Читать книгу The Wine Etiquette Guide - Your Defense Against Wine Snobbery - Chuck Blethen - Страница 17

“A waltz and a glass of wine invite an encore.”

- Johann Strauss

Wine has several enemies – light, heat, vibration and large variations in temperatures. Many times when you buy wine you may want to store it for a while before serving or consuming it. Recent research tells us that Americans who buy a bottle of wine plan to consume it within 48 hours. If you are lucky enough to have a wine cellar you have no problem.

Chances are your wine cellar temperature is automatically controlled to 55 degrees F and the humidity is maintained at about 75% to keep the corks from drying out. Most casual wine consumers will use their refrigerator to store wines, even reds. Do not store any wines in places that are room temperature (74 F) or higher. Wines do not keep well in warm or illuminated locations. Make sure to store them on their side so the natural cork stays wet. Wines closed with synthetic corks do not have to be maintained on their sides to keep the cork wet and don’t have to have controlled relative humidity. They still need protection from light and vibration.

If you only consume half the bottle, re-cork the wine. If you want to get fancy, you can seal the bottle with a vacuum sealer, which keeps the bottle airtight and acts in place of a cork. Put it in the refrigerator. On average, red and white wine will keep for 3 to 5 days.

A wine goes bad when it has been oxidized or some other unpleasant chemical reactions or biological activity take place following bottling. You can generally tell if it has gone bad if it has an unpleasant vinegar or moldy smell. If you are still not sure, go ahead and taste the wine, it will not make you sick, it may just taste unpleasant. If the wine has gone bad, discard it and open a new bottle.