Wine Storage

Learn > Wine

From historic wine cellars to small fridges and simple bottle stoppers, the options for storing wine can vary greatly. Through a few simple steps, we can help you not only understand the perfect environment for long term storage but also which wines you should serve first, the ideal temperatures for serving and how many tastings are in each bottle.

Although most modest wines are ready to drink on purchase, more involved white wines can age around six months and red wines around two years. White wines that age well include Chardonnay, Riesling and Semillon. Red wines include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. While the exact timing is a trade-off between freshness and mellowness, wines of any age are always safe to drink when stored with care.

To enjoy the full flavor and life of your wine, keep long-term wine stored with a few guidelines:

• Do not leave wine in your hot car
• Keep it in temperatures that are cool and consistent at around 55° to 58°F
• Store it with the wine bottle on its side
• Keep it out of strong light
• Keep it away from vibrations

Have you heard if you’re mixing alcoholic drinks like beer and liquor that you should drink beer before liquor or something light before something heavy? Well, there are similar suggestions for mixing wines:

• Dry before Sweet

• Sweet has a very long aftertaste, so dry wines that follow can taste bland and sour.

• Light before Full

• Full bodied, full-flavored wines will tend to cancel the flavors of more delicate wines.

• White before Red

• Don’t let this rule lead the way. Keep it in mind, but if there are sweet white wines, you can save those for after a dry red wine.

• Old Before Young

• Young wines are simple, but fruitier, more intense and more tannic than older wines, so they will over power them.

Wines that benefit from decanting include wines with heavy deposits and young wines with aggressive tannins.

• Tastings

• 12 – 2 oz tastes
• 25 – 1 oz tastes

• Glasses

• 5 – 5 oz pours

• Champagne Toasts

• 8 – 3 oz pours