Does the wine go bad in the refrigerator? Storing wine in the refrigerator at home

20.11.2019

Many believe that 100 ml of wine a day will only have a positive effect. It will relieve stress, improve blood circulation, and improve overall health. But in order to preserve all the aroma, taste and beneficial features, it is necessary to create special conditions under which the product can be stored.

Factors affecting shelf life

The capriciousness of a wine drink requires a special attitude. Quality can be affected by light, temperature, humidity, sudden changes in heat.

Even the packaging material may be affected. Plastic, tetrapak is often used. But only the highest quality and most delicious is poured into special glass bottles.

Shelf Life of Sealed Wine Bottles

Wine has many requirements for external conditions. So, he needs absolute peace. This type of alcohol loves silence, any sharp fluctuations or vibrations immediately affect the quality.

The world's best winemakers entrust their creations to special wine cellars, because only there you can achieve:

sun protection. It's always dark there;
optimal temperature. Dessert species love temperatures in the range of 1-16 degrees with a plus mark, and grape varieties need air a little fresher, so the temperature should be 10-12 degrees;
the shelf life of the wine largely depends on the constancy of the indicated temperatures. So, a sharp drop is fraught with quick damage;
humidity. This point is rather necessary to keep the plug in working order. The required indicator is 65–80%. When lowering, the blockage material will begin to dry out and will already lose its ability to protect against third-party odors;
only lying position. Closed bottles are always stacked horizontally;
a cellar is a room where good ventilation must be present. It will help to avoid the penetration of third-party odors into the drink.

When asked how long a closed product can be stored, winemakers answer, for many years. However, only if all of the above conditions are met.

Important! Protect the noble drink from products with strong, pungent odors so that the taste is preserved.

Even if alcoholic beverages are kept in the refrigerator at home, under favorable conditions, white will remain usable for 2 years, and the shelf life of red wine in a closed bottle can reach a decade.

How long will it last after opening

How much wine is stored without opening it is clear, but what to do if you just started drinking, and you didn't drink it all.

Interesting! Old collectible items lose their quality much faster. The account can go on for minutes.

The spoilage time of open wine can fluctuate. This is due to various indicators. You should always remember: the shelf life of wine in bottles after uncorking decreases sharply, regardless of its type and conditions.

Few holidays can do without the presence of sparkling wine on the tables. Although this particular species has the shortest shelf life. If you managed to keep the cork, then there is a chance to enjoy your favorite taste for another 24 hours. In case of loss of clogging, the shelf life of wine in this form will not exceed 5 hours.

Fortress is also far from the last indicator. The lighter the drink, the less chance of a long shelf life open wine. Pink or white ones will last no more than 3 days, but red ones may not lose their qualities within 5 days.

What to do if the bottle is left unfinished

First of all, see if the cork has been thrown away. When closed, alcohol will definitely last longer. Now for some valuable tips on how to store an open bottle of wine:

use the refrigerator. Low temperatures dramatically increase the chances that the products will remain tasty for longer. Cold is able to slow down oxidation processes, as well as reduce the intensity of the development of acetic bacteria;
pour into a smaller container. Of course, it should be a glass container of dark color. With this simple action, the area of influence of air on alcohol will be significantly reduced. The selected container must be filled to the brim;
freeze leftovers. If possible, this will allow you to preserve the taste for much longer. It will hardly be possible to take it in pure form after thawing. Freezing wine is no more difficult than any usual liquid. Choose a freezer dish, pour the rest of the drink and send it to the freezer. In summer, you can get excellent desserts from ice chips of wine.

In any case, if the wine has been stored after opening for a long time and starts to deteriorate a little, losing its unique taste, just use it for creation. culinary masterpieces... Wine can be added to baked goods or cooked meat dishes and refueling for them.

Modern ways of preserving taste

If an unfinished drink is a familiar body for you and the topic of how to store open wine in bottles at home is relevant, then you can take advantage of the achievements of modern science and technology.

The following options are possible:

The use of nitrogen. Most often, this method is used in large enterprises for mass production. Thus, it is convenient to take samples of the drinks. Gas fills space and prevents air from activating oxidative processes. Some advise using a medical syringe with a needle to inject the ingredient into the bottle through the stopper. However, this is rather problematic to do.
Argon use. Specialists have developed a special Coravin system. It is made in the form of a device that looks like a gun with a needle. He pierces the cork and fills the bottle with argon. Under pressure, the wine is poured into a glass. After you finish your meal, remove the needle. The hole from it will tighten, the drink will not spoil for a long time.
Vacuum plug. This is a special device that tightly closes the bottle and evacuates air from it, creating a vacuum inside. Thus, the contents do not deteriorate or oxidize. But it should be noted that there is often a loss of taste.

Using the above methods, the question of how much wine can be stored after opening the bottle does not lose its relevance. After all, the proposed developments have a rather high cost, which makes it advisable to use them at home. Rather, they are aimed at the audience of the most famous collectors, whose products cost a lot of money.

How to tell if a wine is spoiled

The shelf life of bottled wine is influenced not only by how you save it. Sometimes mistakes are made even during production.

Signs of product spoilage:

the appearance of a yeast aftertaste;
mother-of-pearl in the color of wine indicates its disease;
if the product has acquired a black or, conversely, a whitish tint, then there is a violation of the manufacturing technology;
sometimes in the bottle, you can observe the appearance of thin silky streams. In a similar way, pathogenic bacteria manifest themselves, which have received favorable conditions for reproduction.

The presence of these indicators prompts only one action - to throw out low-quality wine, so as not to earn health problems.

Now you know how to store open bottle wine at home and you can maximize the enjoyment of your favorite drink.

Grapes and other fruits are produced all over the world. Wine making recipes are different for different nations, they are passed on to descendants, modified with the development of new technologies. Along with the recipe and technological processes, an important point is the storage conditions of the wine. Why are some drinks suitable for consumption within one to three years from the date of manufacture, while others live longer than humans?

What determines the storage time of wine?

How to store wine? First of all, it should be remembered that any wine is a living product that breathes and constantly changes its taste and organic properties, even when tightly sealed in bottles. That is why these drinks require special storage conditions. Certain factors affect the shelf life of a wine:

The quality of the raw materials used for the manufacture.
Strength of the drink.
guilt.
Lighting.
Humidity mode.
The material from which the wine container is made.

What is a centenary wine?

In the collection vaults of many eminent wineries, there are museum exhibits that are about a hundred years old. These rarities are very expensive in cost and very valuable in composition. wine is directly dependent on the grapes from which it was made. Drinks from some varieties simply have to be aged for a long period, from this they only get better. These are, for example, drinks from Chardonnay, Cabernet and many other French varieties. Due to the high cost of a matured product, consumers often buy a young drink, and already mature it themselves, and decide how to store wine at home. can also be stored sherry, tokay, madeira. Red wines have a longer aging and shelf life than whites.

Sparkling wines and vermouths are young natural wines in which the fermentation process is interrupted by the addition of gases or infusions of various herbs. Their quality does not deteriorate, but they can be stored for no more than one and a half years. The same applies to fruit and berry wines created without the addition of alcohol.

Wine storage temperature

The most important condition for proper maturation and aging is optimal. The fact is that excessive cold slows down the fermentation process, too high temperatures, on the contrary, accelerate maturation, and the wine does not have time to form its qualities. There is no difference in storage temperatures for white and red wines. The best range is considered to be from 10 to 12 ° C for natural, for fortified, temperatures of 16-17 ° C are permissible.

One more important point- the temperature should be constant, without perceptible fluctuations.

Where does wine live?

All wine producers, both large concerns and small farms, equip special wine cellars. The fact is that in addition to temperature, wine needs a special humidity regime. Dry corks allow air to pass through and the drink evaporates. Excessive moisture, the smell of dampness and mold are also among the enemy of quality wine.

Those who decide to store wine in a common cellar should remember that this is a product - which absorbs the smells of everything that is stored nearby, so the wine shelf should be equipped so that these vapors do not reach it.

Complete rest

How to store wine in bottles correctly. A live drink that matures and changes its qualities throughout the entire aging period is very sensitive to all kinds of vibrations, movements and shakes. The stored bottles are moved as little as possible so as not to provoke an undesirable acceleration of chemical processes. They don't even wipe dust and cobwebs from them!

In wine cellars, bottles are stored horizontally, so that the cork is in constant contact with the wine. When wet, it will prevent oxygen from entering the bottle, which leads to oxidation and the transformation of wine into vinegar. At the same time, the crusts allow the wine to breathe, which cannot be said about plastic corks.

The best container for wine

New technologies, issues of economy and environmentally friendly processing of containers also touched upon winemaking. On store shelves, you can more and more often find drinks packaged in packages of various shapes, like juices. Well, this is quite logical from an economic point of view: such packages are cheaper, they are easier to store and transport. As for the terms of keeping, the wine in such packages can be stored at low temperatures for no more than a year. The best container for storage is still a dark glass bottle.

As for the quality of wine in bags, this is a moot point. Some brands in this way pack quite high-quality good wines that are in demand by consumers. This is especially true in those countries where wine is a product of daily consumption.

Gourmets, lovers of good wine, owners of wine collections, of course, choose only bottles, and here the aesthetic side plays an important role.

Wine and sun

Grapes are sunny berries, they grow only in the area where they can be caressed by warm rays for a long time. A product made from grapes already has completely different needs. Sunlight and bright electric light activates unwanted processes that spoil the quality of the wine. The dark glass of the bottles protects the drink somewhat, but not completely. Therefore, the wine rack in the room chosen for storage should be in the dark almost constantly.

Homemade wines

Many craftsmen at home get wines that are not inferior in taste to the promoted brands. If everyone has their own technological procedures and secrets, then the storage of homemade wines is not much different from the rules for maintaining industrial cellars. The necessary conditions are the same: observance of the temperature regime, maintaining the necessary humidity, rest and protection from light and foreign odors. Of course, you rarely find ideal conditions at home, that is, a specially equipped wine cellar. Most often, a place is allocated for storing homemade wine in a common basement or pantry. A good invention of our time, which is becoming more common among small producers and large collectors, is the wine cabinet.

In cellars and cellars, large volumes of wine are stored in oak barrels. An interesting way of aging and storing wines among the peoples of the Caucasus. They use large ones - kemras, buried in the ground.

For longer periods of time, it is advisable to pour the wine from the container in which it was settled, into a dark glassware... Ideally - in bottles with cork stoppers, it is possible in jars (there are some dark ones with screwed plastic caps).

How to store in an apartment

The best advice for those who are going to store more than a couple of liters of wine is, of course, to install a dedicated wine cabinet. Alas, the scale of standard apartments does not always allow it, and such a pleasure is not cheap. The conditions of the apartment are not the most suitable for fermentation and maturation of the drink, but a few liters, poured into a suitable container, can be stored in an ordinary bar, in the refrigerator or in a dark closet. Old-style houses have excellent places - cold storage rooms under the kitchen windowsill.

Forget about plastic bottles! Wine, like no other liquid, especially changes its taste and smell from this material. In such a bottle, a draft drink can be transported, and even that is not far away.

Household appliances for wine

Special cabinets for long-term storage of wine bottles have been used for a long time in houses whose owners consider themselves to be connoisseurs and lovers of good wine. A wine cabinet has nothing to do with a regular refrigerator. In addition to maintaining a constant required temperature, they perform the functions of complete climate control. Wine bottles here are in complete rest, a certain humidity and darkness. Such a thing is for those who like to buy wine in bulk, or produce it on their own, but not in such quantities as to build a large wine cellar.

How to store open wine

It is already clear where, in what, and how to store wine prepared for a long period. The question remains unclear: what to do with an open bottle of wine? How does a live drink behave when it has access to the environment? After the air has entered the bottle, the oxidation process begins, a high-quality drink gradually turns into vinegar. An unfinished bottle of wine must be tightly closed immediately with a cork. This will slow down the oxidation, but will not save the wine completely.

Faster than all fall into disrepair sparkling wine... Their life after opening is 4 hours, maximum 24 if tightly closed. White, rosé, light red wines retain their aroma for up to three days. A dense red drink can please the unchanged taste for five days. Fortified and sweet wines remain open for the longest time. Alcohol and sugar resist oxidation. Madera, sherry, port and their other brothers in composition remain in their original form for a week.

How to renew storage rows

First of all, open wine needs coldness. Oxidation slows down at low temperatures. Just do not forget to take out the red wine before use, to warm it up to room temperature - otherwise it will not reveal its entire bouquet.

For a short time, but still, special vacuum stoppers or the addition of gas with a special device will help to extend the life of the wine.

You can pour the rest of the drink into a smaller container, tightly closed lid... The wine should fill the container to the very top, so that there is no room for air.

What to do if you didn’t manage to finish the drink, but it’s a pity to pour it out? Of course, good wines are expensive. Use them in your cooking. Oxidized wine is the most best marinade for meat, and not only. Do you think that made Italian and French cuisine? That's right - the use of wine and wine vinegar in the recipe.

It is very practical to have a few bottles of wine in stock. But many questions arise: where to store wine, how long will it stay in bottles at home, and what to do if the bottle is open? Let's sort it out together.

Wine storage requirements

At first glance, it seems that keeping wine at home is a very simple process: you bought it, put it on a shelf and forgot it. It’s not like that at all. Several rules must be followed in order to properly store wines so that their taste does not change.

Rule 1. Constant temperature conditions

It is very important to find the right temperature. Indeed, at high values of the thermometer, the wine ages faster, losing subtle and fresh notes, and at low values, it begins to grow cloudy. Temperature extremes can ruin the cork and oxidize the drink.

So, the storage temperature of bottled wine:

White wine- 9-12 ° C;
Homemade grape wine- 10-12 ° C;
Fortified dessert wine- 14-16 ° C;
Red wine- 15-17 ° C.

Rule 2. Room humidity

The shelf life of this drink also directly depends on the humidity in the room. It is necessary to keep the humidity in the room at the level of 65-80%. This amount of moisture will prevent the cork from drying out and, accordingly, getting oxygen into the bottle.

Rule 3. Lighting

Wine doesn't like bright lighting... Storing wine in tinted glass bottles is more efficient. Direct sunlight or the bright light of fluorescent lamps can cause the drink to age quickly.

Ideal conditions are to place a shop and Home wine in bottles in equipped cells, where the penetration of light will be minimal.

Some varieties of white wines are characterized by increased photosensitivity, so they are recommended to be stored in completely shaded rooms. Read carefully the manufacturer's recommendations on the packaging.

Rule 4. Horizontal position and rest

Wine can only be stored in horizontal position... This is especially true of expensive collectible items. The fact is that in the horizontal position the wine comes into contact with the cork, which, in turn, influences the formation of taste.

Another important point is peace.... The more often you shake the bottles and shake the wine inside, the faster it will go bad. That is why the bottles become covered with dust over time.

The photo shows wine that has been stored since 1175.

Storage methods

We figured out the conditions at what temperature to store wine, now we need to figure out what to store homemade wine and other varieties.

The main methods are presented in the table:

Image	Recommendations
	Method 1. Wine cellar. It's a real stroke of luck if you have a home with your own cellar. It is much easier to equip shelving and maintain an optimal temperature underground.
	Method 2. Cabinet thermostat. The wine cabinet can hold from 50 to 500 bottles (depending on the model). The set temperature and humidity are always maintained inside, which makes it easier to create the necessary conditions.
	Method 3. Special racks and racks. Original wine racks are able not only to keep the drink in perfect condition, but also to become an excellent decorative element. How long is homemade wine stored in this way? Until the moment of use. The only drawback is that you need to constantly monitor the temperature, humidity and lighting in the room.

Storing homemade wine

A few tips on how to store homemade wine:

Plum, cherry, apple- up to 3 years old;
Grape- up to 4 years old;
Sea buckthorn, mountain ash- more than 5 years.

InstructionsHow to bottle wine with your own hands to preserve its taste for as long as possible:

Rinse glass bottles and pour the drink into them;
Leave to rest for a few hours;
Then drive in the corks under pressure in the neck;

Cover the top of the cork with wax or sealing wax... You can buy wax and sealing wax for clogging in specialized stores, the price is low;

Put the bottles on the racks until the moment of use.

There is a misconception that homemade wine can be stored in glass jars covered with metal or plastic lids. This is the wrong approach. After two months, the drink will begin to oxidize and become unusable.

If you have a cellar, you can consider the option of storing in oak barrels:

Within 10 days pour boiling water over the barrels;
On the last day the barrel must be fumigated with sulfur from the inside. To do this, a small piece of sulfur is set on fire and lowered into the hole;
Then pour the wine into containers and put it in the cellar.

Outcomes

It is not difficult to make a home stock of wine, the main thing is to follow all the listed rules. The video in this article will reveal all the secrets of storing this drink. If something is not clear - ask questions in the comments.

Aging potential Is a conditional indicator of a wine's ability to maintain its quality and change for the better over time. Not all wines are equally good for long-term storage and aging, and some of them are not suitable for this at all. Moreover, according to experts only 5-10% of all world grape wines improve after 1 year of storage, and only 1% improves after 5-10 years... The aging potential of a wine depends on many factors: the variety and quality of the raw materials, the vintage, the processing process, the region where the grapes are grown and the wine-making style. During aging, due to very complex and not fully understood chemical reactions, a suitable wine acquires a softer, multi-layered, rich taste and aroma. In all respects, the wine is getting better.

How long can a bottle of wine be kept?

It depends on many factors. In general, and we have talked about this more than once, wines with a low pH (Pinot noir, Sangiovese, etc.) have a great aging potential, as do red wines with a high content of phenols, in particular tannins (Cabernet Sauvignon, Nebbiolo, etc.) Shiraz). Among white wines, those with the highest acidity and extractiveness (contain a sufficient amount of non-volatile substances) have the greatest storage potential. The ratio of sugars, acids, phenols and water is a key indicator of how well a wine will age.

The golden rule of bookmarking wine for long-term storage is: it is better to put 10 bottles of one wine than one bottle of 10 different varieties. During aging, the wine needs to be tasted periodically - this is the only way to understand whether it is developing or degrading, and also to find out when the drink is at its "peak". Tastings are recommended to be held at least once every six months or a year.

Without delving into complex biochemical processes, we have collected several popular grape wines that are not at all suitable for long-term storage, and wines that are best suited for this. We hope you, having studied the composition of these wines and their other features, will be able to deduce some patterns and use them in practice in home winemaking... Red wines are better suited for aging, depending on their aging potential, they can be stored for 2 to 10 years. White wines are usually recommended to be consumed 2-3 years after preparation. Sparkling wines are almost identical to whites. But this is not a paradigm and there are always exceptions!

Almost no aging potential (should be drunk immediately or within 1 year):

German QbA
Asti and Moscato Spumante
Pink ones like White Zinfandel
European table wines
Cheap varietal wines (excluding Cabernet Sauvignon)
Most "country wines" ("vin de pays")
Ordinary wines AOC ("vins de primeur", "vins nouveaux")
Vermouth
Basic sherries
Ports "tawny"
Wines made from grape concentrate

With good aging potential:

Botrytized wines (5-25 years old)
Chardonnay (2-6 years old)
Riesling (2-30 years old)
Hungarian Furmint (3-25 years old)
Chenin Blanc of the Loire Valley (4-30 years old)
Semillon Valley Hunter (6-15 years old)
Cabernet Sauvignon (4-20 years old)
Merlot (2-10 years old)
Nebbiolo (4-20 years old)
Pinot noir (2-8 years old)
Sangiovese (2-8 years old)
Sira / Shiraz (4-16 years old)
Zinfandel (2-6 years old)
Wine Bordeaux (8-25 years old)
Burgundy Grand Cru (8-25 years old)
Aglianico of Taurasi (4-15 years old)
Baga of Bairrada (4-8 years old)
Hungarian Kadarka (3-7 years old)
Bulgarian Melnik (3-7 years old)
Croatian Plavac Mali (4-8 years old)
Georgian Saperavi (3-10 years old)
Madiran Tannat (4-12 years old)
Spanish Tempranillo (2-8 years old)
Greek Xinomavro (4-10 years old)
Vintage ports (20-50 years old)

But the potential for aging in itself does not mean anything if the wine is stored in unsuitable conditions. One of the most important factors affecting the "survival" of the drink and the evolution of its organoleptic properties is the ambient temperature. At the same time, what was said below is relevant not only for wines that you intend to store for more than 5 years to improve them, but also for wines without aging potential, which you intend to consume in 1-2 years after preparation. Even the simplest wine gets better after aging for at least 6 months.

At what temperature should wine be stored?

Quite oxidized wine is dead wine, vinegar, but some oxidative processes are a natural part of aging. During long-term storage of wines, an acceptable level of oxidation is allowed, which occurs due to the contact of the drink with oxygen in the unfilled part of the bottle (the so-called "ullage"), as well as with a small amount of oxygen entering the bottle through the cork (of course, if it is the cork). The high temperature promotes rapid oxidation by stimulating chemical reactions. With each increase in temperature by 8 ° C, the aging rate of wines doubles.

But this does not mean that the wine that was stored during room temperature and higher, it will ripen twice as fast and get better. On the contrary, those non-volatile substances, elusive for our receptors, are oxidized at high temperatures and react so quickly that they do not have time to form complex compounds that are necessary for the formation of a multilayer taste and aroma. At storage temperatures above 26-27 ° C, the wine can "cook" - instead of light fruit motifs and noble undertones, the drink will acquire the taste of stewed fruits and burnt sugar. Even if the wine is stored for a short time at high temperatures (up to 24 hours), its taste can quickly become dull and expressionless. At the same time, the wine can be stored at 20 ° C for a long enough time without a long-term negative effect.

At the other end of the spectrum, wines barely age at storage temperatures below 10 ° C. In addition, at low temperatures, crystals of tartaric acid can develop in the drink, which in no way affect its taste or aroma, but look unpresentable and can damage the oral cavity if they get into your glass.

The average optimum temperature for storing and aging wines is 12.5 o C.

Of course, this temperature is not ideal for all wines (for example, “full-bodied” reds and dessert wines it is possible and even necessary to store at 14-16 o C), but 12 o C will definitely not harm any wine during its short-term or long-term storage. It is much more important to avoid temperature fluctuations (i.e. temperature changes exceeding 0.5-1.5 ° C per day), which have the most devastating effect on aging wine. Temperature fluctuations not only negatively affect oxidative processes, but can also disrupt the tightness of the cork (due to changes in the volume of wine, which, when heated, increases in volume and presses on the cork, and when cooled, sucks oxygen into the bottle).

What other conditions are desirable to provide?

In addition to a stable temperature, wine needs a number of other optimal conditions for its successful storage and aging. Usually recommended (but not always appropriate): no ultraviolet radiation, a certain level of humidity, no vibrations and horizontal arrangement. In short, then ideal conditions for storage and aging of wine:

ambient temperature: 12.5 o C
annual temperature fluctuations: no more than 2.5-5.5 o С
daytime temperature fluctuations: no more than 0.5-1.5 o С
relative humidity: 70%
no ultraviolet radiation
no vibration
horizontal arrangement of the bottle

Relative humidity

Pay attention to this condition only when the bottle is corked. A relative humidity of 50-70% in the room where the wine is stored will prevent the cork from drying out and, as a result, its cracking / destruction. Humidity above 80% is undesirable and will accompany the appearance of mold on the outside of the cork and on the label - a purely cosmetic problem.

Ultraviolet radiation

Light class or "taste of light" ("goût de lumiere", "casse de lumiere") is a term used to describe wines that have been overexposed to sunlight or fluorescent light. This wine takes on the smell of wet wool, burnt rubber, hydrogen sulfide and even the smell of a substance secreted by the skunk's glands (due to the formation of mercaptan). White and sparkling wines are more susceptible to this problem - red wines protect the polyphenols (tannins). But even red wines can deteriorate significantly over time after prolonged exposure to UV radiation. The first bastion is tinted bottles that work like sunglasses (some manufacturers bottle their wines in bottles with a UV filter), the second is to store bottles in a dark place, and use incandescent lamps or LED light sources for lighting (fluorescent lamps generate UV radiation ).

Vibrations

It is believed that any, even the smallest, vibrations will negatively affect the taste of aging wine. Research by Vernon L. Singleton, an American professor of oenology, has shown that vibrations do not significantly affect the taste or aroma of aging wine, but they lead to a constant dispersion of sediment, which will certainly accumulate on the walls of the bottle (or its bottom if the wine is stored vertically) in the aging process. In theory, this not only affects the clarity of the drink, but also its taste.

Arrangement of bottles

Traditionally, bottles are stored on their side, in a horizontal position. So the wine is constantly in contact with the cork, moisturizing it and preventing it from drying out. If you are going to drink wine during the year or it is corked with a non-natural cork (now various materials are used for this, which you can read about in the article), then wine can be just as well stored vertically. But horizontal shelving saves space and definitely cannot harm any bottled wines, so this condition definitely makes sense.

Where to store wine in an apartment and a private house?

The worst place to store any wine is in the kitchen, garage, or any storage room (shed) on the street. The kitchen is usually the warmest place in an apartment or house, it is well lit, and is also subject to constant temperature fluctuations (during cooking) and vibrations (from household appliances). In garages and warehouses, there is no way to fine-tune the temperature: hot in summer, cold in winter. In a garage or shed, there are also often various unpleasant odors (gasoline, varnishes, paints, etc.) that can enter your wine through the cork.

Everyone knows that the best place for long-term storage and aging of wines there is a cellar / cellar. It is usually quite cool, dark and damp in it. But the basement is the basement. Make sure it is free from temperature fluctuations, moderate humidity, clean and free from strong third-party odors. If your basement isn't completely underground, store your wines on an underground wall. If the humidity is too high (more than 80%), do not store the wine directly on the ground. Of course, you should take care of buying or making your own wine rack.

What if you don't have a cellar, you live in an apartment? First, find a cabinet or any other piece of furniture in which you can place bottles (the minimum task is to protect the wine from the walls, which will have different temperatures at different times of the year). If you don't find such a place, try to make a wine rack or shelf on a shaded or north wall. Using a thermometer and hygrometer, measure the temperature and humidity in areas where you can arrange storage space. When it comes to choosing between a space with a higher, but stable temperature, and a place where it is cooler, but there are temperature fluctuations, choose the first option.

Storing wine under such conditions is a short-term solution and is completely unsuitable for long-term aging. It is recommended to store wine at room temperature for no more than 6 months.

Can wine be refrigerated?

Constant temperature fluctuations due to compressor cycling, too low temperatures (rarely above 5 ° C) in general, constant vibrations and low humidity (usually in the range of 17-40%) make the refrigerator one of the worst places for long-term storage of wine. Add to that foods with strong odors that can affect the taste of your drink.

The refrigerator is only suitable for short-term storage of wines that you plan to drink within 1-2 months!

If you have a spare refrigerator, you can create conditions in it that are suitable for storing wine for 1-2 years. First of all, you need to take care of a stable temperature: fill the free space with eggplants with water or fill the refrigerator completely with wine. The moisture level can be provided with open water tanks. You can also connect the refrigerator via a temperature controller, but then, most likely, you will soon have to say goodbye to the compressor.

Wine coolers / cabinets are a good alternative to the cellar for apartment residents. They provide a stable temperature, and a tinted door will protect the wine from UV radiation. It is expensive, not suitable for too long storage of wine, but it is often the only way to solve the problem.

How to store homemade wines?

Storage conditions for home wines should not differ from the conditions described above, that is, they need to ensure the optimal temperature, humidity, etc. As for the aging period, any homemade wine, whether it is grape or fruit and berry, also has a certain aging potential. Sweeter and stronger wines last longer than lighter and drier wines. Wines with a high tannin content have good aging potential. For example, it can be stored for 10-20 years, not only without losing its taste, but also with a noticeable improvement. Popular among home winemakers also have good performance for storing them for up to 10 years (provided that they contain juice sour apples and all necessary technological processes were followed).

To increase the aging potential of house wines, it is important to bottle them properly while maintaining complete sterility. Plastic containers should be discarded immediately and used only as a temporary measure (you can store wine in food-grade plastic bottles, labeled PET (PETE) or HDP (with the number 1 or 2), for no more than 3 months). You should also avoid storing wine in glass jars, rolled up with metal lids. Ordinary glass jars for conservation with glass lids, but always with a food-grade silicone seal. This solution is better than the previous ones, but not ideal and should also be considered as a temporary measure (no more than 6 months of storage).

Of course, the best solution for long-aging wine is to use traditional wine bottles with cork stoppers. Wine bottle capping equipment can be purchased inexpensively on Chinese marketplaces, for example. During the bottling phase, it is advisable to use a siphon, which should be lowered as low as possible to the bottom of the bottle to minimize the contact of the wine with oxygen. The distance between the wine and the bottom of the cork should be no more than 0.5-1 cm. Be sure to use only new corks that have not been previously used!

To minimize the contact of home wine with oxygen, the cork can be filled with wax or sealing wax.

How to store wine? This question requires a detailed answer, affecting such subtleties as the storage temperature of wine, the ability to preserve its taste and aroma properties after opening the container, storage at home, and much more.

High-quality wine products are produced in compliance with strict rules of complex technology, therefore, the present natural wine live fermentation is deservedly considered not only an exquisite drink, but also quite capricious, and knowing how to properly store wine is a separate science and even an art!

General rules for storing wine

If you do not go into details, you can highlight the main conditions on which it is based correct storage guilt:

Lack of any light. Only dark rooms are suitable for storing wine bottles.
A moisture content of 70% is optimal for storing wine in bottles with natural corks.
Maintaining a constant temperature regime at the level of +11 ° С - +14 ° С. For whites and sparkling ones, it is better to +11 ° С - + 12 ° С for reds a little higher. The shelf life of wine is constantly reduced with temperature changes.
Using special shelves for storing wine or coasters to keep the bottles in a horizontal position.
Peace. It is very important to ensure that the wine is in such conditions that the bottles do not have to be shifted or disturbed in any other way.

To understand why wine shelf life is so closely related to these five rules, you need to look at them in more detail.

Why is “friendship” between wine and light impossible?

Winemaking flourishes in warm regions, where sweet bunches of grapes ripen under the gentle rays of the sun, but here's the paradox: the sun, or any other light, is destructive for wine. That is why wine is bottled in dark bottles, and especially expensive varieties - in bottles with an ultraviolet filter, but even this is not enough to fully protect the product from light.

And the thing is that light starts and accelerates the aging process of wine, contributes to the appearance of rancidity in aromatic drink, as a result of which its noble taste is irretrievably lost. You just have to pour out such wine, it is impossible to drink it.

This is how wine is stored in a special wine cellar

Why is it necessary to maintain a certain level of humidity in the storage?

Cork, which is used as a cork material, is very sensitive to air humidity. If the room is too dry, then the cork, accordingly, will begin to dry out and shrink, not ensuring a tight closure of the bottle neck. Air begins to penetrate into the container, the wine quickly oxidizes, and its aroma evaporates.

With high humidity, both the cork and the label can become moldy. A bottle of expensive wine with a spoiled and peeled label is still half the trouble, and pouring out a valuable drink due to the fact that its taste and smell began to give off mold is completely offensive. Even with ideal humidity, the room needs good ventilation, the air in it should not be stale.

Why is the right temperature so important?

The temperature regime that is optimal for wine must be maintained constantly, in no case allowing sudden changes, otherwise the wine will deteriorate very quickly, and the cork will become unusable, maybe even crack. An increased temperature leads to premature aging of the wine, and too cold deprives it of those wonderful taste properties for which this drink is so appreciated.

The wine bottle should not stand, but lie

Why are bottles stored horizontally?

The wine storage rack is equipped with special stands that support the bottles motionless in a lying position, not by accident. This is the only way to ensure constant contact of the cork with the wine, so that it does not dry out, and air does not get into the bottle.

Bottles are placed with their labels up, not only in order to make it easier to determine which wine is in each specific container, but also so that a possible sediment can be seen through the transparent bottom side without much alarm for the wine. By the way, its presence does not necessarily indicate the low quality of the product, quite the opposite: the sediment quite often appears in the wines of expensive collection varieties.

Why is peace so necessary for guilt?

As already mentioned, good natural wine is a living drink. Processes are constantly taking place inside the bottles, the wine changes, matures, while remaining extremely sensitive not only to shocks, but also to vibrations. In order not to disturb the wine once again and not to disturb the natural course of its life, experienced collectors do not even wipe the dust and brush the cobwebs off the bottles, preserving their peace.

For long-term storage, it is better to purchase a wine cooler, for short-term storage a rack is suitable

Can wine be stored for a long time?

Not all varieties of wine are subject to long-term storage, for example, young wine is best consumed as soon as possible after its production. The shelf life of white wine is usually no longer than three years from the date of issue, with the exception of only some of its varieties. But the life span of red wine can be calculated in tens of years.

The record holders for the longest shelf life are Bordeaux and Burgundy wines, a real dream and pride of every collector. These wines can even outlast their owner, as they can be stored for up to a hundred years. Contrary to popular belief, not all wines only get better over the years, so it is important to know whether to send to long storage in the collection each specific bottle of wine. Perhaps it would be more correct to drink it in the near future for a romantic dinner or in the company of dear friends.

Many amateurs good wines make good investments, acquiring rare and expensive varieties with a short aging period, and leave them in storage for one or several decades, during which the cost of exhibits increases to fabulous sums.

Red wine can be stored for decades

Storage space

Where to store wine? This question does not arise when it comes to placing several bottles of wine purchased for the upcoming celebration. If a decision is made to collect a large collection of good wines, then you will have to approach the arrangement of the storage very thoroughly.

The phrase "wine cellar" always breathes with the romance of antiquity and even some mystery. Before the mind's eye, stone walls immediately appear, along which there are wooden honeycomb shelves filled with dusty narrow-necked bottles, and on the floor there are huge oak barrels and pot-bellied jugs. Of course, an equipped cellar is the best answer to the question of how to store wine.

Alas, not everyone can boast of having a wine cellar, so many are puzzled by the problem: how to store wine at home, and is it possible to store wine in the refrigerator at a suitable temperature regime?

I would like to say right away that the refrigerator is not suitable for long-term storage, as light and vibration will adversely affect the wine in it, and it will also quickly absorb the smells of products lying on neighboring shelves.

You can purchase a wine storage cabinet, inside which the desired microclimate will be automatically maintained. This thing is, of course, not cheap and takes up quite a lot of space, but for a large collection of expensive wines there is no better option at home.

A couple of bottles can simply be wrapped in dark paper and put in a box, and put away in a dark, cool place.

Storage tanks for wine

Classic and most the best way- dark glass bottles, in which wine is usually sold. Some people wonder if wine can be stored in plastic bottles. The answer is negative!

A bottle or other plastic container is not at all a suitable container for storing wine. This material has an unpleasant specific odor, and wine is a product that very quickly absorbs all extraneous aromas. Would you like to drink a "plastic" drink?

For example, dry wine stored in plastic can become completely disgusting. Even vodka, if it was in a plastic bottle, will change the taste not for the better. Why spoil good quality expensive wine and vodka products?

Large volumes of drinks are stored in wooden barrels by elite distilleries; moreover, not all types of wood are suitable for the manufacture of such containers. Some use stainless steel cookware. Wine material is often left in it for fermentation during the production of wines in factories or at home.

When asked whether it is possible to store homemade wine in plastic bottles, the answer is the same: it is possible, but not necessary!

Sparkling wine in storage

Conditions for homemade wine

How to store homemade wine? Are there any peculiarities and subtleties? There are some craftsmen who produce simply wonderful homemade wines by fermenting berries or fruits, and there are quite a lot of such wines in a good year.

Storing homemade wine, in general, does not differ from the conditions in which factory drinks are stored, but you should not save it for decades, since it does not have such a long shelf life. However, there are subtleties to solve the problem of how to store homemade wine for the longest period of time:

use dry sterile bottles made of dark glass;
clog them with natural sterilized corks;
store in a cool, dark place.

Note: fortified and dessert wines last longer than others.

What to do with an open bottle?

How long can open wine be stored without compromising its quality? It so happens that the drink is not completely drunk, and you want to save its leftovers for later. Connoisseurs, when asked how to store open wine, answer: "not for long!"

In this situation, a refrigerator for storing wine will just be necessary, because at a low temperature, the wine will not oxidize too quickly if it is properly corked. Still, a week is the maximum period.

Every day the taste of wine will irreparably deteriorate, so it is better not to store opened bottles for longer than a day. Some people use special pumps to create a partial vacuum in the bottle, but along with the air, the aromas of the wine itself evaporate from there. It would be much better to simply pour it into a smaller container, "under the neck", this method is more effective.

Interesting: the oldest wines can lose their unique bouquet in just a few minutes after opening the bottle!

What is organoleptic

Organoleptic - determination of the quality of wine without laboratory experiments. Organoleptic analysis, based on the study of wine using the senses (sight, smell, touch, taste and even hearing), can be carried out by an experienced sommelier. A minute is enough for such a person to be convinced of the quality of the fermentation product and to draw a conclusion about what is in the glass: real wine or a substitute.

Wine is also famous for the fact that it requires the right food: meat or cheese, nuts or seafood. For example, crabs, lobsters or our usual crayfish are quite suitable for white, if, of course, they are of high quality and fresh, and not the day before yesterday. , read the special material on our website.