Wine Cellaring - Beginners Guide
When it comes to cellaring wine, it can seem a bit daunting. Most wines bought in Australia are consumed straight away ie within a few days after purchase. However, as most people know, a good wine will improve with age. This does require a certain amount of trust, blended with hope, that the wine you select will be better after a number of years stored in the right environment.
So to cellar wine you need to ask a number of questions to allow yourself the best chance of success: Why?, What?, When? and Where?
Why
Why do wines get better with age? All wines go through different phases. Some wines can be enjoyed immediately, others take time for the contents of the wine to come together giving it a more pleasant taste. There is a period of time when the wine is at its best and following that, it will decline and weaken. This means that it is not always a case of the older the better.
What
What wines do you select to lay down? There are a number of different grape varieties that are suited to cellaring. With reds, these include but are not limited to, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Pinot Noir. Whites can improve with cellaring too, mainly Riesling and Semillion. Not all bottles are right for cellaring so look at the label to see if there are cellaring notes, ask an assistant at your local wine shop or join a wine club that provides tasting notes. If you visit a winery, the cellar door sales staff should provide cellaring information.
When
When is the best time to drink a cellared wine? As mentioned above, wines have a period of time when they are at their best. Some will be best between 2 and 5 years, others may take ten years to mature. When you store the wine, make a note of when it should be best so that you don't miss that period. Some people tag the end of the bottle with a note to say when they should be enjoyed. As most wine cellar owners know, it can be very disappointing to find your aged wine has declined to something that cannot be drunk.
Where
Where is the best place to cellar wine? The one word to remember here is stability. Wines should be stored in a cool place that does not have much temperature variation. Twelve to 16 degree centigrade is considered ideal. A place with no vibration is required and one that does not receive any sunlight. Wine likes to mature gently with little disturbance. If the wine has a cork, it should lay on the side to keep the cork and wine touching. Screw caps don't require this but my preference is to lie them down anyway. It just looks right!
To continue please CLICK HERE
So to cellar wine you need to ask a number of questions to allow yourself the best chance of success: Why?, What?, When? and Where?
Why
Why do wines get better with age? All wines go through different phases. Some wines can be enjoyed immediately, others take time for the contents of the wine to come together giving it a more pleasant taste. There is a period of time when the wine is at its best and following that, it will decline and weaken. This means that it is not always a case of the older the better.
What
What wines do you select to lay down? There are a number of different grape varieties that are suited to cellaring. With reds, these include but are not limited to, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Pinot Noir. Whites can improve with cellaring too, mainly Riesling and Semillion. Not all bottles are right for cellaring so look at the label to see if there are cellaring notes, ask an assistant at your local wine shop or join a wine club that provides tasting notes. If you visit a winery, the cellar door sales staff should provide cellaring information.
When
When is the best time to drink a cellared wine? As mentioned above, wines have a period of time when they are at their best. Some will be best between 2 and 5 years, others may take ten years to mature. When you store the wine, make a note of when it should be best so that you don't miss that period. Some people tag the end of the bottle with a note to say when they should be enjoyed. As most wine cellar owners know, it can be very disappointing to find your aged wine has declined to something that cannot be drunk.
Where
Where is the best place to cellar wine? The one word to remember here is stability. Wines should be stored in a cool place that does not have much temperature variation. Twelve to 16 degree centigrade is considered ideal. A place with no vibration is required and one that does not receive any sunlight. Wine likes to mature gently with little disturbance. If the wine has a cork, it should lay on the side to keep the cork and wine touching. Screw caps don't require this but my preference is to lie them down anyway. It just looks right!
To continue please CLICK HERE
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