Wine: Tips & Tricks

Tips and Tricks on how to handle Natural Wine

1. How to store wine


We suggest to let rest the wines at least two weeks after delivery. Wines should always be stored horizontally, this will prevent the cork to dry out and leading to oxidation. This is not necessary for wines that have screw top, crown cap or glass cork.

2. Temperatures

 

Wine should be stored in a cool dark place. Avoid temperature shock, like last minute freezer, especially for Natural Wines without sulphites, it will kill the wine. Also avoid to store wines in the fridge for more than few days, wines should be refrigerated few hours before consuming at its best. 

The temperature is really important to enjoy a wine at its best, white wines are usually drunk too cold and red too hot. Try to take out the fridge rich white wines and sparkling wines, 30 minutes before drinking them, and to put light to medium body red 30 minutes in the fridge before drinking them, especially in summer. Orange wines are in between. The best temperature can vary from wine to wine, so play with it, try the same wine at different temperature, and find your guidelines. 

 3. Decanting     

                                  
When to decant and why? Decant is meant to separate sediments from the wines. We normally love sediments in Natural Wine. But yes, sometimes they can be big, and is not bad to get rid of them without spitting them all the time at dinner. However you don't need big decanter for this, actually, especially for old wines, it is better to prevent them to oxidate too fast, so it is better to decant that kind of wine into a carafe. While big decanter can be useful for young wines, that are closed, helping to aerate and open up the wine. 

 

4. How to preserve leftovers

Drink the wine and be hangover!

Wines can evolve in different ways, some get worse, some get better. Young Natural Wines with no added sulphites can present more faulty notes staying open overtime. But if a wines is stable it will, most likely, just go through oxidation. To slow down oxidation you can put a the cork back in and keep the wines, both whites and reds, in the fridge, until day after or more. Young wines can get an extra kick and being more vibrant the day after opening, it's the same we mentioned with decanting, oxidation can, sometimes, build more tension and make a young wine being more pleasant the day after. 

 

5. Glass matters

 

Yes, glass matters. This doesn't mean you need to have 20 different glass shapes, but having a well done, handmade wine glass, can really improve your experience. A good universal wine glass should do the job in almost all occasion. Just please, don't use flute for Champagne.