Like many wine drinkers, you may know connoisseurs that buy wine and hold onto it for years or even decades before drinking it. You may already be becoming one of those wine collectors! Before you go down that path, you need to learn about wine collecting and storing. This will get you started.
Why should you collect and store wine?
Wine connoisseurs concur that properly aged wine tastes and smells better. It can also get more expensive. Partly due to the quality of the wine but also because wine is a finite asset. There are only so many bottles made from a certain winery, vintage, varietal, etc. and as years go on there are fewer and fewer of those as people drink them. As the supply goes down, the price for the remaining bottles goes up as long as demand is high, and the bottle still drinks well or at least people think it is still good.
That is not the only reason to begin wine collecting. For many, delayed gratification is worth it. It will test your patience to store a wine for years before tasting it, but it can be rewarding. Enjoying a bottle that was bottled years ago from a batch that cannot be recreated is a special feeling.
Of course, make sure any wine you are aging will benefit from doing so. 98% or more of wines that are produced are meant to drink right away. Most mass producers of wine will tell you to drink it right away and most winemakers will tell you the same thing. Winemakers will often do any aging themselves before selling the wine if they believe aging will do the wine well.
How aging transforms wine
As the years go by, properly aged wine changes color. Younger wines have deeper colors since they have a high concentration of raw materials. The opposite is true for aged wines; properly stored bottles get lighter as time goes by. Over time, a dark red will become a lighter red. Eventually, it will become orange in which case it has probably gone bad.
The wine’s nose will also change with time. Younger wines have fruity notes and appeal to new wine drinkers. However, aged wines are more likely to produce notes of cedar, leather, and tobacco which appeals to experienced collectors looking for a complex flavor profile. As the notes get more pronounced it indicates a proper storing and aging process.
Lastly, let us not forget about the texture. An aged wine will provide a smoother texture. This combined with earthy notes brings a fantastic tasing experience together. When drinking young wines, you will notice a zesty or acidic flavor which is a good indicator of freshness.
Properly storing your wine collection
Regardless if you buy an expensive bottle from a great vintage, it will be useless if you keep it in a hot kitchen, garage, or closet. While wine collecting you will want to use proper storage techniques: keep the bottle away from light, maintaining 55-57 degrees and 60-70% humidity, etc.
You can do this by building a wine cellar at home which is quite expensive and tough to upkeep. Or you can take the simple, no-hassle solution of using a wine storage provider like Wine Storage Partners and their first location, Wine Storage Sausalito. Through our commercial-quality refrigeration and security systems, we can make your wine is properly aged and stored. Wine Storage Sausalito is a fantastic solution for wine collectors building their wine collection in San Francisco, Marin, Mill Valley, Tiburon, Belvedere, Corte Madera, Larkspur, San Rafael, and San Anselmo.
