Wine and organic

1. Wine and organic 5712-14 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20015, United States +1 202-537-6062 Wine How to Store Wine Properly Wine storage can get pretty elaborate and expensive, but it does not have to be. We will assume, for instance, that you do not have the resources to build a wine cellar, and that you are not able to submerge your wine collection in metal enclosures at the bottom of the sea for a year, like one winery has come to be famous for. The next options are a wine refrigerator, which will cost you between $80 and $300, or a standard wine rack, or even the humble refrigerator you have now. The most basic thing to know about wine storage is 55 degrees. That is the maximum recommended temperature to store wine at. The minimum is 45 degrees. You can immediately see why a cellar would be nice to have -- most of us live at 70 degrees or so, and the ideal temperature for a refrigerator that is for food is around 36 degrees. This is why getting an $80, or even a $150 wine refrigerator may be a good idea if you tend to have any amount of wine around at one time and if you really want to keep it at its peak for more than a month or two. The $80 models keep about eight bottles properly chilled, and most of the $150 models keep 18 bottles. But if you are just keeping your wine around for a week or two, its is good enough to just store it on its side in a wine rack out of the sun or in the refrigerator. If possible, put the wine in a spot where it will not get bumped -- vibration is another thing that works against optimal flavor. Most single unit houses have a few spots that can approach the 55 degree ideal. Garages and porches are ideal, at least in the winter. You will have to move your wine stash to an air conditioned pantry during the summer. And if you were thinking about just putting it in a cooler and forgetting about it, that is unfortunately not a recommended solution. Wines are best stored with some air circulation, and keeping them in a dark sealed container could actually result in mold growing on the corks. The mold -- and any other rotting material, including wood that has dry rot -- will work its way through the cork and flavor the wine. Interestingly, this also applies to spoiling, or even aging food. Unfortunately, if you were thinking about storing your wine near a window in the cold part of the year, think again. The sunlight from the window is considered very bad for wine. If you can get the wine out of the sunlight but still near the cold that is coming through the window, then your idea will work. There is some good news, especially if you like red wine. While white and sparkling wines are generally served relatively cold -- at 45 degrees and above -- red wines are served at room temperature. A sommelier would recommend letting the wine come up to room temperature for a full day after being stored in a refrigerator.