Wine lovers know that wine is a living product which is particularly sensitive to temperature variations. When summer comes, with the intense heat, the question of storing wine bottles arises. Here are some tips for preserving your best bottles all summer long.
A quick reminder: the ideal serving temperatures
To better understand the issue of storing wine bottles during the summer , let's remember what the ideal serving temperature is for each type of wine.
- Dry and light white wines: between 7 and 9°C;
- Semi-dry and sweet white wines: between 11 and 13°C;
- Light red wines: between 14 and 16°C;
- Full-bodied red wines: between 16 and 18°C.
The wines are therefore consumed relatively chilled, and if you want to fully benefit from the qualities of a vintage, you must then be able to prevent it from warming up too quickly.
Storing closed wine bottles
In autumn, winter or summer, storing wine bottles does not really pose a problem. Simply store them at room temperature in the coolest room in the house. But with the hot summer days, storage is called into question, because temperatures often exceed 20 degrees, or even much more.
The ideal is therefore to be able to store each bottle of wine in a wine cellar , in order to obtain a constant and perfectly adapted storage temperature. Wine cellars, whether aging cellars or service cellars, offer the best storage conditions , at the right temperature, while also adapting to the owner's space and design constraints.
Conditions for storing an open bottle during tasting
In summer, the main difficulty is to maintain a good serving temperature throughout the tasting, and to prevent the wine from heating up too quickly. When we know that a glass of wine can heat up 3 to 4°C in just 15 minutes, we understand the difficulty.
To overcome this problem, it is therefore advisable to avoid serving too large glasses, and to keep the opened bottle of wine in an ice bucket , or to use any kind of cold keeping techniques.
How to store an opened bottle of wine between two tastings?
It can happen that you open a good bottle of wine and don't want to finish it right away. The primary objective is then to protect the wine from oxidation , by limiting contact with air. For this, nothing beats a cork or a capsule. Then, you can place your opened bottles back in your wine cellar , in order to offer them good storage conditions and avoid the taste of light and keep them at the right temperature.
Another alternative, if you don't have a wine cellar: the refrigerator. In the fridge, even if the bottle is tightly corked, you will need to consume the wine within 3 to 4 days, before the wine is too spoiled.
8 Ways to Keep Wine Cool This Summer
We quickly took a look at the main solutions for keeping wine cool in hot weather. Let's take a closer look at the 8 tips that will allow you to drink wine all summer long:
- The fridge : even if it is not ideal, placing a bottle of wine in the fridge is always better than drinking it too hot;
- The ice bucket : very chic and particularly effective, the ice bucket is one of the best solutions. By adding salt to the ice, the wine will cool even faster;
- The ice bag : by placing ice cubes in an ice bag, you ensure a cool temperature for several hours;
- The insulated bag : less effective than the ice bag, the insulated bag can nevertheless help and keep the wine cool;
- The automatic wine cooler : this innovative accessory looks like a mini-fridge, in which you can store 1 to 2 bottles. It allows you to precisely control the temperature of the wine;
- The pouring spout cooler : another innovative object, the pouring spout cools the wine instantly during serving;
- Ice cube substitutes : putting ice cubes in a glass of wine is a sacrilege that you can avoid by using wine stones. These blocks of stone (marble, granite, etc.) are placed in the freezer before cooling your wine. Even more original, don't hesitate to freeze grapes, which will serve as ice cubes;
- The freezer : if you want to cool your bottle of wine quickly, wrap it in a damp cloth and place it in the freezer for 15 to 30 minutes. Freshness guaranteed!
Our selection of ice bags
If you want to enjoy a good bottle during a summer meal or a friendly aperitif, we advise you to keep your opened bottles in an ice bag . You just need to add ice cubes to ensure good preservation, at least for a few hours.
The Ultimate Provence estate then offers you a 75 cl ice bag, made from reusable and durable PVC. Portable and lightweight, it keeps your bottles at temperature , but also refreshes your bottles in just 15 minutes.
The Château de Berne also offers this type of accessory to ensure the conservation of wines in the best conditions.
For a wine tasting to be optimal, you must be able to serve the wine at the right temperature . Several tips then exist, including the ice bags offered by the Berne domain and the Ultimate Provence domain.
