True wine lovers have one main desire: to own a nice cellar to keep and store their most important and valuable bottles. Sometimes, however, the storage room we have in our house doesn’t reflect and respect wine cellar’s main features. True wine lovers want to taste and enjoy not only young wines, but also all the wines that she or he has learnt to know and love. Wines bought during travels abroad or wines received as gifts from friends, for example. What shall we do then? Follow our simple advises on how to store your precious bottles , even without a stone carved cellar! Position: bottle must be kept in a lay down position One of the most notorious and deeply wrong saying states that the bottle must be kept in a vertical position to avoid cork taste. This wine fault, that can be sensed in some aged wines, is often caused by the formation of mould on the cork surface, cork that has not been kept in contact with the wine itself. Air can cause moulds and bad odours that will compromise the wine quality To avoid this unpleasant inconvenience, we suggest not to keep the bottle in a vertical position to allow the wine to get in contact with the cork. Temperature: the heath is the wine enemy High temperatures accelerate wine aging in an uncontrolled way: the risk is to wait and taste a wine that has already started its descending curve; a wine that has probably lost a lot of its good and unique qualities. Avoid storing wine near heath sources, such has radiators, fireplaces or in warm rooms like the kitchen How to store your wine Once you have found a proper place and a proper shelf (better if it is a wood shelf as wood is a bad heath conductor), it is the right moment to place your precious wines. But, in which order? To answer this question, bare in mind a very simple concept: hot air tents to rise towards the ceiling . Therefore you should place sparkling wines, rosè and white wines in the bottom part of the room , while in the upper part you could place your main red wines, that will be less sensible to high temperatures due to their richness in organoleptic features. Storage room must be odours / fragrance free The wine has a real skill in odours capture. During aging , air goes through the cork, bringing all the smells of the room. Avoid storing your bottles close to strong smelling food such as garlic, cheese , cold cuts or onions. Humidity and Light Our last advice is to remember to choose a place with a good room humidity (60/70%) and to light the room with low power lights. Now, choose your best room, take your favourite bottles and store them for a right moment, because remember: “Wine is a living liquid. Its life cycle include youth, maturity and old age. If not treated with respect, it will get ill and die”