by Charlotte | Jun 21, 2023 | Wine Storage Stories, Wine-tastic Fact
Wine is a perishable commodity, and proper wine storage in wine cellars is critical to maintaining the delicate flavour and bouquet of the wine. The wine storage process impacts the aging of the wine and the development of tannins. Tannins within wine add astringency, bitterness, and complexity to the overall flavour.
Homemade wine cellars, most commonly developed in basement dwellings, are one of the best ways to store collections of wine. However, wine cellars need to support the proper temperatures, humidity, lighting, racking angles, ventilations, and vibrations to ensure the aging process occurs without spoiling the quality of the wine.
Here’s a quick breakdown of how to apply proper wine cellar storage that manages temperature, humidity, vibrations, and other age-inducing variables.
What is the best temperature for a home wine cellar?
A stable and pervasive chill makes an effective wine cellar. In most situations, wine can be safely stored at a temperature ranging between 40° to 65°F (4° to 18°C).
The optimal storage temperature depends on a few factors. First of all, what is the current age of the bottled wine when it comes into your possession? Second of all, how long will you preserve the bottle before it will be opened?
Will you open the bottle within a year or two? A warmer temperature of 60° to 65°F (15° to 18°C) will speed the development of the bottle bouquet to accommodate shorter aging periods. If you’re preserving the bottle for the long-term, you should cool things down closer to the 40°F (4°C) temperature.
What type of wine are you preserving in your wine cellar?
Another important consideration is the type of wine that will be preserved. Specifically, are you chilling white wines or red wines?
Quality white wines are usually consumed sooner than finely aged red wines. As a result, white wines typically require cooler storage temperatures. The flavours and bouquet of the wine must develop quicker than a red wine that, typically, ages for longer periods of time. Warmer temperatures rapidly disintegrate the esters, or fruity characters, within white wines.
Additionally, consider the compositions of the wines. Light to medium-bodied white wines, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvingnon Blancs, can be stored at temperatures between 45 and 50°F (7 and 10°C). Heavier white wines, such as Chardonnays, should be stored at slightly higher temperatures, peaking at 55°F (12.7°C).
What happens when wine is stored at room temperature?
Storing wine at room temperature of 70°F (21°C) causes undesirable changes in the wine composition. Various reactions are accelerated within the bottle, impacting the taste and texture of the wine itself. The aging process is thrown off-balance if storage temperatures approach the room temperature benchmark within a 5° to 10°F (2° to 4°C) range.
What happens when wine is stored at too hot a temperature?
Wine is cooking if the temperature approaches 80°F (26°C). A cooked wine emits a slightly burned smell resembling a bad fruit stew when uncorked from an overheated storage space. The taste of a cooked wine is an unpleasant experience because the finish is absolutely ruined.
Never store wines in environments that produce inconsistent temperatures. Attics or garages, for example, are susceptible to extreme heat and frigid cold, depending on the season. Extreme temperature fluctuations in environments like attics and garages make both locations terrible places to store bottled wine.
What happens when wine is stored at too cold a temperature?
By contrast, wine that’s been too refrigerated also suffers. Frigid chilling temperatures subject the liquid to a process called “slow aging.” This means it doesn’t mature and develop the more subtle flavours and textures that are created from the aging process.
What kind of wine storage equipment do you need?
Wall mounted wooden wine racks, wine coolers, temperature and humidity controls, storage angles and decanters are just some of the equipment necessary to protect and perfectly age a high quality bottle of wine.
How to maintain a consistent wine cellar temperature?
First and foremost, build a secure wine cellar storage space. This means investing in the right equipment, the right infrastructure, and proper insulation. Make sure there are no gaps in your cellar storage space.
Become one of the top wine cellar owners rather than a less successful one. Unsuccessful cellar builders allow air leaks to occur near windows or poorly insulated doors and ceilings. Air circulation is imperative to a proper wine aging process, so don’t skimp out on these requirements. Build a controlled environment with a proper wine cellar storage unit to control the temperature circulating within the space.
Why control humidity in a wine cellar?
Humidity is often overlooked during the construction of a wine cellar storage space. But it’s a critical factor nonetheless. Humidity control prevents mold or mildew from growing in too muggy of an environment. It protects the wooden corks in wine bottles from shrinking and drying out.
Glass and stainless steel used in modern cellars tends to be more “sterile,” but they’re very beneficial. They don’t allow mold to grow as can occur in stone or wooden structures. Mold can actually be absorbed by the wine during the aging process, seeping through the cork and directly impacting the flavour.
Concurrently, corks that are too dry are deadly to wine. A deteriorated cork loses its seal, leading to the wine’s oxidation. When the seal is broken, oxygen slowly leeches into the bottle, causing wine to convert into its more acidic form – vinegar. Wine that tastes bitter or like vinegar is usually the result of failed corking that causes wine oxidation. (Tip to winemakers: screw-cap bottle closures do not require humidity in the wine cellar.)
How to measure humidity in a wine cellar
Relative Humidity (RH) is the percentage of vapor in the air at a given temperature. Storage humidity levels should range between 60% to 80% for the ideal conditions. Too much humidity will cause mold, while too little risks dry corks and oxidized wine.
TIP: Store wine bottles on their sides to keep the cork wet. This prevents the cork from drying out should the relative humidity skew too far in the wrong direction.
How does lighting affect temperature and wine aging?
Ever since humans discovered glass making, artisans have known that dark colored glass bottles shield wine from sunlight. Darker storage environments ensure the wine tastes amazing.
In the 19th century, scientists and winemakers discovered ultraviolet light. They also uncovered the potential destructive properties of UV lighting towards wine. Ultraviolet light can penetrate dark-coloured glass, causing perishable wines stored behind that glass to spoil. Ultraviolet light oxidizes the tannins, destroying the scent and taste of the wine.
Sparkling wines are even more sensitive to light (all spectrums). They should be given extra care when stored in wine cellars with lots of foot traffic and fingers on the light switches. Delicate, light-bodied white wines run the greatest risk from light exposure. That’s why they’re often packaged in darkly tinted wine bottles for protection from bright light.
Another TIP: wines packaged in clear, light green and blue coloured bottles are the most vulnerable to light.
How to protect wine from the dangers of UV lighting
Fluorescent lighting emits significant amounts of ultraviolet light, and UV lighting ages wine prematurely. Too much light exposure triggers phenolic compounds within wine, creating “wine faults.” A wine fault results from poor wine making practices or storage conditions, spoiling the wine before it properly ages.
Glass wine cellars are hard to shield from bright lights and UV lighting. If you read the Rosehill wine cellar design page, you’ll notice we shy away from using glass materials. Glass has poor thermal and photosensitive properties that can spoil the wine.
Invest in a light timer to offset concerns about overexposing wine to lighting. Put your cellar lights on a timer so that the lights are programmed to switch off. If you forget to turn them off yourself, the timer takes care of it after a few minutes.
Use low-wattage surface-mounted lighting to minimize additional heat in the room. You’ll avoid making inadvertent temperature changes triggered by pot lights or LED lights. It should also be noted that low-wattage, non-heat emitting lights (LEDs) are better for wine storage than any fluorescent lighting.
What’s the best angle for wine cellar bottle racks?
Wine corks are typically made from the bark of cork oak trees. The cork oak (Quercus suber) is native to the Mediterranean region, and it’s the root supply of most of the world’s corks.
After about ten years in a wine bottle, a wooden cork can sometimes deteriorate. Deteriorations are triggered by ambient storage temperatures and humidity in the air. Warmer or excessively humid storage causes mold to grow, attacking the cork and the wine. Insufficient humidity may cause the cork to dry and crumble.
So what should you do to prevent either of these unfortunate scenarios? Store your wine at a proper angle.
Why store your wine bottles by laying them on their sides
When wine is stored on its side, the cork remains wet. When the cork is wet, airflow is controlled. Controlled airflow supports a healthy aging of the wine.
When bottles are stored upright, the cork dries out. This allows oxygen to alter the chemical compositions in the wine, which spoils the blend.
View our wooden wine racks with several configurations of side-angled bottle holders (which also help reduce vibration) for longer term storage options.
How to manage vibrations and micro-vibrations in wine cellars
How do the constant vibrations from a nearby roadway (streetcar!) and the micro vibrations from nearby cooling systems affect wine making and proper wine storage? They can shake, rattle and roll the body out of the wine. Constant vibrations in your wine cellar will disturb the slow process of biochemical evolution in wine and this is often fatal to finer crus.
Common mistakes include storing wine on wooden floors, which vibrate with human foot traffic. Or storing wine in basement cellars that are near or share an exterior wall with a garbage-bin pickup-point outside. Urban restaurants with basement wine cellars struggle with these man-made quakes; modern garbage trucks are massive and they make significant tremors up and down every nearby building when they shake the garbage of the bins, which is three times a week in most cities across North America.
How to protect your wine cellar from micro-vibrations?
Wall anchored wooden racks are typically the best option for long term storage as wood dampens small vibrations, and wall anchoring helps to eliminate any sway in the racks. Woods like beech, redwood, maple and mahogany are best choices for wine cellar racks because they respond well to the cool, moist environment of an Ontario cellar and these woods do not impart any negative odour that may be absorbed into the bottle as the wine ages.
by Rosehill Blog | Oct 10, 2018 | Wine Storage Stories, Wine-tastic Fact
Wine is perishable, so proper wine storage is critical to maintaining its delicate flavour and bouquet.
The manner in which wine is stored impacts the way it tastes when served. Collectors have no control over how their wine was made, but after purchasing the product it’s up to them to treat the bottles properly and in ways that will increase their flavour and value. This post will explore our beliefs on proper wine cellar temperature, humidity, lighting, racking angles, and how to manage vibrations and ventilate your wine cellar. If you’re serious about drinking fine wines, then the act of storing and handling your best vintages is a serious exercise, and one that is both science and art.
Wall mounted wooden wine racks, wine coolers, temperature and humidity controls, storage angles and decanters are just some of the equipment necessary to protect and perfectly age a high quality bottle of wine.
This detailed blog post will showcase Rosehill’s wine storage secrets and give insights into best practices for wine cellar maintenance.
What is the Best Temperature for a Wine Cellar?
Maintaining the optimal temperature and avoiding wild temperature swings are the two most critical exercises for proper wine storage. A stable and pervasive chill is what makes a good wine cellar.
Wine can be stored safely from 40° to 65°F (4° to 18°C). The optimal storage temperature depends on the wine’s age and how long it will be stored. If the bottle will be opened within a year or two, a warmer temperature of 60° to 65°F (15° to 18°C) will speed the development of bottle bouquet.
If your intention is to store the wine for longer term, cooler temperatures are desired. Quality white wines are usually consumed sooner than red wines but can benefit by cooler storage. In this case the esters, or fruity character, disappear more rapidly at warmer temperatures.
What Happens When Wine is Stored at Room Temperature?
Storage at room temperature at 70°F (21°C) or higher will cause undesirable changes in the wine as various reactions are accelerated in the bottle, but at different rates. The result is a lack of balance in the aging process. Even fluctuations of more than 5° to 10°F (2° to 4°C) are undesirable.
When wine is stored at room temperature, or placed in attics where the temperature fluctuates, the sensitive and perishable liquid can suffer heat damage. Wine is cooking at 80°F. When uncorked, a cooked wine may smell like a fruit stew or slightly burned. Tasting cooked wine is an unpleasant experience as the finish is absolutely ruined.
When wine is too refrigerated, by contrast, it can also suffer. When stored in too-cold frigid temperatures the liquid is subject to “slow aging” which means it doesn’t mature or gain anything during the aging process. Wine stored below 50°F hardly ages at all – it’s still a ripe juice when uncorked, years later. Is there sedimentation in the bottle? Cellar managers that encounter particles in wine stored at lower temperatures could be seeing tartaric acid crystals in the liquid.
Improper Wine Storage in Attics, Storage Lockers and Shipping Containers
Wine stored in garages and attics is quite often subject to excessive temperature fluctuations. Wine in bottles stacked upright in boxes, placed upright in the cardboard box in a garage can lose its seal. The temperature fluctuations can break the seal of the cork, thereby exposing the wine to air or cause a pressure differential, which pulls air into the bottle. Oxidation: wine exposed to excessive oxygen will age faster.
How to Maintain a Consistent Wine Cellar Temperature?
If you are just constructing a wine cellar there are plenty of things you can do to help keep the cellar cool in all seasons. During cellar construction, keep an eye on all places without insulation. There should be no gaps – just like insulating a house. Cellar owners minimize the potential “coolness” loss areas like windows and poorly insulated doors and ceilings. Top cellar owners concentrate on building a controlled environment for their prized wine collection.
If you have a wine cellar and are investigating its environment, simply put your hand on the walls and ceilings and feel for unseen heat sources. Restaurant wine cellars are notorious for also having computer servers or unseen ventilation ducts that either siphon the chill or vent hot air into the abode. Be on the lookout for air gaps or cracks in the wall or floor or ceiling too. If your wine cellar needs better cooling please view our selection of wine coolers with adjustable temperature controls, and wine cellar cooling units for full environmental control.
Regarding Wine Cellar Humidity, How to Control Moisture in Wine Cellar?
The way in which your wine is stored and handled has every bit as much to do with its taste as does the way it’s made. Preserving a proper stable storage environment for the liquid to age and become more deliciously complicated as it matures is the role of the wine cellar and manager.
Why Control Humidity in a Wine Cellar?
Although sometimes overlooked during the wine cellar-construction process, proper humidity is also very important. Humidity control prevents mold from forming (which happens naturally when a cellar is too humid) and protects the wooden corks in wine bottles from shrinking and drying out (which happens when the wine cellar is too dry).
Moisture leads to mold and mildew growth. The glass and stainless steel used in modern cellars tends to be more “sterile” and these soulless materials don’t allow for mold to grow, like the organic substances of stone or wood. Since wine absorbs the aromas in its environment, the presence of mold impacts the flavor through the cork. Wine stored in cellars devoid of mold usually lack complexity. So, although many cellar managers believe it’s ideal to have mold growth within a wine cellar, it can be dangerous if it spreads into the walls of your home or restaurant business.
Moldy corks or even fungus-covered corks are not necessarily bad, as long as they still maintain the seal (but fungi-covered corks can become awkward talking points in wine cellar tours).
On the other hand corks that are too dry are deadly to wine. A deteriorated cork will lose its seal and this will lead to oxidation of the wine. When the seal is broken then oxygen will slowly leech into the bottle causing the conversion of the wine into its acidic form – vinegar. Wine that tastes bitter or like vinegar is usually the result of failed corking causing wine oxidation. (Tip to winemakers: screw-cap bottle closures do not require humidity in the wine cellar.)
How To Measure Humidity in a Wine Cellar
Relative Humidity (RH) is the percentage of vapor in the air at a given temperature. Storage humidity levels should ideally stay between 50% to 70%, not much higher, nor lower. When it’s too high, mold can form and bottle labels will be ruined. Excessive humidity does not affect the wine, however.
TIP: Wine bottles should be stored on their side to allow the wine to keep the cork wet, and this contact will discourage the cork from drying out should humidity conditions not be ideal. The ideal storage angle is another factor we’ll discuss later in this article.
Four Factors That Affect Wine Cellar Humidity
Three of the four factors that affect wine cellar humidity are beyond the control of the cellar manager:
- Geography
- Climate
- Season
- How well your cellar is constructed and insulated (vapor-barriers, ceiling insulation, etc.)
Rosehill offers advice on humidity gauges and humidification systems. Contact us if you have further questions – our experts will help you.
Regarding Wine Cellar Lights, How Dark Should A Wine Cellar Be?
Ever since humans discovered glass making, and started putting wine in bottles, artisans have known that dark colored glass bottles help shield wine from sunlight, and wine tastes better when stored in dark glass away from the sun. Glasshouses in the late 1800s prized their dark glass bottles for wine and spirits, as contrasted to the clarity of clear glass bottles for compound medicines and cobalt blue bottles for poisons.
It wasn’t until later in the 19th century that scientists and winemakers understood ultraviolet light, and its destructive properties, and only after more experimentation was it revealed that ultraviolet light can penetrate even dark-colored glass! Wine cellars became even more important from that moment on as storing wine in dark conditions is essential to keep this perishable liquid from spoiling.
Ultraviolet light can cause oxidization of the tannins, causing an unpleasant aroma, ruining the wine. Sparkling wines are even more sensitive to light (all spectrums) and should be given extra care when stored in wine cellars with lots of foot traffic and fingers on the light switches. Delicate, light-bodied white wines run the greatest risk from light exposure and are often packaged in darkly tinted wine bottles that offer some protection from bright light. Wines packaged in clear, light green and blue colored bottles are the most vulnerable to light and may need extra precautions for storage.
For example, the Champagne house of Louis Roederer uses cellophane wrap to protect its premium cuvee Cristal from light, the wine being packaged in a clear bottle. In the cellar, wines are stored in corrugated boxes or wooden crates to protect the wines from direct light.
Buy a light timer. Whenever possible, put your cellar lights on a timer. If you ever forget to turn off the lights in your wine cellar, the timer will do it for you, keeping your wine safe. Also, when it comes to selecting the best lighting fixtures, top cellars utilize low-wattage surface-mounted lighting to minimize additional heat in the room and avoid any cool loss that may occur with holes for pot lights. LED lights come in a variety of shapes and configurations and can be made to look incredible in any space. While pot lights on a dimmer switch may seem like a good decorative idea, and one that is imminently functional, the pots are never insulated well enough and thus are not recommended for wine cellars. It should also be noted that low-wattage, non-heat emitting lights (LEDs) are better for wine storage than fluorescent lighting (see below).
Why you should never have fluorescent lights in your wine cellar?
Fluorescent lighting emits significant amounts of ultraviolet light, which negatively impact wines on a photo-chemical level. UV light can age wine prematurely. Sunlight, fluorescent lights, and even some tungsten filament incandescent lighting can adversely react with phenolic compounds in wine and create “wine faults”. A wine fault is an unpleasant characteristic of a wine often resulting from poor wine making practices or storage conditions that leads to wine spoilage. Many of the elements that cause wine faults are already naturally present in wine, but at insufficient concentrations to be of issue in most bottles.
Glass wine cellars are hard to shield from bright lights. While modern glass wine cellars are lovely to behold, and offer guests and dining patrons much to contemplate while tasting wine, our wine cellar-design preference is to have no glass in the structure at all. If you read Rosehill wine cellar design page you will notice we shy away from using glass either in the wine cellar or on cabinet doors because of its poor thermal and photosensitive properties. We love our various designer clients, but they can sometimes use glass to a point beyond all practicality when it comes appropriate wine storage. Something to think about …
Wine Cellar Racking: What’s the Best Angle for Wine Cellar Bottle Racks?
Wine corks are typically made from the bark of cork oak trees. The cork oak (Quercus suber) is native to the Mediterranean region, which is where most of the world’s cork supply is obtained. Because of its impermeability, buoyancy, elasticity, and fire resistance, it is used in a variety of products, the most common of which is wine bottle stoppers.
After about ten years in a wine bottle, a wooden cork can sometimes deteriorate; the rate of deterioration seems to be affected by ambient storage temperature and humidity of the air. Warmer and excessively humid storage environments cause growth of molds, which attack both the cork and the label. Insufficient humidity may cause the cork to dry and crumble, in which case it should be replaced. So what should you do to prevent either of these unfortunate scenarios? Store your wine at a proper angle.
Why should most wine bottles be stored laying flat on their sides?
When wine is stored on its side, the cork remains wet. When wet, the transmission of air through the cork into the wine is minimized. When bottles are stored upright, the cork eventually dries out and oxygen in the air causes chemical changes in the wine, spoiling it. In addition, the cork may work loose due to pressure changes and cause leakage or exposure to air.
Fortified wines should be stored standing up. Sparkling wines—which have about 70 to 90 pounds of pressure per square inch in a sealed bottle because of all that carbon dioxide—are naturally more humid inside, and the cork will not dry out as fast, if ever. Madeira is a long-lived fortified wine that’s basically oxidized already, so there is less concern about it getting further oxidized … but there’s an exception to this rule, and that exception concerns port. Bottles of port should be stored on their side.
View our wooden wine racks with several configurations of side-angled bottle holders (which also help reduce vibration) for longer term storage options.
Since we began this section by discussing wooden corks, we should conclude our discussion with a brief mention of plastic corks. Generally speaking, plastic corks work just fine and some people feel they provide a better seal – plastic corks don’t deteriorate. However, if you want notes from the cellar in the bottle you need wood. With plastic corks you still want to be concerned with the other wine storage factors we’ve touched in this series: light, temperature, etc., but with plastic corks humidity becomes less of an issue. And of course, there is a certain time-honoured romance and Epicurean tradition, which seems absent with plastic corks and screw top bottles. What do you think?
How to Manage Vibrations and Micro Vibrations in Wine Cellar?
How do the constant vibrations from a nearby roadway (streetcar!) and the micro vibrations from nearby cooling systems affect wine making and proper wine storage? They can shake, rattle and roll the body out of the wine. Constant vibrations in your wine cellar will disturb the slow process of biochemical evolution in wine and this is often fatal to finer crus.
Common mistakes include storing wine on wooden floors, which vibrate with human foot traffic. Or storing wine in basement cellars that are near or share an exterior wall with a garbage-bin pickup-point outside. Urban restaurants with basement wine cellars struggle with these man-made quakes; modern garbage trucks are massive and they make significant tremors up and down every nearby building when they shake the garbage of the bins, which is three times a week in most cities across North America.
How to Protect Wine Cellar from Micro Vibrations?
Wall anchored wooden racks are typically the best option for long term storage as wood dampens small vibrations, and wall anchoring helps to eliminate any sway in the racks. Woods like beech, redwood, maple and mahogany are best choices for wine cellar racks because they respond well to the cool, moist environment of an Ontario cellar and these woods do not impart any negative odor that may be absorbed into the bottle as the wine ages
All Heart California redwood wine racking in a custom cellar built by Rosehill Wine Cellars.
View our selection of wood wine racks for wine cellars and open area storage points. These wooden racks have smooth radius edge which helps prevent vintage label tearing or damage. Below is a glace at the scrap wood pile – six or eight different species of wood are frequently used at Rosehill as we customize the racks to every environment and decor.
Plan Out Proper Ventilation for Wine Cellar Before Construction
Proper ventilation is critical for long-term wine storage as it allows for sufficient air-flow to help eliminate odor build-up, or mold, which can harm wine bottle corks and labels (*although some winemakers like moldy cellars as they believe the earthy storage environment can positively impact the wine). The moldy cellar is sure to negatively impact the house or commercial building that accommodates the wine cellar.
During the wine cellar design phase, and wine cellar construction it is important to include an adequate method of ventilation and air-flow. Premium quality wine cellar cooling units offered by Rosehill are designed to provide optimal filtration and ventilation solutions for cellars of varying sizes.
by Charlotte | Jan 7, 2018 | Rosehill Wine Cellars News, Wine-tastic Fact
Wine racks (Photo by Rosehill Wine Cellars)
A custom wine cellar is ideal for storing wine. The temperature is controlled by a wine cooling unit from a manufacturer specializing in creating the right environment for wine. There is insulation from floor to ceiling, to ensure a steady temperature that doesn’t fluctuate and harm the wine. These may be things you already know about wine cellars, but the following are lesser known facts about wine cellars and the wines they store.
1-Label-Up
All wine bottles that will be stored for more than a couple of months should be stored horizontally on wine racks. As most people know, this ensures that the cork stays wet, protecting the wine from a shrinking cork that allows excess oxygen into the bottle, which spoils the wine. What many don’t know is that there are several good reasons to be careful about storing your wine with the label up. It helps in the following ways:
- The label is better protected from damage. Whether or not you are storing your wine as an investment, a damaged label can understandably impact the eventual enjoyment of the wine.
- It’s helpful for the sediment to form on the side opposite of the label, so that you can more clearly see whether decanting is needed when it’s served, due to an excess amount of sediment.
- You won’t need to disturb the wine bottle in order to see what type of wine it is, and eliminating movement and vibration is one of the basics of proper wine storage.
2-Causes of UV Damage
A bottle of wine is prematurely aged by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, which penetrates even the darkest glass used for bottled wine. Sunlight isn’t the only source for harmful UV rays. The lights in a wine cellar can also cause UV damage. Fluorescent lights, for example, are sources of significant amounts of UV lighting. LED lights don’t release UV rays or heat; they are ideal for wine cellars. If you have a glass door or window on your wine cellar or wine room, keep in mind that UV rays are transmitted through the glass.
3-Aging
A low-quality wine isn’t improved simply because it has aged in a proper wine cellar. There are certain types of wine that improve with age, but the process of aging doesn’t upgrade a poor-quality wine into a fine vintage.
4-Corked Wine
Corks and wine are forever pared, like horses and saddles, and needles and thread, they are symbiotic partners. Years ago, wine was much more reliant on good quality corks. Over a long period of time, it was determined that approximately 8% of all wine bottles with corks became tainted or “corked”. In response to the clear evidence of such a problem, synthetic corks – plastic corks were developed and sold by the millions. The cork industry relies in large degree on the wine industry.
The cork industry has over many decades researched ways to prevent the naturally occurring chemical called tri-chloro-anisole (TCA) from combining with the chlorine bleach that was used to sanitize the corks, which was the cause of the problem. They developed a new process, which has significantly reduced the number of corked bottles of wine.
5-Benefits of Cleanliness
A wine cellar should be completely free of foodstuffs and anything with a penetrating odor. If there are strong smells, they can penetrate the cork and spoil your wine. If there is food, such as cheese, in the wine cellar, mice will be drawn to the area and can begin chewing on corks and labels. Also, if you store anything with its own yeast in the wine cellar, it’s likely to ferment; so don’t.
If you’re interested in making a custom wine cellar space in your home or business, contact Rosehill Wine Cellars. We are experts who know all the secrets of proper wine storage, and we will work with you to create the perfect space for your wine collection.
by Charlotte | Dec 31, 2017 | Rosehill Wine Cellars News, Wine-tastic Fact
The most champagne and sparkling wine that is served in North America is served during the holidays, especially on New Year’s Eve. Are these wines different from others, as far as storage needs? With one minor exception, storage for champagne is actually the same as for other wines. A wine cellar with a wine cooling unit by a major manufacturer such as Breezaire, Cellar Pro, CellarCOOL, or Koolspace provides the right temperature range of about 55°F. Humidity levels also need to be controlled to about 70%, for optimal storage.
What is Different about Champagne?
For wine to be referred to as “champagne,” the grapes used must have been grown in the Champagne region of France. The area has defined boundaries and various growing areas. Strict procedures must be conformed to in order for a wine to legally be packaged and presented as champagne. These matters are coded into international treaties and trade agreements. Those specifications include:
· Types of grapes used
· Growing conditions
· Blending
· Storage
Champagne is typically made from a three-grape blend of Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay. This makes champagne a cuvée, which is a type, blend, or batch of wine. Blanc de noir and chardonnay champagnes are made from Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, or a mix of the two.
The bubbly aspect of champagne is a matter of science. Once a Champagne cork has been popped, yeasts ferment sugars, forming carbon dioxide gas.
Ideal Long-Term Champagne Storage
Like other wine in long-term storage, champagne should be stored on its side. This ensures that the cork stays damp. If the position of the bottle keeps the cork dry on the inside, the cork can dry out to the point of shrinking. This leads to more air getting inside, causing oxidation, which spoils the flavor.
There should be no UV rays that can get to champagne. Because bubblies such as champagne are highly light-sensitive, they are usually stored in dark bottles that provide extra UV protection. The type of lighting used in a wine cellar is an important issue, since some types of bulbs emit UV rays that can spoil wine the same as direct sunlight does.
Short-Term Champagne Storage
Bottles of champagne and sparkling wines that will be stored for up to a month but no more are best left standing up, according to some wine experts. The bottles must, however, be protected from artificial or bright light.
A Toast to Auld Lang Syne!
You can count on enjoying your champagne that has been stored properly in a custom wine cellar kept cool by a Breezaire, Cellar Pro, CellarCOOL, or Koolspace cooling unit. Rosehill Wine Cellars if you’d like to create the perfect custom wine storage in your home for future New Year’s toasts.
by Charlotte | Dec 10, 2017 | Rosehill Wine Cellars News, Wine Cellar Cooling Units, Wine-tastic Fact
Breezaire Cooling Units
Wine cellar cooling units can rightly be considered the cornerstone of a proper wine storage environment. There are many other factors that impact the effectiveness of a wine cooling unit, however. The following are more facts about wine cellar cooling units, including information about other components that affect how the unit performs.
1-Vapor Barrier
During construction of a wine cellar, it’s essential to include a vapor barrier or vapor retarder. Because sudden or frequent temperature and humidity fluctuations in a wine cellar can damage wine, the vapor barrier and insulation are both of tremendous importance. A vapor retarder prevents warm air from entering the cool environment in your wine cellar. Various factors determine the thickness, finishes, and applications of a vapor barrier. Those factors include the size, capacity, and location of your wine cellar. The vapor barrier must be installed on the warm side of the wall, and the process must be thoroughly done. The effectiveness of the vapor barrier impacts the performance and effectiveness of the wine cellar cooling unit.
2-Insulation
Professionals in wine cellar construction understand the unique role insulation plays, to ensure that wine cellar cooling units can do the job they are designed to do. Insulation must be properly installed in the walls, floors, doors, and windows. The requirements for insulation are determined by the outside wall the cellar occupies and the depth of the cellar below grade. Some of the challenges to proper wine cellar insulation include ductwork, plumbing pipes, and electrical wirings.
3-Drain Line
Another important aspect of a wine cellar that many people don’t know about is the condensate drain line. The condensate fitting and tube allows overflow condensation to exit from underneath the wine cellar cooling unit. The drain line must be connected at all times, so that the walls and other wine cellar components aren’t damaged by water. Maintaining the proper temperature and humidity in a wine cellar requires a drain line. However, when a wine cellar is built properly, condensation is minimal.
4-Electrical Circuit
The electrical work on a wine cellar is also important, to ensure that the cooling unit can perform at an optimal level. A dedicated electrical circuit helps to minimize the risk of a tripped circuit breaker. If the electricity ever went out for a prolonged period, it could mean the wine environment is altered and the wine is spoiled.
5-Maintenance Required
Previously in this two-part series it was mentioned that wine cooling units operate up to 70% of the time. Quality wine cellar cooling units, such as those made by manufacturers Breezaire and WhisperKOOL, can be depended upon to work dependably usually for 35,000 hours before any type of mechanical service is required.
All of the essential elements of building a quality wine cellar have an impact on the wine cooling unit. When you trust professionals like the wine cellar construction experts at Rosehill Wine Cellars, you can be confident of top quality results. Contact Rosehill Wine Cellars today to get started on your own wine cellar in southern Ontario. Recommendations will be made on the best wine cooling unit to choose, based on the specifics of the wine cellar itself.
by Charlotte | Sep 3, 2017 | Rosehill Wine Cellars News, Wine-tastic Fact
Life is better with wine and it may add to your years. A centenarian in Maine, Florence Bearse, recently shared that her secret to a long life is drinking wine. For wine lovers everywhere, the good news is that research backs up that possibility. At Rosehill Wine Cellars, we appreciate all of the pleasures and benefits of wine, including the health benefits that it uniquely provides. We specialize in building custom wine cellars, where wine can be stored to age gracefully and last longer than it would otherwise. Wine cooling units from top manufacturers such as Koolspace, Breezaire, Cellar Pro, and Wine Guardian are essential components of a wine cellar.
Health Reasons to Stock up on Wine
There are numerous health benefits to drinking wine. The most notable are those that can literally extend your life. Physicians have weighed in, and they agree that as long as it is done in moderation, wine drinking can be good for a body. The following are among the advantages of wine drinking:
- Drinking wine moderately reduces the risk of heart attack by 30%, compared to people who don’t drink any alcohol. This is no secret. In fact, it has been proven repeatedly over a period of three decades by researchers across the world.
- The risk of developing Type 2 diabetes is reduced by 30% to 40% by drinking wine, compared to those who abstain from alcohol.
- It is an antioxidant that can help fight inflammation, which means circulation to your heart and brain is increased
- Antioxidants also slow the aging process
- Lowers “bad” LDL cholesterol
- Raises “good” HDL cholesterol
- For people concerned about their weight, wine is a better choice than other alcoholic beverages. It has fewer carbohydrates than beer, and drinking wine means you avoid the sugar calories commonly used for mixing cocktails.
- If drinking wine helps you to de-stress, it is providing another important health benefit. Stress is associated with many different life-threatening diseases.
A Definition of Moderation
The good things about wine can be lost if not enjoyed in strict moderation. It’s believed among most in the research community that one glass of wine per day is fine for women and two glasses per day for men is a healthy balance. For those who enjoy wine with dinner every evening, a wine cellar makes sense. With climate control by Cellar Pro, Breezaire, Wine Guardian, or Koolspace, your stored wine can be ready when you are.
A note of caution: Excessive drinking increases the risk of suffering from a variety of major diseases, including liver disease, heart disease, and some cancers.
Raise your Glass!
Thanks to Florence in Maine, we can all enjoy the reminder that wine drinking is actually good for you physically. How many truly enjoyable activities that help you unwind after a hard day can you say that about?
