Frequently Asked Questions

The following is a list of answers to questions we’re often asked about cellaring wine. If you have any other queries about wine you’ve purchased from us or wine in general, simply ask your question here.

Are wines closed with a screw cap suitable for cellaring?
Absolutely. Current research shows that wines continue to age under a screw cap seal, maintaining greater freshness than those under cork. Because each natural cork is slightly different, the seal it provides, and therefore the amount of air the wine is exposed to, is slightly different for every single cork. So, screw caps also ensure that bottles of the same wine age more uniformly.

When should I drink my wine?
This is a difficult question to answer as not only is every wine different, but every person's idea of when a wine is 'ready' is different too. Winemaker and critics recommendations are a good start, but remember they are assuming perfect cellaring conditions and in any case, no one can see into the future and be absolutely sure how a wine is going to age. The best way of knowing when to drink a particular wine is simply to try a bottle and decide for yourself. If it still seems too young, leave your other bottles for a while longer. If it's great, drink up!

I opened a red from my cellar and found tiny, gritty particles when I poured it. Has it gone off?
No. That sediment is formed naturally as wine ages and is in no way harmful or representative of anything negative. It's not particularly nice to drink though, so when you open the next bottle, or any bottle you suspect has 'thrown' a sediment, stand it up for a few days beforehand to allow the sediment to settle and then carefully decant the wine before serving, leaving the last dregs in the bottle along with the sediment.

Does wine become better with age?
It depends on the wine, the cellar and your personal taste. 'Better' is a subjective term - someone may think a wine is better young and fresh, while someone else may think the same wine is at its best after years in a cool, dark cellar. There really is no way to say definitively whether any wine will get better with time. It's also important to remember that most wine simply isn't made to stand up to long term aging and even if it is, the wine isn't likely to improve if it's been poorly stored.

I tried a bottle from a case I cellared and it was 'corked'. Does this mean the rest of the bottles will also be spoiled?
No. Cork taint - that musty, wet, cardboard smell caused by a cork contaminated with trichloroanisole or TCA, is estimated to affect anywhere from 2 to 15% of wine sealed with a cork but it occurs fairly randomly, so while you may be unlucky enough to find one or even two bottles in a case that are corked, you would be very unlucky indeed to find that the whole case was. In any event, the corked bottles should be returned to the supplier for replacement.

How can I tell if my wines are being stored in the correct conditions?
If your wine is in the dark at a cool, stable temperature, in moderately high humidity, it sounds like you're doing everything right. One easy way to tell if your cellaring conditions are good is to purchase a thermometer/hygrometer - a small, inexpensive little device that will tell you the temperature and relative humidity of your cellar and also keep track of the highs and lows so you can see if your cellar has unsuitable temperature fluctuations.

Will my wine become more valuable after it has been cellared for a few years?
Maybe, but only a few, well-known wines are sought enough to command higher prices after years of cellaring and even then the market for wine fluctuates often - one year a certain wine is in hot demand, the next it may be out of favour. If you are looking to make some money, there are much safer investments than wine.

Do the bottles in my cellar need to be turned?
No. This myth is probably connected in some way to remuage, the technique used in Champagne to move the dead yeast cells from secondary fermentation into the bottle neck by slowly turning and tilting each bottle. Bottles in your cellar however should be left undisturbed.