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It was a couple of weeks ago when I went back to my hometown for a friend’s wedding. While in town, I stopped by the house I was raised in and checked in on my parents. We all had a good time.
But I noticed something. They have a cute little wine rack. It holds about six wine bottles. It is sitting on the kitchen counter, right above the dishwasher, between the microwave and the floor-to-ceiling glass door to the back yard. And of course, this wine rack still has several bottles of wine that I have given them over the last three or four years.
Wine storage 101: It is best to store wine away from big fluctuations in temperature and humidity, away from vibration and in darkness. I would imagine that the worst possible place to store wine would be above a heating element on a windowsill in a bathroom. Or in a garage, I guess. But there, on the counter in the kitchen, above the dishwasher, that gave me a headache.
Plus, the particular wines I had given them, the wines still on the cute little wine rack, are not wines meant for long-term aging. Not even in optimal cellar conditions.
So here’s my new question of etiquette: What do you do when you see a bottle you have given somebody not being enjoyed, and even stored improperly? You gave them the bottle, after all, you should want them to like it.
Keep in mind: I don’t want to sound like a know-it-all. I don’t like telling people what to do, and I especially don’t like correcting people. Plus, I’m still afraid of being labelled with the dreaded term wine snob.
So what do you say? Do you offer to open it and taste it with them? Do you remind them to open the wine soon? Do you instruct them in proper wine storage? Do you keep your mouth shut and hope they open it some time and forget that it was you who gave them the bottle?
Here’s what I did:
Nothing.
I bailed.
But it stuck in my mind for a couple of weeks. I thought about it, and then I called up my mom on the phone. I asked her permission to use her as an example on the Binny’s Wine Blog. It seemed like a good way to broach the subject. She asked what I was talking about, and I told her about the bottles on her counter. We talked about proper wine storage and so on. She asked which bottles I was talking about, and when I gave her an example, this is what she said:
But I can’t open that wine! That’s DITKA’S wine! You can’t just OPEN Ditka’s wine!
So what do you think? Would you say anything? What would you do?
Good questions. Ditka of course you save as a conversation starter (besides it’s as burly and rough as its maker…)I’d give it one shot, then give up. My parents are still “saving” a 1989 Liebfraumilch. God, I hope they don’t surprise me with it sometime…
I tend to say something like, “Hey, did you ever drink that Zinfandel I got you? …No? You should open that one soon, it’s good to drink now. That Bordeaux that Dad got you for Christmas can last for 10 more years, though.”I don’t think that sounds too pretentious, and gets my point across that some wines are good now and some should be aged.
Several years ago. I pulled a bottle out of my mother-in-law’s fridge. It was always on its side way in the back on the bottom shelf. It was a bottle of pineapple wine given to her at her retirement party about eight years before. I put it back and it remained there until we sold the house.
Don’t say anything – just don’t give them any more wine as gifts. My mom has a wine rack like that, only it’s not in as bad a place. Every time I go over to her house I have an almost overwhelming urge to pour anything that’s no longer drinkable down the drain, but I don’t want to hurt her feelings.Last time my husband and I went to visit one of his grandmothers, we found a bottle of 1988 cab in the back of her fridge – this was in 2005. I wanted to cry, but again, we didn’t want to ruffle any feathers.
It would have been better to offer guidance at the time the wine was given as a gift.
I heard in a wine tasting that 99% of wines sold are for drinking now and won’t last. I would like to collect some (without breaking the bank), but it seems like a crap shoot as to what will last and get better and what won’t. Must be part of that secret wine code that only people in the business know.
You all are very nice, but I would suggest drinking the wine. If it was good, you would get them to finally enjoy the wine as you meant it to be a pleasurable experienc for them. If it was bad it would be a learning experience, as in, “You know, I have heard that many reds don’t last like you think they would, they never last long enough in my house for me to find out!”
I suggest you tell her that Mr. Ditka meant for this wine to be enjoyed.
Alright, alright!!! Now that I know better, I promise to try harder. (But how was I supposed to know this stuff, anyway? After all, I was raised in a house full of beer drinkers!) There’s one thing I do know: You should just chill…RELAX!!! (Sound familiar? That comes in a pretty little cobalt blue bottle, doesn’t it?)
Jeff J -I’ve heard something similar, that 95% of wine sold is consumed that night (whether it’s ready or not). I think the best way to find wines good for aging is to taste around – especially at tastings where older wines are being poured. The more you taste, the more you’ll learn which wines age well and more importantly, how well you like them.
Uh oh, my kitchen wine fridge is next to my in-unit washing machine which does give off a fair amount of vibration (I do notice the bottles move around in there). Gimme the bad news…what damage am I doing to the wines? I’m guessing a perpetual stage of bottle-shock? I can’t move the fridge or the washing machine, are the wines a goner or can I just move them to a more settled place for a certain amount of time prior to opening?
That’s a tough one. Vibration is said to disturb wine at a micro- level, potentially causing certain chemicals – proteins, tannins, and whatnot – to fall out of the wine early, making the wine age unnaturally. I’m not a scientist, so I’m not completely sure how much damage you’re actually doing to your wine.So here’s what you do: test it out. Buy a couple of bottles of your favorite everyday wine. One bottle goes in the wine fridge and one goes somewhere else where it might be safe. Keep them for a couple of months, and then try the two bottles side-by-side. Remember to open them at the same time and at the same temperature, and taste them from the same kind of glass. Not very scientific, I know, but it could be interesting.Then be sure to let us know how it turns out.
So Greg, How does one know which wines you can store? And just how long of a shelf life should non-stored wines have. When I come into Binnys, and the 2007 year of Urzig Wurzgarten Riesling is discounted out, should that be consumed within a few weeks, or is there still a year + left to it?
First, remember that the point of aging wine is to allow it to improve. Most wines are made to be consumed quickly, and won’t benefit from more time in the bottle (but don’t forget to keep bottles safe in the time between purchasing and opening). If it’s delicious now, drink it!Which wines should you age? Wines high in tannins, acidity and sugar often can be aged longer, as these compounds act as preservatives. As wines age, the austere components usually soften (and chemically fall out of the wine, becoming sediment), allowing more subtle flavors to open up. So if you’re a fan of softer, more delicate wines, try aging. If you like a more austere, in-your-face style of wine, maybe it’s not for you. And remember, aging doesn’t make a bad wine better; if it’s poorly balanced now, it’s probably going to stay that way.As for the riesling you mention, the generally higher sugar levels suggest a few more years of aging potential. I don’t know if I’d have the patience to wait, though.By the way, There are interesting and detailed entries on aging and storing wine in Jancis Robinson’s Oxford Companion to Wine – we have copies at most Binny’s stores.
What should you do? Just repeat what your wrote above to them, without the concern…..or buy another bottle of the same for immediate drinking during the next visit, then say something, “Dad (or Mom): that wine I gave you three years ago doesn’t store well. It would have been better to drink it sooner.