Storing wines at the ideal temperature can have a significant impact on the life of a wine. Extreme heat is wine’s enemy and can cause a wine to age prematurely and oxidise. The ideal temperature for cellaring wine is around 10 - 14ºC, though chances are few of us have place in our home that is this cool all year round. One option is to invest in a wine storage cabinet that can maintain this ideal temperature for cellaring wine. The commercial wine storage companies can also achieve this cellaring temperature consistently for a low monthly rental fee. Otherwise, find the coolest place in your home that will keep the wine anywhere from 7 - 21ºC. That may mean in a cupboard or perhaps a dark corner of the garage. Find a spot with minimum fluctuation in temperature, from day to day and season to season, away from direct sunlight, or appliances like a fridge or oven.

The ideal storage conditions for cellaring wine will ensure that it ages gradually without spoilage. The perfect storage conditions for a wine call for humidity of 70%. Storage conditions which are too damp can cause mould and for the labels to deteriorate, whereas being too dry can affect the corks. Avoid storage conditions that expose the wine to strong odours, so keep away from paints, solvents and pungent cleaning products. Such odours can seep through the cork and affect the flavour of the wine. Also keep away from storage conditions that subject the wine to vibration, like under a stairwell or beside an appliance like a fridge. If they are cork, store bottles of wine lying down. This keeps the cork from drying out which can let air into the wine and age it prematurely. Place the bottles in a rack. If you don’t have one, a cardboard carton can be just as good as the corrugated cardboard provides a limited form of insulation from temperature fluctuations. Otherwise simply stacking the bottles on top of each other is fine, though it can make accessing a particular bottle more difficult.

Provided wines are given the right storage conditions as they age, a number of positive things can happen. The flavours develop and mature, the tannins soften and the colour changes. Yet some wines actually deteriorate losing the charm and fruit flavours they had when young…

Louis Pasteur was the first scientist to study what happens as wines age. At the time, Napoleon wanted to know why wines were deteriorating on their way to market, so he asked Louis Pasteur for some answers. Pasteur investigated the effects of air contact as wines age; too much oxygen exposure oxidised the wine leading to the growth of vinegar bacteria. However, a little air contact actually improved the wine. He then discovered that by sealing the bottle more effectively, wines last longer.

The higher quality wines age better than inferior ones because they have more acids, sugars, tannins, minerals, pigments, esters and aldehydes. As wines age, tannin levels diminish and acid levels reduce. In terms of flavour, different wines age in different ways. For instance with a cabernet sauvignon, the ‘grippy’ effect of the tannin diminishes, the fruit flavours increase while the oak integrates with the wine and balances with the fruit flavours. As wines age, ‘secondary’ flavours emerge like toast, toffee, cashew and bacon, in addition to a maturing of the rich berry flavours. Chardonnays tend to develop flavours like caramel, butterscotch vanilla and cashews, while the acids diminish and oak flavours become less dominent. Not all wines age and improve. Many wines today, even some reds, are made for immediate drinking. Wines like sauvignon blancs and rosés are best enjoyed in their youth when their zesty fruit flavours are at their peak. Yet most other wines age and improve, even for just a few months after purchase. Truly great wines age and continue to improve over many years, some for many decades.

In addition as wines age, the colour changes. Reds change from a vibrant deep burgundy or crimson colour to a lighter brick red. Whites darken moving from pale yellow and green hues to deeper golden tones, while chardonnays and botrytis-affected semillons move towards dark honey and toffee colours. The closure affects the way wines age. Corks allow more air to enter the bottle than screwcaps. In additions, storage conditions affect the rate at which wines age as will the cellaring temperature and atmospheric conditions.