quote:
Originally posted by pjvarc:
can someone give me the breakdown on storing calfornia wines.
pinot noirs
zinfandels
cab's
merlot
recently, i just purchased a wine cooler duo-settings and i know calfornia wines are not known for storig for long periods of time. currently in my collection i have 2002-2006 wines of such wine makers as hendry, gary farrell, merry edwards,grgich hills,blackjack,plumjack,hitching post,peter michael and matanzas creek.
thanks and i look forward suggestions.
pjvarc
The type of grape or the region the wine is from does not change what are considered optimum storage conditions. Optimum temperature is considered between 55 and 60 degrees F with humidity around 70%. The drinking windows you typically see are based on storage in those conditions. Warmer temperatures make the wine age faster and vice versa.
Some wines need more aging than others but the storage conditions are the same for all. Many wine coolers come with dual temperture zones so you can keep the whites cooler than the reds. This is more about serving temperature than ideal storage. If you wish to use it for that, I would recommend setting one section at 50-52F for whites so they are at optimum serving temperature (they will warm before drinking to high 50's or 60F, which is ideal for most CA whites). The reds should be set at 57 or 58F for best aging. Keep in mind that even an under counter wine cooler will vary by 5 degrees between top and bottom, so I just put my whites on the bottom.
