MOSAIC Group Guest Blogger: Maggie Meroney, CSW, FWS
Wine Consultant and Director of Education, pH Wine Merchant in Buckhead (Atlanta, GA)
Do you think a wine cellar is only for the 1 percent? And do you picture it downstairs? Rid your mind of both those misconceptions. The place you relax at the end of a long day is your “Cellar” when there is wine storage nearby.
There are good and bad ways to store wine. A rack above your refrigerator is a bad way. An interior closet is a good way. Even better is when your liquid treasures have optimum conditions; low light, good humidity, consistent temperature and stillness.
Exposure to light will change the flavor of a wine. The French call this Goût de Lumière, the taste of light. And it is not meant as a compliment. The double whammy of insufficient humidity and fluctuating temperatures will cause corks to expand and contract, allowing air into your bottles. Too much oxygen in wine causes musty, baked flavors. And finally, vibration injects energy into your wine. Imagine being shaken constantly. You would be exhausted too! Vibration prematurely ages wine.
Why save wine? Here are a few reasons:
- Variety is the Spice of Life.
- You got a great deal on case purchases.
- You bought every bottle you could find from your kid’s birth year.
- It’s more social than stamp collecting.
- It’s your built-in gift shop.
- Liquid Assets (pun intended)
So what are you waiting for? And once you have your space ready, come see us and our Atlanta home improvement showroom.