Tips on Wine Cellaring

Recently, we have received a lot of interest in our affordable yet quality wine cellars from Vintec , Transtherm and Eurocave and here's some commonly asked questions with interesting answers that we want to share with all here. 

Question: Is cellaring only for expensive wines? 

Answer: No. All wines, including table wines or daily drinking wines, can benefit from the right cooling or storage conditions. 

Question: How long does it take before wines spoil under improper storage? 

Answer: Wines are negatively affected with incorrect or bad storage conditions. Adverse impact can happen within a matter of days. 

Question: How fast will wines spoil under improper storage? 

Answer: Wines are negatively affected with incorrect or bad storage conditions. Adverse impact can happen within a matter of days. 

Question: Does all wines (red wines, white wines, roses, Champagnes) cellar at the same temperature? I have heard that red and white wines are ideal at different temperatures?  

Answer: While it is true that different types of wines (i.e. different styles) have different ideal serving temperatures, the temperature to cellar wines is the same, at 12-14% Celcius. 

Question: Why does different wines have different serving temperature? 

Answer: When a wine is served below its ideal temperature, tannins will become harsher and acidity stronger. On the other hand, if wines are served too warm, aromas will be stripped of their youthfulness and overwhelmed by the taste of alcohol. 

Question: So how does all these affect my selection of a wine cellar ? 

Answer: Well, if you are an avid collector whose primary objective is to cellar wines for future consumption or other use, then you can simply get a single temperature wine cooler / cellar that has only one temperature. However, if you are a restaurant or a welcoming host who needs to serve different wines (red wines, white wines) frequently, then dual temperature cellars are more ideal as you can set the temperature to be at the optimal serving temperature.  

So in summary, what are top 5 tips of proper wine storage or wine cellaring? 

1. A stable temperature of 12-14 degrees is needed. Wine is a complex and fragile balance of amino acides, phenols, carbohydrates and other chemical components. Aging wine hence is a series of various chemical reactions between these compounds and minute quantities of oxygen in the bottle from when it was corked and some small amounts that make its way in via the cork over time. These reactions are easily affected by physical and chemical changes in the environment especially fluctautions in temperature. For instance, storing a wine that would have originally required 10 years of careful aging at the wrong temperature of 25 degree celcius can cause the wine to be past its prime in just a few months. That's how big the impact of temperature is on the quality of wine. 

2. Dark storage area. Light breaks down the complex molecules that create some of the special favours in properly aged wines. 

3. Airflow (sometimes referred to as Ventilation) . Wine needs to be kept in an odourless environment as some air will get in contact with the wines via the cork. Harmful odours include highly volatile chemical compounds (household solvents like cleaning solutions, fresh paint) or foods with strong smells like onions and garlic should be avoided. 

4.Humidity above 50 %. Cork  (not the synthetic ones of course) will degenerate over time and will still dry out even if bottle is placed on the side because top of the cork is still exposed to the air around it. Humidity helps to prevent the cork from drying out though it should not be too high either as the mold or mildew may emerge and damage the wine labels and storage area. 

5. No vibrations. These deteriorates wines prematurely and are hence, not recommended.  

Given the above, no wonder many wine lovers in warm and high humidity Singapore are anxious to find proper wine storage solutions. Well, getting a good wine cellars can solve most of the problems that can potentially arise if we don't have the luxury of having an underground cellar in our home.