Wine storage temperature’s impact on aging
Ask any wine collector and they will tell you the ideal temperature for storing and aging wine is 55 degrees (which is why it’s the temperature of our wine warehouse). What happens if you store your wine at higher temperatures? Alexander J. Pandell, Ph.D. authored the most scientific analysis on this topic that I’ve found titled “How temperature affects the aging of wine.” You can find it along with some other material on his site called The Alchemist’s Wine Perspective. The article is worth reading in full but I will try to distill the key conclusions which are:
- Higher temperatures accelerate the aging process dramatically (e.g., storing wine at 59 degrees ages it 50% faster than 55 degrees)
- Faster aging increases the rate of undesirable chemical reactions which can produce “compounds with foul odors and off tastes.”
How much faster does wine age at higher temperatures?
Pandell argues that many chemical changes (reactions) taking place over a period of time create the benefits of aging fine wine. Of the variety of reactions which can occur (both desired and undesired), each different type occurs at different speeds based on temperature. The results shown below in the charts illustrate his best estimate on the relative rate of aging wine caused by raising storage temperatures above 55 degrees. One chart mirrors his three data points and the other attempts to extrapolate the same data to a scale for any storage temperature.
For example, 3 months of aging at 91 degrees is equivalent to 14 years of aging at 55 degrees. Three months of aging 73 degrees is equivalent to 2 years of aging at 55 degrees.
Bad tastes created by higher temperatures are the real killer
In case you think you’ve discovered an easy way to avoid cellaring your wines for years or decades at 55 degrees, there’s a catch. To quote Pandell: “…higher temperatures will result in undesirable chemical reactions taking place that were either too slow or non-existent at the lower temperatures…higher storage temperatures make available many new pathways for desirable AND UNDESIRABLE reactions.” Apparently, the rate of “bad” reactions increases with temperature much faster than the rate of “good” reactions.
Bottom line: Store your wine at 55 degrees (or as close to it as you can get), whether you build a wine cellar in your home, buy a wine storage unit, or use a professional wine storage facility. Note that many professional wine storage facilities can be at 58-59 degrees (to lower their energy bills) so make sure you ask what their facility’s temperature is.
4 comments:
What happens to wine when the temperature goes to 50 degrees or below?
Posted by Vito Vitrano at Monday December 17, 2007
I'm also interested in the answer to Vito's question. The refrigeration unit in my cellar maintains the temperature at 55 degrees most of the year, but in the winter the temperature drops to 50 degrees because that is the temperature of my basement. I assume that 50 degrees will not harm the wine per se, but I'm concerned about the temperature fluctuation.
Posted by Alan N. Lemley at Monday January 21, 2008
At temps below 50 degrees the wine essentually goes into hibernation or suspended maturation and no damage is done, however, why take the chance, as we all can agree, that 55 degrees is ideal.What we do is add a heater coil to our systems that not only controls high humidity (via a humidistat located in the room) but also with additional controls energizes the heater to bring the space back to 55.
Wine from Around the World
The articles I have read on this blog are very interesting and informative. However, the major emphasis is placed on wine from the US.There are a few references to other countries products but very limited. There are many fine wines of all vintages produced throughout the World. France, Italy, South Africa and Australia. Don't you think it would be a good thing to give some information on wine from elsewhere other than the US?
I do not class myself as a wine expert, but I do enjoy wine
and my tastes are varied. I do know that there is no guarantee that a particular wine is a good wine just because it has aged longer than another wine. Factors come in to play such as the grape crop for a specific year as well as the climatic conditions. Over aging can in fact turn a
wine from an excellent wine to one of mediocre quality. The right time to open is a balancing act which I know real wine experts with their knowledge usually judge to perfection. Wish I could do that.
One example that comes to mind is two wines which I opened recently, one of them was a year older than the other. The younger one however was better in every way. Both these wines were South African wines. One website which I find excellent for information and wine supplies is www.worldwineestate.com. It gives you some history about wine origins and manufacture and is well worth the visit.
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