Over 8 billion bottles of wine are produced in France alone each year. With so much choice on the market, how do you begin choosing wines to cellar? And how do you know when your wine should be stored? There is something extremely romantic about opening a bottle of wine that has been aged for years, however knowing when to store your wine is more complex. Understanding grape varieties, wine regions, producers and vintages are all extremely important aspects in deciding when to start your collection. Patricia Verschelling, one of our in-house wine experts, has more than 10 years experience with wine and is here to explain more. Read on to discover the top tips for knowing when your wine is worth cellaring.
Why Cellar Wines?
Before deciding which bottles to add to your collection, it’s important to know why people start collecting and cellaring wine in the first place. Storing wine is known to help improve the texture, taste and tones of wines, which wouldn’t be experienced if the wine was not aged. Not only does cellaring improve the quality of wine, but collectors are also known to store bottles of wine to mark an important day or to commemorate an event, such as a wedding or the birth of a child. Collecting memories of a special event and capturing a part of history, all whilst improving the quality of the bottle is why collecting wine is so popular. So which wines are worthy of collecting and storing?
Storing wine is known to help improve the texture, taste and tones of wine
What to Watch For
It is often said that only 1% of wines are worth cellaring, which is why collections should be based on strict standards and quality. Knowledge of a wine’s region, production and the producer will allow you to distinguish between a wine that ages well and one that does not. Tannins keep wines fresh, which is why red wines that age well tend to contain great amounts of tannins, such as high-end Bordeaux wines. Similarly, the sugar found in white wines helps to preserve the wine and prevent deterioration. Therefore, the sweeter the white wine, the better it will age, which is why dessert wines, such as Sauternes, are known to age extremely well over time. As well as high tannins and sweetness, both red and white wines with a higher acidity level are more likely to last longer, given that the low pH levels prevent any chemical changes that would otherwise break down the wine. Red wines are better suited for long-term aging compared to white wines. However, some types of white wines, like high-quality Chardonnay or Riesling can also benefit from being cellared.
Wines with great amounts of tannins, very sweet wines, and wine with high acidity are well suited for cellaring
Importance of Vintage
Despite a common misconception, a wine’s vintage refers to the date in which the grapes were harvested, rather than how long the wine has aged, or the year the wine went to market. It’s important to identify which vintage years were good before cellaring your wine, because despite how long it is in your cellar, wine from a poor harvest will never improve over time. Idyllic growing conditions would be warm days and cool nights. This helps to develop the aromatic potential, the ripeness and the crisp acidity of the grape, which in turn helps the wines to age better. And Patricia’s final tip? When choosing a wine’s vintage, be sure to consult a vintage chart, which can be found online or in a wine store, to make sure you are starting your collection correctly.
Cellar wines from good vintages because despite how long it is in your cellar, wine from a poor harvest will never improve over time
At Catawiki, you’ll be surprised every week with the impressive selection of wines and other special objects we have on offer. Anyone can participate in our online auctions; you only need one account to bid, buy and sell. Create your free account today and explore our weekly auctions curated by our team of in-house experts.
You might also like these articles: