There are many important factors involved when wishing to enjoy a good bottle of wine. Some of those factors include selecting the right wine to enjoy with the entrée that has been ordered or prepared. Another factor, for the connoisseur of wines could be the year in which the wine was produced. Another major factor in the selection of a good bottle of wine is the vineyard from which the grapes were selected.

However, all of the factors dealing with a selection of wine are unimportant if the wine is not properly stored. Therefore, to truly enjoy the fullness of a bottle of wine it is important that the wine storage facility that harbored the wine or will store the wine is optimum.

The Importance Of A Wine Storage Facility

As with anything of importance it is always best to start with the foundation. Therefore, if an individual is beginning their collection of wine it is important to begin with the basics. That basic element in the enjoyment of wine is the importance of a wine storage facility.

For the beginner, that wine storage facility may simply be a wine rack on the kitchen counter or for the advanced collector of wine it may be a refrigerated wine storage cabinet. However, despite the two extremes, the premises for utilizing a proper wine storage facility are the same.

It is also important to realize that just because the area being considered for a wine storage facility is cool it may not necessarily meet the criteria for all that is involved in wine storage. Examples of these assumed good places to store wine would be the garage or an obscure place in the basement.

Standards Of A Wine Storage Facility

The paramount criteria for a wine storage facility is the ability to control the temperature. This is because the optimum storage temperature of wine should be between 55 and 60°F. Maintaining this proper level of temperature is critical in order to maintain the integrity, character, body and taste of the wine. If the temperature is allowed to increase beyond this range there may be a process that takes place within the wine which would cause an imbalance of all of these characteristics of the wine. This would result in a poor tasting wine.

Another standard of a wine storage facility to be maintained is the humidity. Humidity is important in maintaining the integrity of wine because the wine is generally sealed through the use of a cork. If the humidity is allowed to fluctuate the sealed cork may become compromised. This in turn will allow the seepage of oxygen into the wine bottle which will cause oxidation of the wine. In turn this oxidation will affect the taste of the wine by making it become acidic in taste. The optimum humidity of the wine storage facility should be between 50 and 70%.