How to Keep Wine Fresh (Chickspeak.com)

May 15, 2009 by Kristin Larmore

The taste, the aroma, the deep flavor of wine: it’s something many of us enjoy.If visiting a winery and sampling, guests can be assured experts pick the grapes at the peak of freshness. Storage and handling is carefully monitored.

However, the problem arises after the average customer takes their bottle out of the small paper bag when they return from the grocery store. To uphold that taste at home, people seem to make some big mistakes concerning storage.

Let’s face it, ladies, most of us are not wine experts. Here are the most common mistakes people make with short-term wine preservation, meaning two years or less.

Temperature

It’s one of the most important factors because if the temperature is too high, your wine will what they call “turn,” according to winecountrygetaways.com. Wine Spectator warns “temperatures greater than 70 degrees Fahrenheit will age a wine quickly, and can also cook a wine until the fruit character becomes blunted, resulting in flat aromas and flavors.”

It needs to be as close to 60 degrees as possible, but minor alterations aren’t too catastrophic. The large changes are dangerous, though, as “rapid temperature fluctuations may cause pressure changes within a bottle, forcing the cork upwards and allowing leaks while permitting air to enter the bottle,” according to Wine Spectator’s scientific description. It’s much better to keep the wine in the fridge than leave it near a sunny window; cold is always better than hot.

Light

Wine should be kept away from bright areas and holds up much better in the dark. This reiterates the temperature issue. Wine Spectator maintains a “small rack away from a direct heat source provides an ideal solution [to storage],” since the average wine lover drinks their purchased wine within one to two days.

Position

How many times do you see wine sitting upright on a counter, especially in a college apartment, for example? This is why wine racks were created. To avoid shrinkage of the cork and make the bottle easier to open, wine should lay on its side, according to winecountrygetaways.com.

Movement

Don’t move so much, people. Anything that causes a lot of shaking and movement will affect your product. Store it in a place where it won’t be disturbed. And no matter how bad that day at work was, don’t pop that cork out too fast. Some wines need a bit of time to age before consumption, so just make sure you know what type you’re getting before you open it.

The majority of California wines are meant to drink now, the website mentions. However, some wines become a richer, smoother product after years of aging, and they require a climate-controlled environment with the correct humidity and no temperature changes. A home requires a wine cellar or wine closet for this type of aging.

Unless you’re getting a more expensive foreign or domestic wine for a special occasion, you won’t have to worry about long-term storage, though.

After several wine tastings, I’ve discovered vineyards typically age the wine to its drinking age before shipping it off to stores. Many of us have probably ruined a bottle of wine without even knowing it, though.

So what are the sure-fire signs?

Sometimes, it’s not even your fault; the cork from the tree was bad or the chemicals used in manufacturing combined with bacteria, so the bottle isn’t worth drinking before it’s even opened.

Other times, higher temperatures in the home are the biggest cause. If a wine is so-called “corked,” the smell is the first sign. Your beverage will resemble an icky cardboard scent.

Color is the second sign; white wines will be an off-yellow and red wines will almost be brown, according to both Wine Spectator and Wine Country Getaways. Now once the wine is opened, you hopefully won’t decide to drink the whole bottle in one night. Careful considerations must be made at this point, as well. One thing you shouldn’t do: leave your wine on the counter for a few days with just the cork shoved back in.

Many think red wine shouldn’t be refrigerated and should stay at room temperature, but that’s only while enjoying it at a meal or for a short time. Air is good for your wine at first because it lets it “breathe” and works on the overall aroma, but it’s the worst thing for it after a few days due to oxidation, the website says.

Various devices featured on Wine Country Getaways’ like the temperature managing Pek Wine Steward, the Vacuum Pump and Cork which pumps the air out with a rubber stopper and the Private Preserve offer the most effective preservation.

The Private Preserve is a favorite of wine connoisseurs because it squirts a layer of gas between the cork and the wine. But for those who can’t afford the finer things, the old-fashioned refrigerator at least works for a few days for red or white wines.

Pour the wine into a smaller container and store air-tight, or you can actually freeze wine for later use in cooking, interestingly enough. You now have the basic tools available to properly store your wine. All that’s left to do is pick it out.

Actually, that might be much more difficult, in light of the endless options. Good luck!

Kristin Larmore is a senior journalism major at Appalachian State University and hopes to write for a food publication, along with becoming a food critic and running her own winery in the future.