Wine Storage

Why should wine be aged before drinking?

Not all wines need to be aged or laid down before drinking, some are best enjoyed when young. The reason people will age and lay down a wine is because it has high levels of acidity or tanning and the wine needs time for these to settle down.

Should all wines be aged?

In terms of wine storage, not all wines should be aged. Some wines are best drunk literally in their youth such as Beaujolais Nouveau and young New Zealand Sauvignons. Therefore, not all wines should be aged.

If wine is kept too long, will it turn into vinegar?

Eventually, all wines will turn into a vinegar substance because basically, the fruit will die away. Some wines will age for longer than others, but in the end, the fruit will die away completely and all you'll be left with is a vinegar tasting product.

Should I leave a layer of dust on the bottles in my rack?

In wine storage, a layer of dust on the bottles in the rack may look like it adds a bit of character to the bottles in your cellar, but it will have absolutely no effect on the wine itself.

Is a cork better than a screw-cap?

The debate on this would probably rumble on for years and years. You can rest assured that the top wines in the world are currently experimenting with their wines in screw-cap, but the basic idea is that they haven't found out for certain yet whether the finest wines in the world will age for a long time in screw-cap.

Why have manufacturers started using screw-caps?

There are a number of wine producers who think that screw-caps have reduced the amount of wines that are returned corked or off. Therefore, a lot of producers are turning over to this new way of sealing a wine.

Is it only cheap wines that have screw-caps?

By no means is it only cheap wines that have screw-caps. There are a number of expensive white and red wines that are available in screw-cap now.

Is the cork industry in trouble?

I would say the cork industry is in a lot of trouble but they are fighting back quite strongly. The cork industry are doing lots of marketing campaigns, and trying to improve their image and quality of product at the same time.

Do certain wine regions favour screw-caps?

Screw-caps on wine are definitely something that has hit off in places like New Zealand and Australia more than the old world, such as France, Italy and Spain. However, that's really starting to change and you're seeing a lot more of the old world wines going into screw-caps, too.

Does a screw-cap affect the taste of wine?

A screw-cap has absolutely no effect on the taste of the wine itself.

Are bottled wines always better than boxed wines?

Bottled wines are not always better than boxed wines. You can get some very, very bad wines in bottles and some relatively decent wines in a box.

How long can I keep wine after it is opened?

Most wines are best drunk within the first 24 hours, although some reds will probably open up a little bit over 24, 48 hours. It depends how you actually keep the wine as well. If you have a system of putting some gas into it, or popping a cork in it and popping it back in the fridge, the wine will keep for longer. But as a general rule, most wines should really be drunk within 24 hours of opening.