🍷 Storage temperature
Wine keeps best at about 12–14 degrees with no swings.
Storage temperature for wine means the conditions in which a bottle waits for its time. Wine is best kept at about 12–14 degrees Celsius. What matters most is that the temperature is steady, without sharp swings.
Why does it matter? Wine is alive: slow chemical processes go on in the bottle. Heat speeds them up, the wine ages quickly and loses freshness. If the temperature stays above 20–25 degrees for long, the taste is spoiled and cooked notes appear. Cold, on the other hand, slows ripening. Sharp swings are worst: the wine expands and contracts, the cork may leak, and air gets into the bottle.
Besides temperature, quiet, darkness and moderate humidity are needed so the cork does not dry out. Bottles are usually laid on their side.
A wine cellar, especially an underground one, keeps an even cool. In a flat a wine cabinet can replace it. Milk and cheese share a similar idea: sharp temperature swings harm them too, which is why people speak of a cold chain.
Links
- Where it happens
- 🍷 Wine cellar
- What happens here
- 🍷 Wine refrigerator
- Part of
- 🍷 Wine cellar
- Wine and milk
- ❄️ Cold chain
Frequently asked questions
What is the best temperature for storing wine?
About 12–14 degrees Celsius; what matters most is that it is steady.
Why are sharp temperature swings bad for wine?
The wine expands and contracts, the cork may leak, and air gets into the bottle.
Where should wine be kept at home?
In a dark, quiet place with a steady cool, such as a wine cabinet or a cool cellar, with bottles laid on their side.
Similar
🍷 Cricova · 🍷 Mileștii Mici · 🍷 Storage humidity · 🍷 Horizontal bottle storage · 🍷 Cellar mould (Zasmidium cellare) · 🍷 Marani