Thursday, November 22 2007
Cellar: Not Just a Hole in the Ground
Wine cellar in Chvalovice near Znojmo.Photo by che
Cellaring Part Three: Diggin' a Hole
The part we have so far not discussed about cellaring, is the cellar itself. As the name implies, people use to put their wine in a hole in the ground, under their dwelling or winery. As long as human beings have striven to preserve food they've known that cool, steady temperatures, combined with moderate, unvarying humidity would keep fruits, vegetables and meat from spoiling as quickly. Wine kept in these conditions would last longer as well. The famous champagne caves in France are carved into chalk hills, and what castle would be complete without a cavernous dungeon holding precious bottles of Bordeaux?
Cellars and caves work perfectly to conserve and age wine because they offer the perfect environment:
- Cool temperatures, usually in the 10-12C range (52-55F). Wine held here ages in a very slow and controlled manner. For every ten degree increase in the temperature, the speed of the chemical and biochemical reactions that govern ageing doubles, and some get out of control, causing the wine to die of old age while still young.
- Steady temperatures, which are perhaps more crucial than cool temperatures. Variations of less than one degree per day, or five degrees between winter and summer are best. Every time a bottle of wine warms and cools, the wine inside it expands and contracts, alternately pushing and pulling on the cork. Some wine could leak out, or penetrate the cork, and air can enter the bottle. Obviously, neither of these is desirable.
- Darkness, if not complete blackness then at least the absence of direct sources of UV radiation. While wine doesn't go skunky in minutes like beer does in direct sunlight, it does age quicker and suffers from 'photodegradation'.
- Humidity unvaryingly steady, around 70%. Any drier and corks can dry out. Once the end of a cork becomes dry, it wicks wine along just like the edge of a paper towel dipped in liquid. Eventually the wine level in the bottle drops, or the cork dries out completely and crumbles. Too much humidity and your corks will get mould, and your labels will disintegrate.
- No vibration. Wine is a living thing, so constant jostling, thumping and vibrating unsettles it. Store a bottle of wine in a paint-shaker and it will go bad in only a few minutes. Store it on top of the washing machine, and it won't take many loads of delicates before it falls apart.
- 'Clean' environment. Wine is a food product, and just like not storing angel-food cake next to garlic, you don't want your precious wine snuggled up to paint thinner, compost or any other food or non-food item that could transfer flavours or aromas.
So, cool, stable, quiet, humid, dark and clean–sounds pretty simple. But most of us aren't going to be comfortable digging a big hole under the house–let's face it, if we had a room that had all those attributes, it's a pretty sure thing that we're living in a cave or a fly-by-night condo! So what do you do? Read this space next week for a further installment of 'Cellaring' and find out!
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