How to choose
A well-stored bottle is a promise: you’ll open it in a few months or a few years and it’ll be just as you imagined. That doesn’t take much, just respecting three or four things wine really cares about.
How to store wine properly
- Lying down. Bottles with corks are best kept horizontal: the wine touches the cork, which stays moist and doesn’t let air through. With a screwcap it doesn’t matter, but lying down they take up less room and look better.
- Cool and, above all, stable temperature. Ideally around 12–14 ºC, but what matters more is that it doesn’t go up and down. A cupboard on an interior wall or a cool storeroom is better than the kitchen, next to the oven or the fridge.
- No light. Sunlight and fluorescent tubes spoil wine, especially whites and sparkling wines in clear bottles. Look for a shady spot.
- Undisturbed. No vibrations or strong smells nearby (cleaning products, paint). And don’t move it more than necessary.
If you live in a warm flat and want to keep wine for several years, a rack isn’t enough: what you need is a wine fridge. For the wine you’ll drink in the coming months, a rack in the right spot is perfect.
Which wine rack to choose
- Wall-mounted: takes up no floor space and shows off the bottles. Check that the wall doesn’t get sun or heat.
- Stackable or modular: grows with you. You start with one module and keep adding.
- Wood or metal: wood is warm and cushions; metal is slimmer and takes up less room. Both work.
- Measure your bottles: Burgundy, cava and Champagne bottles are wider than a Bordeaux bottle. Check the space before you buy.
And then the best part: choosing which bottle to open. With some music, all the better.
