Even if every opportunity to drink a bottle of Champagne you've unearthed on Envie de Champagne is a good one, it's sometimes useful to find a place to store these bottles before tasting. Here are a few points to bear in mind:
- Keep your bottle vibration-free - no nearby washing machines or railroad tracks, for example. Vibrations generate energy that can influence the wine's aging process. Lay your bottles down to prevent the cork from drying out and letting the gas escape.
- Avoid excessive temperature variations. Ideally, your storage area should have a cool, constant temperature of between 10 and 12° C. This will prevent the corks from being attacked by mildew, the taste of which could be transmitted to the wines.
- Don't store corks next to elements with a strong odor. The cork is porous, and its purpose is to let air through, and therefore... the surrounding odors. Avoid petrol cans, spices, cleaning products, open paint, etc.
- Keep them out of the light as much as possible. There really is such a thing as the "taste of light", similar to the taste of cauliflower or rubber, which is particularly unpleasant. If you can't keep your bottles in the dark, wrap them in aluminum foil to protect them, or keep them in the delivery box.
- Magnum is the way to go! The above-standard size guarantees the best balance between air and wine. This bottle size, which we mentioned in a previous article(Large Champagne Containers for New Year's Day), allows less air to enter the bottle, and therefore promotes the harmonious ageing of champagne.
If you follow the above rules, you'll be able to store your Champagne almost anywhere, and especially ... at home, knowing that the higher the quality of a Champagne, the greater its ageing capacity! Happy tasting!
