Low alcohol drinks from grapes and other fruits are produced all over the world. The recipes for making wines are different for different peoples, they are transmitted to descendants, modified with the development of new technologies. Along with the recipe and technological processes, an important point is the storage conditions of the wine. Why are some drinks suitable for consumption within one to three years from the date of manufacture, while others live longer than people?
What determines the storage time of wine?
How to store wine? First of all, it should be remembered that any wine is a living product that breathes and constantly changes its taste and organic properties, even if it is tightly sealed in bottles. That is why these drinks require special storage conditions. The shelf life of wine is influenced by certain factors:
- The quality of the raw materials used for manufacturing.
- The strength of the drink.
- Wine storage temperature .
- Lighting.
- Humidity mode.
- The material from which the wine container is made.
Centennial wine - what is it?
In the collection vaults of many famous wineries there are museum exhibits that are about one hundred years old. These rarities are very expensive in value and very valuable in composition. The shelf life of wine directly depends on the grapes from which it was made. Drinks from some varieties are simply required to be aged for a long period, from this they only get better. This, for example, drinks from Chardonnay, Cabernet and many other French varieties. Due to the high cost of the seasoned product, often consumers buy a young drink, and they themselves stand it, and decide how to store wine at home. Fortified wines can also be stored for a long period : sherry, tokai, madeira. Red wines have a aging and shelf life longer than white.
Sparkling wines and vermouths are young natural wines in which the fermentation process is interrupted by the addition of gases or tinctures of various herbs. Their quality does not deteriorate, but they can be stored for no more than a year and a half. The same applies to fruit wines created without the addition of alcohol.
Wine storage temperature
The most important condition for proper ripening and aging is the optimum temperature regime. The fact is that excessive cold inhibits the fermentation process, too high temperatures, on the contrary, accelerate ripening, and the wine does not have time to form its qualities. There are no differences in temperatures for storing white and red wines. The best range is considered to be from 10 to 12 ° C for natural dry wines; for fortified wines, temperatures of 16-17 ° C are permissible.
Another important point - the temperature should be constant, without noticeable fluctuations.
Where does wine live?
All wine producers - both large concerns and small farms, equip special wine cellars. The fact is that in addition to temperature, wine needs a special moisture regime. Dried plugs let air through and the drink evaporates. Excessive humidity, the smell of dampness and mold - are also among the enemy of quality wine.
Those who decide to store wine in a common cellar should remember that this is a product - which absorbs the smells of everything that is stored nearby, so the wine shelf should be arranged so that these fumes do not reach it.
Complete peace
How to store bottled wine properly. A living drink that ripens and changes its qualities throughout the aging period is very sensitive to all kinds of vibrations, movements and shakes. The stored bottles are transported as little as possible so as not to provoke an undesirable acceleration of chemical processes. They do not even erase dust and cobwebs!
In the wine cellars, the bottles are stored in a horizontal position so that the cork is constantly in contact with the wine. Wet, it will not allow oxygen to enter the bottle, which leads to the oxidation and transformation of wine into vinegar. At the same time, the peel allows the wine to breathe, which can not be said about plastic corks.
The best capacity for wine
New technologies, issues of economy and environmentally friendly packaging processing also affected winemaking. On the shelves of stores more and more often you can find drinks packaged in various forms of packages, such as juices. Well, this is quite logical from an economic point of view: such packages are cheaper, they are easier to store and transport. As for the shelf life, the wine in such packages can be stored at low temperatures for no more than a year. The best glass container is still a dark glass bottle.
As for the quality of wine in bags, this is a moot point. Some brands thus pack quite good quality wines that are in demand by consumers. This is especially true in countries where wine is a daily product.
Gourmets, admirers of good wine, owners of wine collections, of course, choose only bottles, and the aesthetic side plays an important role here.
Wine and sun
Grapes - a sunny berry, grows only in that area where it can be caressed by warm rays for a long time. A product made from grapes already has completely different needs. Sunny and bright electric light activates unwanted processes that damage the quality of the wine. The dark glass of the bottles protects the drink somewhat, but not completely. Therefore, the wine shelf in the room selected for storage should be in the dark almost constantly.
Home-made wines
Many craftsmen at home receive wines that are not inferior in taste to well-known brands. If the technological procedures and secrets may be different for everyone, the storage of home wines is not much different from the rules for maintaining industrial cellars. The necessary conditions are the same: compliance with the temperature regime, maintaining the necessary humidity, peace and protection from light and odors. Of course, it’s rare to find ideal conditions at home, that is, a specially equipped wine cellar. Most often, for storage of homemade wine, a place is allocated in a common basement or pantry. A good invention of our time, which is becoming more widespread among small manufacturers and large collectors - a wine cabinet.
In cellars and cellars, large volumes of wine are stored in oak barrels. An interesting way of aging and storage of wines among the peoples of the Caucasus. They use large clay vessels - kemra buried in the ground.
For longer periods, it is advisable to pour the wine from the container in which it was settled into dark glassware. Ideally - in bottles with cork caps, you can in jars (there are such dark ones with plastic screw caps).
How to store in an apartment
The best advice for those who are going to store more than a couple of liters of wine, of course, is to install a special cabinet for wine. Alas, the scale of standard apartments does not always allow this, and such a pleasure is not cheap. The conditions of the apartment are not the most suitable for fermentation and ripening of a drink, but a few liters poured into a suitable container can be stored in a regular bar, in the refrigerator or in a dark pantry. The houses of the old layout have excellent places - cold pantries under the kitchen windowsill.
Forget about plastic bottles! Wine, like no other liquid, especially changes its taste and smell from this material. In such a bottle, a draft drink can be transported, and then not far.
Household appliances for wine
Special cabinets for long-term storage of wine bottles have been used for a long time in houses whose owners consider themselves connoisseurs and lovers of good wine. A wine cabinet has nothing to do with an ordinary refrigerator. In addition to maintaining a constant required temperature, they perform the functions of complete climate control. Wine bottles here are in complete rest, a certain humidity and darkness. Such a thing - for those who like to buy wine in bulk, or produce it themselves, but not in such quantities that would build a large wine cellar.
How to store open wine
It is already clear where, in what, and how to store wine prepared for a long period. The question remains unclear: what to do with an open bottle of wine? How does a live drink that has gained access to the environment behave? After the air gets into the bottle, the oxidation process begins, a quality drink gradually turns into vinegar. An unfinished bottle of wine should be immediately tightly closed with a cork. This will slow down the oxidation, but the wine will not save completely.
The fastest growing sparkling wines. Their life after opening is 4 hours, a maximum of 24, if tightly closed. White, pink, light red wines retain their aroma for up to three days. A dense red drink can please the unchanged taste of five days. Fortified and sweet wines remain the longest open. Alcohol and sugar resist oxidation. Madera, sherry, port and their other brothers in composition remain in their original form for a week.
How to extend storage lines
First of all, open wine needs cold. At low temperatures, oxidation slows down. Just do not forget to take out red wine before use in order to warm it to room temperature - otherwise it will not open its entire bouquet.
For a short time, but nevertheless, special vacuum plugs or the addition of gas with a special device will help extend the wine.
You can pour the rest of the drink into smaller dishes with a tightly closed lid. Wine should fill the container to the very top so that there is no room for air.
What to do if it was not possible to finish the drink, but it is a pity to pour out? Clear business - good wines - expensive pleasure. Use them in cooking. Oxidized wine is the best marinade for meat, and not only. Do you think that glorified Italian and French cuisine? That's right - the use of wine and wine vinegar in the recipe.