Ask Dr. Vinny—Here at Wine Spectator, we get questions from readers about all aspects of wine, from the down-and-dirty of wine production to the finer points of white-tablecloth dining. Since 2005, we’ve turned to our tireless correspondent Dr. Vinny
Issue: November 30, 2010
How do I know a wine is ageworthy?
Most of the world's wines are best drunk relatively young, within two to five years of the vintage date. At this stage, the flavors showcase the primary fruit, and the wines tend to taste fresh and lively. Aged wines are not automatically better, but they can transform into something different. The best aged wines are transcendent; the worst are oxidized, tired and uninspiring.
Before deciding to cellar a wine, look at your own experience. Have you tried older wines? Do you like them? If you've never had a wine with more than a few years of bottle age on it, you might be disappointed to try the mellowed flavors of an older wine.
Don't think of a cellar as a wine hospital. If you don't like a wine in its youth, it's not going to magically become better in its old age. Also, a bottle that hasn't been aged in ideal cellar conditions (a constant temperature, around 55° F, away from vibrations and variations in light, heat and temperature) might not be in the best shape.
Wine Spectator gives you recommendations on when to drink wines we review, but always trust your own experience above all else.
At what temperature should I store my wine?
The single most important thing about wine storage is to make sure that your wines are kept at a consistent temperature, as close to 55° F as possible. This goes for all wines-red, white, pink, bubbly and dessert. Temperature variations can prematurely age a wine, give it "cooked" flavors or compromise the seal of a cork.
For many people, this means dedicating some space in a closet or basement for their wine. Climate-controlled cellars are more expensive, but may be essential for wines that will be stored for many years.
What about humidity?
Humidity control is recommended for long-term storage, directly related to corks. If a cork dries out, it can compromise the seal and prematurely age the wine. Even if the seal remains intact, opening a bottle with a crumbly cork (I've had them disintegrate in my hands) can involve lots of swearing, and sometimes cork crumbles into your wine. Plastic, metal, glass and other closures don't benefit from a humid climate, but they don't suffer from it, either. As long as the vast majority of ageworthy wines are bottled under cork, my recommendation to keep a humid cellar remains.
Anywhere between 50 percent and 80 percent humidity is considered safe; ideal humidity is around 70 percent. Humidity may be the easiest cellar condition to control. Want to add more humidity? Place a pan of water on the floor, or mist the cellar walls and racks (hopefully they're wood) with a water bottle now and again. For a $40 investment, you can find a hygrometer that will measure humidity, and the smallest desktop humidifiers start at about $50.
How bad is light?
Ultraviolet rays from any light source can prematurely age wines. That's why most wines meant for aging come in colored bottles, to give them some extra protection (and why wines best consumed young are often in clear bottles).
Incandescent lights are a bit better than fluorescent lights (which are a bit better than warm sunlight), but for long-term storage, it's best that you don't expose your wines to any constant light.
Why can't I just store my wine in the refrigerator?
The ideal conditions for preserving leftover potato salad and the ideal conditions for aging wine are different enough that an ordinary refrigerator is not the best bet for medium- or long-term wine storage. But I'll admit it's fine for short-term storage-I usually have a bottle or two of white in there.
Refrigerators are designed to maintain an internal temperature of about 35° F, as well as to extract moisture. That's why your food dries out so quickly in a refrigerator-and that's the potential danger to corks. That means screw-cap bottles are great for short-term wines.
Also, many standard refrigerators have a compressor, which has internal moving parts that will cause vibration (while wine coolers use thermoelectric cooling systems). And food refrigerators have a lot of temperature fluctuation, especially those with freezers on the top, which will blast the top shelf of the refrigerator with freezing-cold air. Yes, I've also just explained why your eggs freeze when you leave them on the top shelf. (You're welcome.)
How should I organize my cellar?
There are two halves to my cellar, which I organize differently. The first half is the stuff I dip into on a day-to-day basis, the everyday wines that I drink regularly with dinner (and that my spouse is welcome to dip into guilt-free). I tend to keep these wines close to the door, and I organize them by varietal.
The other half of my cellar is filled with "library" wines, the long-term investments that I keep in the cooler, darker corners. These wines are often organized by country and producer. I keep the ready-to-drink vintages closer to eye-level, while the "don't you dare touch for 10 years" vintages are stored either up high or down low. And I label them clearly to ensure that they are handled less frequently.
Why do I have to store bottles on their side?
It's safest to store your wines horizontally, so the wine is in contact with the cork, keeping it wet and the seal good. Otherwise, it could become dry and crumbly and your wine could be affected. This is slightly less important for sparkling wines, as the pressure inside the bottle allows the cork to stay humidified, but most sparkling wine producers still recommend storing bottles on their side for long-term aging, since there is no advantage to storing them neck-up.
You can store wines with screw caps vertically or horizontally; I just put the twist-offs on their sides with the rest of the bottles. I've also seen a study about synthetic corks that found no notable difference in aromas and flavors between bottles stored horizontally versus vertically.
Upside down?
Upside down is better than right side up. If a bottle of wine is upside down, the wine stays in contact with the cork, keeping the cork nice and moist and preventing it from drying out. But when I've stored wines neck down, the sediment collects on the cork, making it difficult to separate the wine from the sediment. It's also tempting fate (leaky bottles). Another advantage to storing wine on its side? With the labels up, you don't have to stir the bottles so much to see what's what.
Do I have to rotate my bottles?
You don't need to rotate your bottles, and I strongly advise against it. I like my bottles to lay still, so that the sediment collects on one side and the bottles aren't cloudy and chewy with it. Furthermore, there's some concern that vibration or other disturbance of older wines can lead to premature aging. Even if you think this is hogwash, I can say for certain that vibration (or rotation) will not help your wine. So you can let sleeping bottles lie.
Good vibrations?
Bad vibrations. Vibration can disturb a wine's sediment, which will make it unpleasant to drink. Over time, vibration will agitate a wine, which could speed up the chemical reactions going on inside the bottle. Movement introduces energy into the bottle, and this added activity could affect the process of aging. (It's the same reason I avoid mechanical bulls at all costs.) In any case, vibration won't help your wine.
What's the difference between a wine cellar and a wine cooler?
The way these terms are most often used, a wine cellar is a cabinet or an entire room that stores wine in optimal conditions: a consistent temperature (about 55° F) good for long-term aging, with humidity control and some way to keep the wine away from light and vibration. Coolers are designed only to maintain a consistent temperature-often one for serving rather than storage.
What kind of cooler should I get?
While my lack of endorsement deals means I can't recommend any specific units, I'm happy to discuss general ideas of what to look for.
My best advice? Consider getting a unit that holds more bottles than you think you need-this wine-collecting thing can be pretty addictive, and you might run out of space sooner than you expect to. Consider the size and shape of the bottles you'll be collecting-the way the bottles fit into the racks, whether bottles are stacked, or if there are shelves that slide out. Units vary in how much access you'll have to your bottles, so consider both how well-lit it will be to see what's inside, and how easy it will be to grab a bottle when you want to.
The door itself is something to ponder. Is it more important for you to see the bottles or protect them from light? Is the glass clear, tempered, tinted, double-paned or UV-resistant? I once brought home a wine cooler only to panic that the door opened on the wrong side-and not every unit has reversible doors. Some models have locks or even alarms.
More expensive units may have multiple temperature zones, which is a nice feature if you want to keep your reds at one temperature and your whites at a cooler, more ready-to-drink temperature. Humidity controls are also helpful, especially if you live in a dry environment. Outside of the basics, do your best to find a unit that reduces vibration, and find one that is quiet-you'd be surprised just how loud the things can get. The more you spend, the better the materials should be, such as aluminum shelves that will conduct cool temperatures better than plastic ones, or a rough interior that will be better for humidity than a smooth one.
When should I upgrade my cellar conditions?
I can't tell you whether upgrading to an active cellar is a good idea for you. But let me ask you this: How much did you spend last year on your wine habit? If a $1,000 cooling unit represents less than 25 percent-or, especially, less than 10 percent-of your annual wine-buying budget, you might want to think about it more carefully. Anyone who cellars wine already has an investment in wine. Might as well start thinking about protecting it.
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