Welcome to Keep-it-Cool.co.uk the best place on the Internet to find quality yet affordable home cooling appliances. In stock this month quality Obsidian professional wine cellars/coolers, all with 1 year manufacturers warranty. Checkout the "Keep it Cool" online store for details!

Temperature Chart

Storage

For any wine lover, storing wine at its ideal temperature is very important and there are a few simple principles that need to be understood in order to select proper wine storage conditions.

Keep the bottles stored so that:

• the wines are kept at a "low" stable temperature
• there is reasonable humidity the cork stays moist
• the storage area is dark or not exposed to direct sunlight
• the location is free of vibration
• the location is not a storage area for other items that have a strong odor

Generally accepted 'ideal' conditions are 10 to 15 degrees centigrade and 70 percent humidity or higher. The high humidity is important because it keeps the corks from drying and minimizes evaporation. The only problem with even higher levels of humidity is that it brings on growth of mold on the labels or the loosening of labels that have water soluble glue. Temperatures lower than 55 degrees only slow the aging of the wines. There have been wines found in very cold cellars of castles in Scotland that are perfectly sound and are much less developed that those kept at 'normal' cellar temperature. A near constant temperature, however, is preferable to one that fluctuates.

With regard to light, most modern bottles have ultraviolet filters built into the glass that help protect the contents from most of the effects of UV rays. Despite the filters in the glass, long term storage can still allow enough rays in to create a condition in the wine that is referred to as 'light struck'. The result is that the wine picks up the taste and smell of wet cardboard. This is especially noticeable in delicate white wines and sparkling wines.

Regular or constant vibrations from pumps, motors or generators should be avoided since the vibrations they cause are thought to negatively affect the evolution of the wines. One additional factor to avoid is storing other items with very strong odors near the wine. There have been many reports of wines picking up the aromas of items stored nearby.

If you do not have a suitable wine cellar, there are many types of 'wine refrigerators' that will work as well. They differ from common refrigerators in that they work at higher temperatures (50-65 degree range) and they do not remove humidity from the air.

Drinking

Once stored correctly small adjustments can then be made to bring any bottle of wine to its perfect drinking temperature. Remember, you are often investing considerasble amounts of cash in good wine and not to enjoy it at its best would be disastrous! If wine is drunk too hot, for example, it may taste unpleasant, if drunk too cold many subtle flavors will be lost.