Under the law of Hong Kong, intoxicating liquor must not be sold or supplied to a minor in the course of business. 根據香港法律,不得在業務過程中,向未成年人售賣或供應令人醺醉的酒類。

Tips From Kerry Wines: How To Store Wine

Here are some tips on how to store your wine.

1. Keep It Cool and Keep the Temperature Stable

Heat is the major enemy of wine. High temperatures will age a wine more quickly than is usually desirable. Wine can become “cooked,” which affects its flavour and longevity. The ideal temperature is around 13° C, but anywhere between 7° C and 15° C is fine.

The refrigerator is not a very good place to keep wine: The smells from the food, the lack of moisture (leading to corks drying out which might allow air to seep into the bottle) and the constant vibration make it an unfriendly place in which to store wine.

More important than keeping the wine cool, is the importance of avoiding rapid, extreme or frequent temperature fluctuations. As well as being “cooked”, the expansion and contraction of the wine can push the cork out, and lead to seepage. This does not necessarily mean the wine is damaged, so it’s always worth drinking it to check!

2. Keep it Dark

Light, especially sunlight, can pose a potential problem for long-term storage. The sun’s UV rays can degrade and prematurely age wine. Most coloured wine bottles contain UV protection, but the wine will be affected if subjected to excessive light.

3. Humidity

Dry conditions can lead to the drying out of corks. This can break the seal thus damaging the wine. With the increase in the number of screw cap wines, this has become less of a problem than in the past.

However, for long-term storage, we recommend you try to maintain humidity anywhere from 50% to 80%. To help you achieve that you can place a glass of water in your storage area.

4. Store the Wine on its Side

Traditionally, bottles have been stored on their sides in order to keep the cork in contact with the wine. This keeps the cork moist which should keep the cork from drying out, and shrinking, thus not being air tight. When wine comes in contact with air it begins to oxidize and the flavours begin to spoil.

5. Keep it Still

Vibration damages wine in the long-term by speeding up the chemical reactions in the liquid, or stopping the sediment from settling. This means for example that the fridge, or near a washing machine should be avoided.

So Where Should I Keep My Wine?

The ideal conditions are going to be in a wine fridge / cooler kept in a dark place.