WINE STORAGE

Show your wine the love it deserves by storing it in a dedicated wine cabinet, writes Georgia Madden.

- Georgia Madden

Do you love nothing more than a glass of crisp sauvignon blanc poured straight from the fridge? Perhaps you keep a few bottles of red in a spot under the stairs. Brace yourself: you’re not doing your wine any favours. “Wine needs to be stored in the right conditions,” says Gary Brown, senior brand manager for home appliances at Harvey Norman. “A wine cabinet protects and preserves the integrity of wine so it ages gracefully. It offers precise temperature and humidity control, filters UV light and dampens vibrations so the wine can settle and won’t age prematurely,” he says. A wine cabinet is also “a beautiful way to showcase your collection,” adds Olya Yemchenko, brand communications manager at Gaggenau.

So what’s wrong with a regular fridge? “Most fridges run at about 2°C, which isn’t really suitable for any type of wine,” says Gary. “Wine-cabinet temperatures range between 5°C and 18°C.” Drinking a glass straight from the fridge is not advisable either. “The flavours are locked in at 2-3°C, so you won’t taste the flavour of the fruit or experience the nuances of the wine as the maker intended,” he adds.