28th April 2023
How wines are stored often has an influence on their quality as they age. It is well known that the character of many wines improves with time. Of course, there is always a chance that a bottle of wine has been stored too long and is not drinkable. Mostly when this happens it’s the fault of the way it was stored, rather than the wine itself.
While it generally applies to red wines, there are many white wines that also age in the bottle. Not all wine collectors know that self storage provides a perfect solution for wine collectors. At Quick Self Storage we recognize that wine is a particularly interesting commodity that requires special attention when being stored on behalf of clients.
Have you ever proudly opened a bottle of wine that has been kept for several years for a special occasion and alas, turned into something that resembles vinegar? This has happened to the best of us.
Well, this is something to avoid through good storage principles.
The Storage Option for Wine Collectors
Whether you are a collector of wine, with a cellar that has been designed especially for your wines, or someone who intends to do so, self-storage of wine is an art of its own.
You may make some errors in the process of perfecting your storage, and as the quantity and value of your wines start to increase you will be conscious of how important it is to get storage conditions right.
At our branches in Peterborough and Darlington, we offer excellent facilities for wine collectors. What better way to enjoy life than with a wine that’s been stored correctly and has aged properly to deliver its best to the drinker when opened?
Here are some important tips for the best way to store wine.
Wanting To Collect Wine? Here Are Some Tips
The main reason for collecting wine is to drink it. Maybe not immediately but sometime in the future when its character has improved with time. This character can be described in a number of ways, the wine could become softer, with the taste lingering in the mouth for a lot longer, or its aroma stronger.
Whichever way you look at it, the collecting of wine requires some discipline and planning as you would want your collection to grow. This growth would be both in the number of bottles you have to hand and the value of your wine collection as well.
- The Vintage
Good wines do grow in value, particularly as they become scarce. The vintage of the wine denotes the year it was made, and depending on the region and country, every vintage has its own set of characteristics which is often described in good or bad terms.
- The Origin of the Wine
If the weather in the year has been very dry, the vintage yield is likely to be smaller than in a wet year, and wines will have a different set of characters that have developed according to the weather conditions in the year that the grapes were grown.
It’s fun to start with the basics and find out where the grapes are grown, getting to know the origin of the wine you are interested in. There are schemes in which wine lovers can make their own wines, buy into the production of the wine, or even participate in making the wine themselves.
- It’s in the taste, nose, and aroma.
Of course, all the fun of wine is in the drinking, which is probably where wine lovers start their interest in collecting wine. A wine tasting of a range of wines, which should involve taste swirl and spit, rather than drinking, will get you on the right track. In this way, wine tasters can learn the characteristics of different varietals.
How to Get Started
Reading up about wines and tasting them are the two most common ways to learn about wines and are the best way to start your collection. Doing it with like-minded people is really fun.
There’s no definite answer to what wine is best, and what you enjoy is your personal choice. It’s a topic you can debate about and enjoy for hours and hours, especially if the wine is flowing!
Back home you’d want to start your cellar in the coolest part of the house. If you can’t make trips to the wineries, then scour your off-license for some interesting wines for your collection, having read about them first. A sojourn to France is the dream of many, but these days it may be more prudent to find a reliable shipper to buy your favourite wines.
Once you start to know what you like you will expand your horizons, extending your choices to six or more regions across a number of varietals of red, white, rose, or sparkling wines.
Managing Your Collection
The first rule is: drink less than you collect or have some wines for everyday drinking that are not part of your collection! In this way, you can grow your collection. As a rule of thumb, try to buy 300 bottles a year, depending of course on your budget.
Buy at least three of the same at a time so that you can taste it at different stages of its development. Keep a journal of your taste notes, as you are not likely to remember everything. The same goes for the recording of your purchases, where and when you bought the wines.
By keeping an inventory, you know what’s there and how old every wine is, so you can rotate as and when you want to and tase when you think a wine is ready for enjoyment.
As some of your collection will be stored for longer than others, store the long-term wines low down near the ground, where it’s coolest.
Warm conditions spell danger for your wines, as they could spoil, while too cold could result in corks popping when don’t want them to. When you need extra storage, a self storage unit is ideal. In this case, contact us.
Call or visit us if you would like to view a self storage unit or get in touch when you require one.
For further information and assistance about our storage units in Peterborough, please contact us at 01733 834183 or visit Self Storage Peterborough
For further information and assistance about our storage units in Darlington please contact us at 01325 489562 or visit our Self Storage Darlington
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