How to store wine? Temperature, capacity and storage conditions of wine

Low-alcohol drinks from grapes and other fruits are produced all over the world. Recipes for making wines are different for different peoples, they are passed on to descendants, are modified with the development of new technologies. Along with the recipe and technological processes, the important point are the conditions of wine storage. Why are some drinks suitable for consumption within one to three years from the date of manufacture, while others live longer than humans?

What determines the storage time of wine?

How to store wine? First of all, it should be remembered that any wine is a living product that breathes and constantly changes its taste and organic properties, even being tightly sealed in bottles. That's why these drinks require special storage conditions. For the period of preservation of wine certain factors influence:

• Quality of raw materials used for manufacturing.
• Fortress of the drink.
• The temperature of storage of wine.
• Lighting.
• Humidity mode.
• The material from which the wine container is made.

Centennial wine is what?

In the collection stores of many famous wineries there are museum exhibits, which are about one hundred years old. These rarities are very expensive in value and very valuable in composition. The shelf life of the wine is directly dependent on the grapes from which it was made. Drinks from some varieties are simply required to withstand a long period, from which they only get better. This, for example, drinks from Chardonnay, Cabernet and many other French varieties. Because of the high cost of a seasoned product, often consumers buy a young drink, and already maintain it themselves, and decide how to store wine at home. For a long period, fortified wines can also be stored : sherry, tokai, Madera. For red wines, the period of aging and shelf life is greater than that of whites.

Sparkling wines and vermouths are young natural wines, in which the fermentation process is interrupted by the addition of gases or infusions of various herbs. Their quality does not deteriorate, but they can not be stored for more than a year and a half. The same applies to fruit and berry wines created without the addition of alcohol.

Wine storage temperature

The most important condition for proper maturation and aging is the optimum temperature regime. The fact is that excessive cold inhibits the fermentation process, too high temperatures, on the contrary, accelerate maturation, and the wine does not have time to form its qualities. Differences in temperatures for the storage of white and red wines are absent. The best range is from 10 to 12 ^o C for natural dry wines, for fortified temperatures of 16-17 ^o C are permissible.

Another important point - the temperature should be constant, without noticeable fluctuations.

Where does the wine live?

All producers of wine - and big concerns, and small farms, arrange special wine cellars. The fact is that in addition to temperature, the wine needs a special moisture regime. The dried cork passes air and evaporation of the drink takes place. Excess humidity, the smell of dampness and mold are also in line with the enemy of quality wine.

Those who decide to store wine in a common cellar, it is worth remembering that this is a product - which absorbs the smells of everything that is stored nearby, so the wine shelf should be arranged so that these evaporation does not reach it.

Full rest

How to store bottled wine correctly. A live drink that ripens and changes its qualities throughout the aging period is very sensitive to all kinds of vibrations, movements and shakes. The bottles stored for storage are moved as rarely as possible, so as not to provoke undesirable acceleration of chemical processes. They do not even erase dust and cobwebs!

In wine cellars, bottles are stored in a horizontal position, in order that the cork stopper is constantly in contact with the wine. Wet, it will not let you get into the bottle of oxygen, which leads to the oxidation and transformation of wine into vinegar. At the same time, the crust allows the wine to breathe, which can not be said about plastic plugs.

The best wine container

New technologies, issues of economy and environmentally friendly recycling of packaging touched and winemaking. On the shelves of shops you can often find drinks packed in various forms of packages, like juices. Well, it is quite logical from the economic point of view: such packages are cheaper, they are easier to store and transport. As for the terms of keeping, the wine in such packages can be stored at low temperatures for not more than a year. The best storage container still has a dark glass bottle.

As for the quality of wine in the packages, this is a controversial issue. Some brands thus pack quite good quality wines that are in demand by consumers. Especially it concerns those countries where wine is a product of daily consumption.

Gourmets, admirers of good wine, owners of wine collections, of course, choose only bottles, and the aesthetic side plays an important role here.

Wine and sun

Grapes - the berry is sunny, grows only in the area where it can be for a long time caressed by warm rays. The product made from grapes already has very different needs. Solar and bright electric light leads to activation of undesirable processes that spoil the quality of the wine. Dark glass bottles somewhat protect the drink, but not completely. Therefore, the wine shelf in the room chosen for storage must be in the dark almost constantly.

Home-made wines

Many craftsmen at home get wines that are not inferior in taste to the untwisted brands. If the technological procedures and secrets can be different for everyone, then the storage of domestic wines is not much different from the rules for keeping industrial cellars. The necessary conditions are the same: adherence to the temperature regime, maintaining the necessary humidity, rest and protection from light and foreign smells. Of course, rarely where at home you meet ideal conditions, that is, a specially equipped wine cellar. More often for storage of house wine allocate a place in the general cellar or a pantry. A good invention of modernity, which is becoming increasingly common among small producers and large collectors - a wine cabinet.

In cellars and cellars large volumes of wine are stored in oak barrels. An interesting way of aging and storing wines from the peoples of the Caucasus. They use large earthen vessels - the kamirs buried in the ground.

For longer periods, it is desirable to pour the wine from the container in which it was defended, into a dark glass dish. Ideally - in bottles with cork stoppers, it is possible in cans (there are such dark ones with twisting plastic caps).

How to store in an apartment

The best advice for those who are going to store more than a couple of liters of wine will of course be the installation of a special wine cabinet. Alas, the scale of standard apartments is not always possible, and indeed, such a pleasure is not cheap. For the fermentation and ripening of the drink, the conditions of the apartment are not the most suitable, but several liters poured into a suitable container can be stored in an ordinary bar, in a refrigerator or in a dark pantry. In the houses of the old layout there are excellent places - cold storeroom under the kitchen sill.

About plastic bottles, forget it! Wine, like no other liquid, especially changes its taste and smell from this material. In such a bottle, a draft beverage can be transported, and then not far away.

Household appliances for wine

Special cabinets for long-term storage of wine bottles have been used for a long time in houses, the owners of which refer themselves to connoisseurs and lovers of good wine. The wine cabinet has nothing to do with an ordinary refrigerator. In addition to maintaining a constant necessary temperature, they perform the functions of complete climate control. The bottles of wine here are in complete peace, certain humidity and darkness. Such a thing is for those who like to buy wine wholesale, or produce it themselves, but not in such quantities that would build a large wine cellar.

How to store open wine

About where, in what, and how to store wine, cooked for a long period, is already clear. The question remains unclear: what to do with an open bottle of wine? How does a live drink that has access to the environment behave? After the air gets into the bottle, the oxidation process begins, the quality drink gradually turns into vinegar. A non-drunk bottle of wine should be immediately tightly closed with a stopper. It will slow down the oxidation, but completely the wine will not save.

Faster than all, sparkling wines become worthless. Their life after the opening - 4 hours, a maximum of 24, if tightly closed. White, pink, light red wines retain their fragrance for up to three days. A dense red drink can please an unchanged taste for five days. The longest remaining in the open state are fortified and sweet wines. Oxidation is resisted by alcohol and sugar. Madera, sherry, port and other their fellow members remain in their original form for a week.

How to extend storage rows

First of all, open wine needs cold. At low temperatures, oxidation slows down. Just do not forget to take out the red wine beforehand in order to warm it to room temperature - otherwise it will not open its entire bouquet.

Not for long, but still extend the term of wine will help special vacuum plugs or the addition of gas by a special device.

You can pour the remainder of the drink into smaller dishes, with a tightly closed lid. Wine should fill the container to the top, so that there is no room for air.

What can I do if I can not finish my drink and pity it? It's clear that good wines are expensive. Use them in cooking. Oxidized wine is the best marinade for meat, and not only. Do you think that you have glorified Italian and French cuisine? Correctly - use in the recipe of wine and wine vinegar.