Ask the Expert: Storing Wine
How to keep your bottles in peak drinking condition
by Tim Gaiser
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Storing tips
- About 95% of wine is meant to be consumed within the first year after release.
- The proper humidity for storing wine is between 60% and 70%.
- Store wine away from natural or ultraviolet light, which can interact with the sulfites in a bottle of wine to form mercaptans, or foulsmelling aromas that make the wine undrinkable.
- If you break or lose a cork, you can store leftover wine by securing a piece of plastic wrap over the bottle opening with a tightly wound rubber band.
Your Wine Storage Questions Answered
Home Wine Cellar Tips
Q:
I just bought my first house, and it has a stone basement. I was thinking about starting a home wine cellar down there, but it has that old-basement smell. Will this affect the wine?
Arvin Byrnes, Griswold, CT
A:
You shouldn’t have a problem. Any type of wine closure—be it cork, plastic cork, or screw cap—forms an impermeable seal which will keep out extraneous odors as well as air. The main factors to consider when creating a wine cellar are that you want a location with a constant temperature between 55º and 60ºF, without any source of light or vibration. Avoid a place with great fluctuations in temperature, which could cause expansion and contraction of the wine.
Don't Freeze Wine
Q:
Does freezing leftover wine affect the taste? Should it be used only for cooking, or is it still possible to drink after thawing?
Carolyn Eriksen, St. Louis, MO
A:
Freezing wine should generally be avoided, as it will alter the taste of the wine significantly. You could still use it for cooking, but most chefs would tell you to cook only with wine you’d want to drink.
Removing Wine Labels
Q:
What’s the best way to remove the label from a bottle of wine (to save in a scrapbook)?
Betsy Jennings, via email
A:
Some wine labels can be removed by soaking the bottle in warm water for about 15 minutes. But many labels are now put on with super adhesives and are practically impossible to remove without a label-removing kit, which includes a clear adhesive sticker that you apply to the label and peel off. You can purchase these kits through good wine shops and specialty online stores such as the Wine Appreciation Guild.
Storing Sparkling Wine
Q:
I’ve heard that storing sparkling wine or Champagne in the refrigerator for more than a short time will ruin it because the vibration of the refrigerator motor will somehow make the wine go flat. Is this true?
Richard Ayres, Washington, DC
A:
Vibration is the enemy when it agitates the wine or produces too much heat, but most commercial refrigerators don’t generate enough to worry about. More of an issue in storing wine in the refrigerator is how dry the air gets. This can dry out a cork, which would release all the bubbles in a sparkling wine. That’s why it’s best to keep a bottle of sparkling wine in a refrigerator for no more than six weeks.
Photos: Scott Phillips
From Fine Cooking 90
