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5 golden rules of wine storage
What is the best way to store your wines long term? Is a wine cabinet an adequate alternative to a traditional wine cellar? All these kinds of questions can be answered with what we call The five golden rules of wine storage. As long as these rules apply to your wine cellar, wine room, or wine cabinet, all different kinds of wine storage spaces will let your wine collection age gracefully and bring out its best flavours.
1. Constant temperature
The secret to ideal wine storage is a constant temperature. The perfect storage temperature for all types of wine is 12 degrees, minor discrepancies are fine as long as the temperature is constant. If you are interested in storing your wine for a long time, a wine cabinet that can secure a constant temperature is the way to go. If you intend on drinking your wine within 18 months, you should invest in a wine cooler that focuses on achieving the perfect serving temperature – which is a totally separate matter.
2. No vibration
Vibration is harmful for wine and should be kept to an absolute minimum. That’s why you should go for a wine cooler or cabinet with wooden shelves, as wood absorbs vibration the best. When you choose your wine cooler, make sure that you choose a model with a vibration-free compressor or a model that is fitted with a silencer.
3. No light
Wine likes to be kept in the dark! Light speeds up the wine aging process unfavourably, that’s why a wine cooler or cabinet always should be equipped with a solid door or a UV protected glass door. If you are looking for a wine cooler with internal lighting, make sure to choose a model with LED lighting.
4. No bad smells
Keep your wine collection away from bad odours! Wine corks often deteriorate over time and allow odours to enter the bottle. The best way to make sure that there are no bad smells in your wine cabinet is to choose a model with good ventilation and a carbon filter. Don’t forget to change your carbon filter once a year, or else it will be inefficient.
5. Appropriate humidity
In order for wine to mature correctly and develop its bouquet to its full potential, it’s extremly important that the wine doesn’t come into contact with air. Air easily enters a wine bottle if its cork is dry. Make sure to avoid dry corks by storing wine at the right humidity level between 50% and 75%. Higher humidity levels than that are likely to damage the labels of your wine bottles – which would be a shame.
Store your wine to perfection – that’s the everlasting mission that keeps mQuvée exploring, inventing, and developing new ways of storing wine since 2009. We bring the perfect wine experience right into your home, all the way from storing to popping your bottles!