When considering what wall mounted Portuguese white wine racks to buy, it helps to first think of why you want to store them. It sounds silly but there’s a reason for this thought process. Aside from the obvious fact that you get a wine racks so you can store bottles of wine, there are other reasons to storing wine. Longevity is the main reason – that is, to place the wine at the correct angle so that it can remain ‘sound’ and is kept in an environment that is relatively constant in temperature. There is a degree of expertise necessary to storing wine but for most of us it’s important to have a bottle of wine that we can open and share with friends and not witnessing your guests reel back at the taste of a tart vinegar.
First up – why do we store wine horizontally. Simple really – it is important to keep the cork moist so that it does not get dry and shrivel to a point that it allows oxygen to enter the bottle. The moment your wine oxidizes is the moment you need to bring out the fries and sprinkle expensive vinegar over them. That would be about the only usefulness of the wine after it gets oxidized. So, now that we have established why you need to store the wine horizontally, it’s easy to understand why racks are designed the way they are. Next step is to consider some basic rules.
When storing wine, the novice in us may immediately consider the area where those wall mounted wine racks will look good. It’s perfectly natural to want to show off our wine collection and have the bonus of a great decor piece that looks just right in the living room. Usually living rooms are bright, sunny places with nice bay windows. Looks fresh and pretty but is a disaster when it comes to storing wine. Artificial light and sunlight are both hazardous to wine storage. When light penetrates the bottle, the normally stable compounds and tannins that are essential to the taste, flavor, aroma and texture of a great wine are effected and a result your wine is either spoiled or degraded.
The room in which you keep your wine should be somewhat cool and humid. Any dryness in the air can cause that important cork to bid farewell and oxygen to say hi. As previously explained, this is not a good idea.
Placing your storage in a living room or family room where you may be using heaters in the winter time. This is a big no-no and something that can quite easily be overlooked if you are planning to mount your wall mounted wine racks when it’s a nice summer temperature outside and the air-con is keeping the house cool. Wine needs an environment that is ideally a steady 14 degrees Celsius or 58 degrees Fahrenheit.
Here’s an easy mistake to make. Placing your wine rack in an area such as the kitchen if it is constantly permeated with strong smells of fried onions, garlic, vegetables or cheeses that may ferment nearby. These odors can pollute the wine through the cork
Yes, I know – it seems like wine is this delicate flower that needs optimum conditions. Well, it is true, that if you want your wine to age well then you need to take precautions to avoid any possible disturbance. Noise creates vibrations – vibrations do not allow the wine to settle as it should. So if you plan to put your wall mounted wine rack in a place like the laundry or garage – don’t! When it comers to the garage, don’t forget that this is a place that has gasoline and chemical odors which makes it unsuitable.
It may seem like all the mistakes listed rule out all your rooms in the house. Perhaps it’s easier, now that you know what mistakes to avoid, to decide on which room can offer the best conditions for wine storage.
Now you know why professional wine cellars are dark, humid and quiet places generally underground. But here’s the deal – if you enjoy wine on a regular basis then there is no reason why you cannot store the wine for short periods of time, knowing that you will be consuming it relatively soon.
It is generally the reds that you will be looking to store with great care and you just need to do your best to get as close as you can to the optimal conditions. Unless you have investment wines or are a complete wine guru, you need not fret too much as long as you try your best to observe the rules. You can of course, build a mini wine cellar out of a closet or be grandiose and construct a real wine cellar. Or you can opt for the wine cellar fridges available for storing your wine in the perfect way.
