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3. A WINE CELLAR - WHAT FOR?
Introduction
Don't forget that wine is a passion. Complex - it evolves very slowly, peacefully! It needs a combination of
many conditions in order to blossom and quietly reach its summit. The permanence of these conditions is
crucial! To start, it is necessary to make the distinction between ageing temperatures, preservation
temperatures and tasting temperatures.
The 5 golden rules to make this distinction are:
The ageing temperature: designates a range of temperatures between 10 and 14°C; ideally, around
12°C, whatever the type of wine to be preserved and aged. But, more than the levels, it is the
constancy of the temperature during the ageing period which will allow the wine to fully blossom.
Therefore, it is important to avoid any brutal thermal shock.
Humidity: the bottles' cork must be kept permanently humid in order to remain hermetic. At a persistent
relative humidity below 50 %, the bottles' cork dries out and the wine flows and oxidizes. At a
persistent relative humidity above 80 %, mildew and mould may appear and labels may get unstuck.
Odors/ventilation: wine breaths through its cork. In the constant proximity of odors, wine denatures.
Vibrations: vibrations cause wine fatigue and disturb its evolution. This is why it is crucial to keep the
wine safe from any movement.
Light: light increases the oxidation-reduction potential of wine, accelerating its ageing. This is why it is
important to offer it true protective darkness.
In addition, to all this, a basic concept has to be considered. It's absurd to preserve a wine with loving
care for years, and then "kill" it by serving it at an inappropriate temperature. When served too cold, a
wine's aromas are anaesthetized and its defects are hidden. When served too warm, it will become
unbalanced by too much alcohol. The serving temperature is the range of temperatures at which a wine
should be served and consumed: from 7°C for "liquoreux" wines up to 18°C for red tannic vintage wines.
It is important that these conditions be permanently satisfied!
Let's recapitulate your needs which led to your choice:
Do you purchase young wines and lovingly let them age? You are in the domain of
ageing!
Do you purchase wines and champagnes close to their summit to have those near at hand and so be
able to savor their rich aromas at the right temperature? You must follow a
multi-purpose
approach,
with preservation and conditioning to temperature!
Do you wish to consume your "cru" wines at the right temperature? A conditioning wine cellar will be
really appropriate for you (also called a wine
serving temperature
cellar).
The various wine cellars
Frio Entrepise, a wine cellar specialist, has designed various types of cabinets.
Ageing:
the climatic enclosure is designed to guarantee over time as stable as possible the conditions
of underground wine cellars which favor the optimum blossoming of "grand cru" wines.
Multi-purpose:
which combine wine preservation and temperature conditioning areas in a single or
multi-compartment cabinet, etc.
Serving temperature or conditioning:
with these three cabinets, you will be able to taste your "grand
crû" at the right temperature and let them exhale the lingering fragrance of their aromas.
For detailed information about our various products, go to our Internet site
www.avintage.com
. To order
wine bottle trays, activated charcoal filters, or other accessories, go to the heading “accessories“ on our
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