The art of keeping wine

The art of keeping
Wine Maturing and storage under ideal conditions

> Ideal conditions

> The golden rules




Ideal conditions

Whether for the enjoyment of sharing or for assets to pass on, whatever the size or purpose of a cellar, the ideal solution for storing your vintages in the best conditions exists! A true wine cellar must guarantee ideal conditions provided by the best traditional underground cellars: correct and constant temperature and humidity, healthy air, total darkness and complete stillness. For those who do not have the opportunity of having such a cellar, the solution of an "artificial" cellar is required. But beware, a device simply derived from a refrigerator and fitted with wooden shelves and other accessories does not necessarily constitute a suitable cellar. For wine to mature correctly, to protect it and bring it to its full potential, a true wine cabinet must be especially designed for this use and comply with five golden rules.

The golden rules

The ideal maturation and storage conditions comply with five golden rules which are essential for the wine to reach its full potential

A constant temperature

The ideal maturation and storage conditions comply with five golden rules which are essential for the wine to reach its full potential The temperature of a wine ageing cabinet must be constant and ideally stable at 12°C. In a cooler cabinet, the complex process of ageing slows and over time, if this situation persists, the wine will eventually contract and the maturation process will stop. Conversely, at a higher temperature, it speeds up. Exposed over time to a higher temperature, it collapses without ever having reached its peak or having had the time to develop its full potential. But even more so than the temperature, consistency and stability are essential, since strong and repeated variations are especially harmful since they affect the wine's vivacity

Correct humidity

Le bouA wine's bouquet develops thanks to a reducing process in a total absence of oxygen which requires the stopper to be completely air-tight. In order to conserve this air-tightness, the bottle must be laid down so that the stopper remains in contact with the wine and continuously maintains an average air humidity greater than 60%. If the level of humidity falls below this rate for any length of time, there is a danger that the stopper will dry out leaving the wine to "weep" through the cork. A much higher level of humidity, of over 80%, presents no danger for the wine but may damage the labels. A true wine cabinet must therefore be designed to guarantee a continuous average level of humidity of between 60% and 75% while avoiding the presence of stagnant water which might lead to the development of bacteria and unpleasant odours.

Protective darkness

Light increases the potential for the oxidation-reduction potential of the wine and abnormally speeds up its ageing. This is why most vins de garde are bottled in dark glass. However, this precaution is not enough to stop all the harmful light rays. A true wine cabinet for storing bottles for an extended period must guarantee total darkness by being fitted with a solid door. If a glass door model is chosen for ageing wine, it must have undergone efficient anti-UV treatment (>70%) and for managing the residual 30% which over time will unfailing be harmful to vins de garde, the manufacturer should have designed completely dedicated spaces completely removed from the light (screens, solid facings, etc.). Interior lights as in refrigerators and even more so neon lights must not be used.

Healthy odourless air

The wine "breathes" through its stopper !

In order to prevent odours getting into the bottle, a true wine cabinet must therefore store the bottles in a perfectly healthy atmosphere. For this purpose, a wine cabinet adapted for long term wine storage must be fitted with an active carbon filter which allows gentle ventilation while removing odours and controlling humidity.

An absence of vibrations

Vibrations "tire" wine. Moreover, they disturb the slow formation of sediment, and on the contrary leave particles in suspension in the wine. Although young wines are better at withstanding movement, older wines which are often more valuable may be irreversibly spoiled. A true wine cabinet must therefore not disturb wine at rest. In order to do so, it must be fitted with an efficient damping system which prevents any type of vibration of the bottles. Cabinets exclusively dedicated to ageing must not use mechanical air mixing systems which create vibrations.