Organizing Your Cellar

[hotwine]

Cartman, it's true that most wines made in the US are intended to be consumed upon release into the distribution and marketing network. The winemaker may age his wines in barrel and/or bottle prior to releasing them for sale, to improve them with age or maintain his price point; buy in general, most US wines are intended to be purchased and consumed shortly after hitting the retail shelves. (Most US wines.... not all.)

In Europe, many wines are not intended to be consumed upon release. They are intended to be cellared by the buyer until they reach an optimum drinking window, which might be several years, even decades, after purchase.

Reasons to cellar are numerous. A few of mine include:

- To maintain a diverse inventory of wines for pairing with an equally diverse daily dinner menu.

- To maintain a supply of favorites so as to avoid supply shortages.

- To buy wines at current prices and avoid future price increases.

- To selectively age wines under one's own optimum storage conditions, rather than risk the transportation and storage conditions of wholesalers and retailers that might not be optimum (in terms of temperature, humidity, light and vibration).

Wines are foods. They must be handled and stored properly to maintain their food value. It's as simple as that.