IF you wish to begin a cellar the first strategy item is to always have two to three dozen easy drinking reds or whites available so that you do not raid your precious longer term and more expensive investment unnecessarily.
Secondly, your grandmother’s limestone foundations in Mt Lawley do not provide satisfactory wine-storage temperature conditions.
After a short heat wave of 37, 39, 41 and 43C, which we get each year, 30C under the house may feel cool, but your wine is already going off.
Wine is like milk or ice cream and must be stored properly.
A temperature of under 20C and with no significant rapid temperature fluctuations is essential for wine storage – and high humidity (above 65 per cent) also makes a significant difference.
Anything above 25C inside the bottle and you have an investment that is losing flavour, balance, drinkability and value quickly!
Storage
Under a cork seal, the wine must be stored so the wine is touching the cork so the liquid is absorbed by and then expands this natural product, which then forms the best seal the wine industry has had – until the advent of the screwcap or “Stelvin.”
The industry believes that screwcapped sealed bottles can be stored standing for long periods.
Temperatures to serve
The various styles will be drinking at their optimum at the following temperatures.
Sparkling and aromatic and unwooded wines such as Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, most Semillon Sauvignon Blancs and Pinot Gris: four to six degrees celsius.
Chardonnay and other wooded whites including the premium sauvignon blanc-semillon style: about 12C.
Note that chardonnays can benefit from breathing (opening 15 to 45 minutes early).
Australian reds appear to be at their best at between 18 and 23C and this means that all reds need to be gently chilled in any situation where they will go above 25C.
Pinot noir may be an exception and can be served below 20C.
Decanting and Breathing
Decanting wine can be less daunting than expected because a clean saucepan or water jug is just as effective as a $1500 decanter.
There are two purposes.
Firstly, some aged reds have lost their youthful colour (purple when young, then red followed by brown when aged) and tannin grip (astringent when young and mellowing round and easy when mature), which gradually precipitate and form the crust or sediment inside the bottle that inside the glass is undesirable.
Secondly, the act of pouring the wine through the air allows an opening and relaxing of the bouquet and textures and this benefits both old and young red wines.
Use longer periods for young tannic reds and perhaps 10 to 20 minutes for quite old wines as they have done their aging in the bottle and alter rapidly once they come into contact with fresh air.
Glassware
We now know that glass shape impacts significantly on wine flavour and texture and therefore it’s appreciation.
There are half a dozen ranges of excellent crystal stemware available including Orrefors, Waterford, Schott and Riedel (the market leader and its subsidiary Spiegelau, perhaps the most reasonably priced) that make an extraordinary improvement on both the wine’s nose and palate.