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How to store a bottle of wine properly

How to store a bottle of wine properly

When it comes to wine, many factors can ultimately influence your tasting experience – one of the most important being how the wine is stored. Too hot and the wine will oxidize; too cold and the flavours will be muted. Too much sunlight can also cause problems, as well as too little (or too much) humidity.

Yahoo Canada Shine recently spoke to Alison Crary Rodriguez, associate winemaker at Sterling Vineyards to get her expert tips on how to store a bottle of wine properly so you can ensure the ultimate tasting experience.

Crary Rodriguez says it's best to store bottles in the dark, on their sides, in relatively cool temperatures, and in a spot where temperature doesn't fluctuate much on a daily or annual basis. She says a small closet in the interior of the house is perfect for this.

"Extreme fluctuations of heat and cold (as experienced in garages or near exterior walls) can cause more pressure/vacuum to build up behind the cork, leading to greater incidence of wine leakage, or oxygen uptake through the cork," she explains, adding that too much exposure to light can adversely affect a wine's aging, too.

Crary Rodriguez says the best storage solution is a fully climate- and light-controlled wine cellar – though that's likely more than the average wine-enthusiast can take on.

"Unless you are aging wine for years at a time, an interior home closet will suit almost everyone's needs," she says.

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She also notes that the storage needs of red and white wines don't vary much, with low temperature fluctuations and low light levels remaining the priority.

Crary Rodriguez says people should have in mind when they plan to drink a wine before tossing a bottle in the fridge.

"One to three weeks is most likely not an issue," she says, "One to three months, and you run the risk of dehydrating of the cork, and potential air uptake due to the constant low-level vibration on the bottles."

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She says that people shouldn't even leave their bottles in a specialty wine fridge for longer than a month or two if they want to preserve the quality.

And if there's one thing you should never, ever do when it comes to storing wine, Crary Rodriguez begs that people do not keep bottles on top of their fridge.

"It seems like a good, out of the way place for wine storage, but is typically the warmest area in the entire kitchen due to the heat given off by your running fridge," she says. "That heat will age and oxidize your wines quickly."