6 proper conditions of a Wine Cellar
In many countries, people consider wine as everyday food, and if they do not drink it at the moment, they will store it. However, as every kind of food, wine requires specific conditions to age in the best possible way.
We have to remember that wine will continue to evolve inside the bottle. The wine will age well or bad depending on the conditions of storage. Here you have six conditions that you should not miss in your wine cellar.
1.- Space: the space for the storage of your wines is crucial since the application of the rest of the conditions to follow will depend on it. This space should be free of contaminating aromas, and when we say contaminants, we mean intense, penetrating aromas that can disturb the aromas in the wine, for example, cooking, baking, coffee roaster, organic waste, etc. These aromas are so strong that they can enter the bottle through the porosity of the cork.
2.- Adequate ventilation: Like any other food storage space, ventilation is vital to prevent moisture generation and pest development.
3.- Humidity: Unlike other canned or jar foods, the wine stopper (mostly) is cork: an organic, elastic material that is sensitive to external conditions. The humidity must be between 65 and 75%. Below 65%, the cork will lose its retractable property and shrink, allowing the loss of wine and the entry of oxygen between the bottleneck and cork.Humidity above 75% permits the generation of microorganisms within the cork, and it is when you can find traces of mold on the surface of the cork. Excellent ventilation will allow humidity control.
4.- Constant temperature: perhaps you already know that the ideal temperature for keeping your wines is between 12° and 14° C. But, we know how difficult it is to maintain this temperature if you do not have refrigeration equipment. In that case, the best you can do is find a place without temperature variations. If the coldest space of the place is at 18° C is fine as long as it is constant.
5.- Lighting: Another enemy of wine, besides temperature, is light, and the sunlight is the most dangerous one. Ideally, a light that does not emit heat will be the best option.
6.- Vibrations: Avoid the vibrations is very complicated. The transportation of the wine will inevitably generate oscillations. Then, it will not be a big problem as long as your wine cellar is not next to the train tracks or the laundry machine. There is a theory that constant vibrations can accelerate the chemical reactions of wine and therefore precipitate its evolution.
The worst space for wine storage is the kitchen unless there is special equipment for this purpose, otherwise, there will be temperature variations, vibrations, lighting and different levels of humidity. If you still do not have another place to store the wine, in this case, do not keep it for long periods, after three months, the wine will considerably change its properties.And we do not mean that it becomes unhealthy or that when opened you find vinegar, but you will find signs of oxidation, both in color and in its aromas.
If you respect these conditions, they may retain the characteristics of the wine for as long as the wine itself is destined to be stored. We have to remember that not all wines have the qualities to age for a long time. 90% of the world's wines are made to be consumed in their first 3 years of life, thus if you keep a wine of this style, no matter how much they respect the storage conditions, after 10 years you will find a decrepit wine.
