By: Perry Sims
The temperature in your wine cellar determines the pace at which your wine will age and, once it reaches maturity, preserve its quality. Cooler is better to a point, but the aging process stands practically still below 50°F (10°C). On the high end, a cellar set over 65°F (18°C) ages fine wines too quickly and damages older, more fragile reserves. Setting a temperature within this range determines the rate of aging for the wines in your cellar, an important consideration that in turn controls how fast you will rotate and consume your stock.
For most home wine collections of more than 500 bottles, a constant, regulated temperature of 57°F (14°C) is ideal and acceptable for the majority of varietals, vintages, and labels. At that temperature, a quality Cabernet Sauvignon typically needs seven years to reach its peak, and it will maintain its greatness for an equal span. Boost the setting to 60°F (16°C) for smaller cellars in which the wine rotates quickly or when you want to enjoy a fine, current-release Cabernet in less than four years. Whatever temperature you choose, keep it constant within one degree for best aging and preservation. Within the recommended temperature range of 50° to 65°F (10° to 18°C), the consistency of the cellar is more critical than the actual temperature. Fluctuations of even a few degrees cause wine-or any liquid-to expand and contract.
Fluctuations in temperature oxygenate your wine. If, for instance, the wine warms to room temperature, then cools back down to 57°F (14°C), the wine will first expand, compressing the ullage, or air bubble. Then, as the temperature cools, it will contract, pulling room air with oxygen and carbon dioxide through its porous cork.
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Some thermostats use a probe in a dummy bottle filled with water to measure the wine's temperature, controlling a cellar's temperature.
Bottle-probe thermostats are accurate measures of a wine's actual temperature. They may be slow to react to changing air temperatures that cool or warm the wine.
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Proper aging is the slow, measured chemical change of the wine, and fluctuations in your cellar's temperature will damage a fine wine. Ideally, if the temperature remains constant, the wine will age steadily as a small amount of liquid evaporates through the cork to be replaced by an equal volume of air. Under constant temperature conditions, this process takes place very slowly, creating pressure inside the bottle that reduces the amount of fresh air that can enter the bottle and react with the wine. Whatever temperature you choose for your cellar, keep it steady.
Maintain your cellar's temperature with an airtight, insulated structure and ample thermal mass. Masonry walls, floors, and ceilings, whether freestanding or shared with another structure, provide the highest level of thermal mass. Use them in your cellar to help keep temperatures constant and extend the service life of your refrigeration and other mechanical systems. Seal all gaps in the cellar's structure with expanding foam, and fill wall, floor, and ceiling cavities with fiberglass batt or rigid foam insulation. Weather-strip doors and use insulated glass .
Thermal mass alone, however, simply maintains a constant ambient temperature. It needs assistance to create a specific temperature setting. Refrigeration systems and controllers are thermal mass' partners that deliver and maintain a set temperature. Choose a system that recirculates air within the cellar, rather than drawing and exhausting air and moisture outside the cellar, to help hold optimum humidity levels.
Effects of Heat on Wine
Heat is the enemy of fine wine, affecting both the aging process and wines' preservation. As wine warms (or ages), it naturally comes in contact with chemicals in the air, absorbing oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide, and creating complex chemical reactions that affect the wine's quality. Fine wine is meant to age this way, albeit slowly. A fine Cabernet vintage, for instance, requires four to as many as seven years to age properly and achieve its optimum flavor, color, and aroma. Accelerating that process by storing the wine in a warm cellar-or at room temperature-adversely affects each of those qualities. If you want to enjoy a well-aged wine, protect it from heat.
From the book The Home Wine Cellar by Perry Sims et al. Copyright © 2004.. Reprinted by arrangement with Running Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group, www.perseusbooks.com. All rights reserved.