Guides
The benefits of long-term wine storage
Around 80% of wine bought is consumed within 24 hours after purchase. But most wines benefit greatly from long term wine storage.
Når du modner vin, gør du det først og fremmest for at højne oplevelsen af vinen til dens fulde potentiale.
Aged wine, where do I start?
Wine is a living organism that originates from fruits, which are an organic material. Like a fruit, there is a specific time frame in which it is ripe and in which the taste, texture and general appearance reach their full potential.
The same can be said for wine, and by maturing younger wines you create a better balance, which in turn gives you a better wine experience. When you age wine, you are trying to achieve the perfect balance between acidity, alcohol content and the wine's primary notes.
In short, wine aging can be like turning a caterpillar into a butterfly.
If you experience the balance and new nuances of aged wine, it will change your wine perspective.
A good starting point for trying aged wine and experiencing the different nuances that a wine develops over time would be to try something called "vertical tasting". Same producer, same variety, but different ages, this allows you to experience the change in the wine with age.
What wines to choose for long-term storage?
There is a vast variety of wines to choose from, but a good rule of thumb is to choose wines from a "good vintage", but what does a good vintage entail? A good vintage is in short, a particular year where the growing and harvesting of wine was great regarding outside effects, such as mother nature and therefore celebrated with high ratings. Grapes are a natural produce which is very perceptual to weather conditions such as temperature and rain. Therefore, a good vintage is a particular year where the growing, harvesting, production and initial aging went very well.
So, when you are choosing a wine for long term storage, a candidate could be a wine from a good vintage, since the wine has been under optimal conditions and has developed nicely. That’s also why age does not directly match the pricing of wine within the same variety and producer. A bottle from the same producer and variant, from 2007 can be twice as expensive as a bottle from 1994 if the conditions fluctuate.
Not only does the wine develop new aromas and notes over time, the wine from the vintage itself also becomes more rare, and therefore the prices of some vintages will also increase.
The increase in the price of aged wines can be justified by the time when someone has kept the wine in optimal conditions and the opportunity to experience something rare and old.
Storage of wine horizontally
If you have tried several wines from the same vineyard and wine variety, you will be able to experience the development and transformation that the variety has undergone over time.
When looking at vintage wine that has been stored, an important tip is to look at the space between the cork and the wine, if the wine is level with the shoulder of the bottle, the wine may have suffered some form of trauma during the aging and storage process . This may be due to the conditions under which the wine was stored. If the temperature was too high, it could have caused the wine to leak, or if the wine was stored vertically, the cork could have dried out and allowed air to oxidize the wine. That's why you also have to store wine horizontally for a longer period of time in search of the perfect "maturity."
Porous plugs
The condition of the cork can also tell a story about the age and in what condition the wine has been stored. Wine and cork are both living and breathing organisms, which means they are susceptible to changes in temperature, vibration and light.
Wine that is stored properly will have contact with the cork and therefore has colored the bottom of the cork and depending on how long the color and shade may change from lighter to darker. If the cork is dry, it means that air is getting into the wine and it can start to oxidize and break down the wine. It can also cause the wine to leak, so watch out for aged wine with stains running down the bottle.
With age, the stopper can become quite porous and difficult to open without destroying the stopper itself. Therefore, it is best to be careful. Take your time not to break the stopper when you open it. You can also use a special corkscrew such as "The Durand", which makes it possible to grasp the stopper not only from above, but also from the sides between the glass and the stopper by means of two thin blades on each side.
How does it taste if my wine is corked?
If a bottle of wine has a faulty cork, the smell usually resembles wet cardboard, wet basement or a wet animal.
So with long-term storage of wine, there is also a greater risk of the wine becoming defective or corked, since it has been inside the bottle for a longer time. When the wine is corked, it is usually due to interaction between certain fungi or mold in the bark of the tree, i.e. in the cork, and if that mold has entered the wine, then the wine is corked and thus defective!
You may not get sick from drinking a corked wine "a crooked wine", but the flavor profile will be far from what the producer intended.
In general, the chance that a bottle has a cork is one in six bottles.
How do I start aging wine?
There are many things to think about when you want to store your wine for a long time. We are experts in the field, and we are happy to help you get started. A wine fridge and a beautiful wine rack system is a good place to start the journey.
Accessories for aged wine
If you're interested in accessories that will enhance your aged wine experience, we've rounded up the accessories mentioned in this article and a few others that will help you complete your wine experience.
The Durand;
A popular corkscrew that has 2 thin blades called "Ah-So" which will grip the sides of the cork in combination with the traditional "Helix" which makes it easier to remove porous corks from aged wine. There are many variations of this system, but The Durand is a popular favorite among wine enthusiasts and professionals.
Decanters from brands such as Sommelier and Pulltex;
A decanter is a very essential tool for pouring wine that has been stored for a long time. It removes the sediment from your wine before serving, a practice that has been used throughout the history of wine but has been simplified and perfected over the years.
Coravin - opening and wine storage system;
Coravin has a variety of products that specialize in extracting wine from bottles without expanding the cork. With their Timeless series, you can draw wine through the cork without opening the wine and adding argon gas, so that the wine is preserved for many years to come.
There are many advantages to long-term storage of wine. Wine matures and refines over time, which gives a better flavor balance in the wine.
If you have any questions about long-term storage of wine, you are very welcome to contact us. At Wineandbarrels, our experts are always ready to guide you on your wine storage journey and complete your wine experience.