I derive great pleasure from drinking wine but also find it enjoyable to build up a collection of wines and to taste them over a period of time as they evolve in the bottle. Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those wealthy people who buy shed loads of top Bordeaux or burgundy and store them in the cellar. Quite the opposite. I have a walk in cupboard under the stairs and only spend within the £3.00 to £10 bracket.
As a general rule, red wines priced from £3.00 to £5.00 are meant to be drunk young (within 6 to 12 months of purchase). Wines from £6.00 to £10.00 can be kept for anytime between 1 year and 4 years from the vintage. A lot depends on the quality of the wine, its method of production and how you store your wine at home, but if in doubt refer to the label on the reverse of the bottle or seek advice from the place of purchase.
An ideal storage space should be dark, have a constant temperature and be vibration free. Bottles really do need to be kept on their sides in order to keep the cork moist for an airtight seal. The only exception being if the wine is sealed by a synthetic cork or a screw top. I store wine under the stairs, so if you have a cupboard or somewhere away from a heat source that should be fine.
Natural cork versus screw top and synthetic cork closures.
I'm sure that everyone has noticed in the press over the last few years the debate raging on about the gradual replacing of traditional cork closures with synthetic cork and screw top. A growing number of wine producers in conjunction with some major supermarket chains have been pioneering the new closures.
I welcome a debate on on this issue or if any reader are interested in any other wine related topic? I'm all for replacing the cork stopper with a synthetic closure as on average as many as 1% of bottles suffer from cork taint. This is where a form of bacteria in the cork leeches into the wine and makes the wine smell musty. The aroma is unmistakable on the nose and the bottle be returned to the retailer.
Some friends frown upon my support of the synthetic cork closure and the screw top, as they still like to feel and smell the cork after popping. A former girlfriend hated the idea of the screw top as she thought it made the wine look cheap! The bottom line is that if the wine has a synthetic closure or screw top there will never be an issue of cork taint and you are virtually guaranteed that the wine will be in pristine condition.
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