In the old days, cellaring wine was relatively simple, even if the rules were iron clad. A good wine cellar had to be dark, because light could cause changes in wines. It had to be still and vibration free, because even small amounts of motion or shaking could speed up the wine's process of maturation, stir up its sediments, agitate it, and cause who knows what undesirable chemical changes. It had to be a constant 55 degrees (or 45 degrees - experts disagreed), because heat is the great enemy of wine, causing it to age much too fast and unpredictably, and also contributing to undesirable chemical changes. It had to have constant 35 percent humidity, to prevent corks from drying out, which would destroy the wine by leakage, oxidation, and - you guessed it - undesirable chemical changes.
The purpose of cellaring wines was exclusively to mature them for drinking - and by God - we do love drinking that beautiful aged bottle of bordeaux in a cool cellar any day!
Steven Gambrel
Steven Gambrel
Chateau Marquis
Chateau Margaux
Chateau Margaux
Chateau Lascombes
Chateau Lafon Rochet
Chateau Lafite Rothschild
Chateau Gruaud Larose
John Minshaw
Desloover
No comments:
Post a Comment