4 Wine Storage Mistakes You’re Probably Making

If you love the taste of wine, you already know wine bottles are not inexpensive. Storing them in the wrong place will not shorten their lifespan but also ruin the overall drinking experience. But don’t worry; we have compiled a list of mistakes most people make when storing wine bottles. Whether you have recently bought bottles of La Crescent wine or Marechal Foch wine, keep them safe and fresh by avoiding the following mistakes:

Your wine bottles are close to a heat source

You have a bar counter in your dining room, next to the kitchen. Chances are your wine bottles are stored with care in your bar corner. But are you sure your wine will remain fresh for years to come? The heat from any source, including the kitchen, isn’t friends with your precious wine. It speeds up aging by triggering chemical reactions, ruining the flavor.

You keep wine bottles at room temperature

You are confident that wine bottles are stored at room temperature. While it’s true that room temperature is ideal for wine, it refers to an underground wine cellar. If your home doesn’t have a cellar to store wines, you are probably ruining your wine’s flavor. The ideal temperature for storage is 13°C or 55°F. Since maintaining it can be challenging for an owner with a centrally-heated home, consuming wine within six months of purchase is advisable.

You display wine bottles on your bar’s counter

When you tasted La Crescent wine at the winemaker’s vineyard, you enjoyed its fruit flavors with a hint of warm honey, so you picked a bottle or two for home. Does your wine taste the same now? Perhaps not if you displayed it on your home bar’s counter. That’s because light from any source results in a chemical reaction, altering the wine’s taste and smell. It’s also possible that your white wine may change its color to a golden brown.

You store wine bottles upright

Have you ever wondered why bottles of wine are never kept upright but laid on their sides? Many believe it’s the safest way to keep a fragile wine bottle from cracking or breaking. But that’s not the reason. A wine bottle’s cork shrinks over time, allowing oxygen to enter the bottle. Though oxygen is a small amount good for the wine to age gracefully, it may dull its taste and smell if exposed to too much oxygen. When wine bottles are laid on the sides, the wine is in constant contact with its stopper, preventing it from drying out and shrinking.

Now you know how to store your wine bottles the right way. Shop for award-winning La Crescent wines from renowned winemakers that will make the perfect addition to your table.