Kitchen wine? We don’t think so (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Listen, I’m fine with keeping wine in a kitchen if the bottle will be finished that day. If not, forget it.
Kitchens are wine kryptonite. The temperature’s all over the place from kettles, dishwashers, ovens, people sashaying in and out. Then there’s the humidity and light, don’t get me started on the lights.
In no particular order, temperature extremes, light, vibrations and lack of humidity are the foursome of fear for wine. To borrow someone’s analogy, wine bottles are like tiny vampires, they thrive in dark, cool, quiet conditions. They’re also divas, demanding perfect conditions to perform. That was my analogy, and I couldn’t relate more.
Okay, but most of us don’t own wine cellars, wine walls, spiral cellars or bougie temperature-controlled wine fridges, am I right? In fact, we’ve barely got room to put up the ironing board, though if I had to choose between wine and ironing, there’d be no contest.
Also, unless you’re a banker, paying a high-end wine company to store your wine is a non-starter. Not until we win the lottery, which we will.
Until then, where DO we and do we NOT store wine in the house?
Metro’s wine expert Rob Buckhaven shares his top tips for wine storage – grapes not obligatory (Picture: Natasha Pszenicki)
Before we get into it, remember to store bottles on their side, the cork must be in contact with the wine so it doesn’t dry out. If it’s screwcap, store it any way you want.
The Good…
Cellar
If you have any kind of subterranean space, that’s the home run for wine storage. It’s the closest thing you’ll get to the ideal storage conditions, without purpose building your own temperature-controlled cellar.
Not everyone has a cellar like this – but imagine if we did (Picture: Getty Images)
Spare room
Turn off the radiators in the spare room and set up your wine racks, pronto. This could be an actual bedroom or just a room you don’t use that much (as a sidenote, I’d love to have a room in my house I didn’t use that much).
Just close the curtains and shut the door, as direct sunlight isn’t a good look for wine.
FYI, 13°C is the Goldilocks temperature for wine storage so you might want to whack a thermometer in the room and check it occasionally.
Under the stairs
A decent option that isn’t overly used, is usually located away from the kitchen and doesn’t house radiators. The only kicker is the vibrations from people going up and down the stairs which can rearrange the molecules in the wine, affecting the flavours. That’s more of a worry with a tumble dryer though, so move the hoover aside and wine rack the heck up.
Under the stairs? There are worst places (Picture: Getty Images)
Fridge
A temporary solution; try not to store wine in ordinary food fridges on a regular basis. It’s fine for bringing down the temperature of a wine, and once you’ve opened it and are en route to finishing it. But with an ongoing temperature of 3-5°C, fridges are too cold for wine, even sparkling.
Plus, they have low humidity levels which means that corks will shrink and potentially let in oxygen. They also have brighter than average light bulbs which causes ‘light strike’, leading to off flavours and aromas.
By the front door
It’s not ideal, and only consider it if the area is relatively dark, doesn’t have radiators anywhere near it and won’t trip you up as you’re leaving the house.
Better still, in a shoe cupboard or where you hang your coat. Opening the front door occasionally should be fine, it’s usually away from the hubbub of the kitchen and people don’t tend to hang out there.
The Bad…
Kitchen
See above.
Garage
This might seem like a savvy choice, as it’s dark and largely unused. Not so. Unless it’s impeccably insulated, it veers from freezing in winter and boiling in summer.
You might as well store wine in your car, though please don’t.
By a window
Direct sunlight is a wine murderer, think vampires again. UV rays mess about with the molecules in the wine, making it taste and smell ‘off’.
Join Metro Drinks Club and save on wine
Fancy regular access to delicious drinks at tasty prices? Then welcome to the brand new Metro Drinks Club, brought to you in association with Naked Wines.
To mark this exciting occasion, Metro’s wine expert Rob Buckhaven has selected a series of cases from the Naked Wines range – offered at a very special price to Metro Drinks Club members.
Choose between a red, white and mixed 12-bottle case, or splash out on all three, to gain access to the Metro Drinks Club.
For £64.99 per case, including free delivery, you’ll get a best-in-market deal and save over £100 off the market price.
How to join – and save over £100 on your first case
Purchase any Metro Drinks Club case and you’re in the club, though you can opt out at any time.
Read more here.
Follow the link to Metro Drinks Club at Naked Wines to join and purchase your case.
Utility room
Absolutely not, as aside from the kitchen, this is the epicentre of everything that can harm a wine. You’ve got heat and vibrations from the washing machine and tumble dryer, lights and people coming in and out regularly for wash runs.
Attic
A similar setup to the garage, becoming the hottest and coldest place in the house depending on the weather, no matter how well insulated.
Then there’s always the worry that you’ll have to go up into the attic to retrieve them, because as we know, that is the place where most serial killers hide and paranormal activity happens. Don’t risk it.
Even if you don’t have a temperature-controlled cellar, there are better places to put the plonk.