The Unexpected Storage Rule You Need To Know For Red Vs White Wine

Is there anything worse than buying a nice bottle of wine only to find out months later that it's gone bad from improper storage? Information about proper storage is fraught with myths and misconceptions, so we sought out the opinion of wine expert Matthew Woodburn-Simmonds, a former sommelier and founder of Decoding Wine, to learn the truth.

"If you're not looking to serve the wine straight from storage, then it should all be stored the same way," he says. "Horizontal in a cool, dark room. No temperature spikes or direct sunlight." UV rays speed up the aging of your wine, but it doesn't "age" like a vintner to improve its taste and complexity. Rather, it makes the wine light struck, breaking down its chemicals in unforeseen ways and radically altering its flavor.

"The temperature in the room can slowly fluctuate over time, but you want it to stay between 40-65 [degrees Fahrenheit]." Woodburn-Simmonds calls this an "ambient cellar," and it's the best way to store wine so that it lasts close to forever. Much like exposure to sunlight, exposure to too much heat causes wine to spoil and for its flavor profile to become more volatile. As useful as these long-term storage tips are, what if you plan on serving a red or white wine in the short term and want to keep it ready?

When you pull a bottle from long-term storage, you may need to adjust its temperature to maximize its flavors. However, there are a lot of myths about wine you should stop believing, including that white wine must be served extra cold and red wine at room temperature. The lighter-bodied a wine is, regardless of color, the more it benefits from being served at lower temperatures, so keep bottles of pinot grigio and pinot noir around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Fuller-bodied types, like viognier or tempranillo, open up their flavors closer to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you want to "heat up" wine, the best method is to decant it into a warm container and let it sit until it reaches the right temperature. However, if you're taking wine out of storage and want to lower its temperature, you can chill a bottle of wine quickly with nothing more than a wet towel. Just wrap the towel around the bottle and stick it in the freezer for 10 minutes to see a noticeable drop in temperature.

The standard bucket of ice is a great way to maintain low temperatures on light wines, like champagne, while you enjoy them. There's also nothing wrong with firmly recorking the bottle and putting it back in a wine fridge to maintain the perfect temperature. Regardless, it's always best to store bottles you're currently enjoying away from sunlight and sources of heat to maintain a more stable temperature.