Contributor: Tersina Shieh

Regardless of the color or style, wine should be stored in a cool place away from direct light and heat to maintain a constant temperature and humidity. While wine ages much faster under high temperature, its chemical reaction becomes almost idle under 10ºC. Therefore, the ideal temperature to store wine is between 12 to 16ºC.

The worst condition to store wine is when the temperature fluctuates dramatically (a difference of more than 10ºC), which leads to breakdown of the wine’s chemical balance. To store wine that is sealed by a cork, it’s best to keep it under a humidity of around 70%. A dry environment will cause the cork to lose its elasticity and make it hard to seal the bottle. That is also why it’s best to store wine in a horizontal position to keep the cork moist. Though for wine bottles that use screw caps, it’s perfectly fine to store them in an upright position.

Having said that, most consumers usually drink their wines shortly after purchase. These wines can be stored under normal room temperature for 3 to 6 months without any problems. Some people store their red wines underneath their beds to keep them cool. White, rose, and sparkling wines can be stored in the refrigerator for months without affecting their qualities. Under no circumstances should you keep your wines near the stove or under the spotlight in a display cabinet.

To store an opened but unfinished wine, the easiest way is to put the original cork or screw cap back on and put it in the refrigerator. Red wine should be taken out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before drinking to allow it to return to the room temperature. Corks used by sparkling wine bottles cannot be reused. To re-seal a sparkling wine or regular wine bottle, you can use a wine stopper. A wine stopper is usually a rubber or plastic cork that expands to seal the bottle when its lever is pushed down. This prevents carbon dioxide from leaking out of a sparkling wine and allows the wine to be stored for an extra 1 to 2 days. The aroma of wine is volatile, so it’s recommended that you finish an opened bottle within a week. Otherwise, the wine will lose its aroma and flavor.

Due to the aging process, certain wines can maintain their qualities even after being opened for 6 to 8 weeks. These wines include oak wood aged ports such as Ruby Port, Late Bottle Vintage Port, Tawny Port and Sherry. They all use T-shaped corks to make it easier to open and re-seal the bottle.

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A marketer turned winemaker, Tersina's mission is to promote a stronger wine culture in Hong Kong and China, explaining wine in a no-nonsense way.

This post was created by a Jubee contributor. Views represented are not affiliated with Jubee. Photo by Okan Caliskan and Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke.