoil it.
As you can see, keeping wine in good shape is not a daunting task. You just have to know how to preserve wine and which are the external factors to bear in mind to ensure it is perfect for consumption.