Wine is one of the great wonders of the world. No two vintages are the same, nor are the varieties that form the basis of the world of wine consumption. In the hands of an expert winemaker, simple grapes become true magic.
That is, until it reaches the hands of the average consumer. Few casual wine drinkers understand the delicate nature of wines, especially good ones. Its natural enemies, light, heat and humidity, can turn a great wine into a mediocre one in just a few weeks. Worse yet, it can also make a great wine out of poor quality vinegar.
Much depends on how the wine is stored. And for that, wine racks are hard to beat. As noted, haters of wine love to compromise its attributes at a moment’s notice. And wine racks are designed to combat at least a couple of these elements.
Heat is the greatest enemy of wine. In fact, direct sunlight can make a good wine taste cooked in just a few weeks. So you want to keep your wine and racks away from heat sources. If you have a foundation, that’s ideal. Otherwise, you may want to consider placing your wine racks on interior walls that are away from your home’s heating ducts and windows.
Speaking of windows, light is another enemy. Direct sunlight can actually alter the chemical composition of wine. That’s another good reason why wine racks should be kept away from windows.
The last enemy, humidity, is something of a double-edged sword. If the humidity is too low, the cork can shrink, letting in air and turning the wine into vinegar. Too much moisture and the cork will go moldy. Your wine can end up tasting like the floor of a rain forest.
Many wine racks come with doors that keep the wine out of the sun and light and regulate humidity naturally. When shopping for wine racks, you may want to select models that have solid wood doors or wine cellars that have lids.
If you keep your wine in wine racks in the basement, you can purchase a more ornate wine rack for your living space. Many of these racks have beautiful wrought iron features, turned woods, and pull-out shelves for uncorking and decanting wine. If you have one of these racks, select just a few bottles from the basement storage area at a time. Again, you don’t want the elements to change the character of the wine.