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As the days grow longer and the sun shines brighter, we feel the beginning of spring like a breath of fresh air. Not only does it make us feel rejuvenated, but it motivates us to tackle our storage cupboard, sort through old clothes and dust off our book collection.
We believe wine collections require the same love and care, especially if you’re planning on ageing them. After all, wines tell a story and hold precious memories, which you can relive and share with friends each time you open a bottle.
So, tohelp you organise and preserve your wine collection, here are our top tips to make sure your cherished bottles are ready to enjoy when the time comes.
1. Begin by sprucing up your wine collection. Dust collects on wine bottles just like it does anything else. It won’t harm them but it is nice to bring them back to their shiny former self. You can clean them with a damp cloth or use a specialised wine bottle cleaner.
2. Next, do a stock take of your wine cellar. You’ve probably already found a few bottles you didn’t know you had tucked away whilst cleaning them but if you have quite a large collection, you may want to make a note of each wine, especially the region and grape varietal. Either way, a quick check will help you with the next step!
3. Now you know the wines you have in your cellar, you can organise them. You could do this by country, region or grape varietal. If you have quite a lot of old bottles, you could even factor age into the organization.
4. Check the humidity: Too much humidity can lead to mould, while too little can cause corks to dry out. Experts recommend between 65% and 75% humidity.
5. Check the temperature: Wines should be stored at around 10-15 °C (50-59°F) but ultimately it’s making sure that wine fluctuations are kept to a minimum, as this is the main reason wines become damaged.
Wines with a screw top don’t need to be lying down, only those with a cork do. Stand these up and save space in your wine rack.
Keep bottles away from light and heat. Light and heat can spoil the wine. This is one of the reasons glass is green, not only is it cheaper, but it also reduces the amount of light that reaches the wine.
Now your wine cellar is fresh, clean, and organised - and you know exactly what bottles you have - it’s the perfect time to refresh it. This can be something slow you do throughout the year, collecting wines from lesser-known regions or those you want to explore further.
