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 Protect
your Wine Investment
By John W. Schultz
Never have there been so many age-worthy,
investment grade wines available. With the fantastic 1997
California Cabernet's (heralded as the vintage of the decade if
not the century), the sublime 1998 Rhone wines out in abundance,
and finally the fabulous 1997 Tuscan vintage in the bottle and on
it's way, what is a wine lover to do?
Well, for starters make smart purchases of wines to enjoy for
the next decade and then assure they will fulfill their promise of
greatness by caring for them in an environment that will allow
them to blossom. That means good storage.
Effective wine storage can be obtained three ways, buying a
wine cabinet, building a wine cellar, or letting the pro's take
over and rent a space in a storage facility. The first two require
a large initial investment, the third however allows you to rent
space as needed with lower up-front costs.
Proper storage of your wine is critical if you are buying very high
quality wine and want to enjoy it in years or possibly even
decades. If you have the space, many people store wine in their
basement, under a stairwell, or closet away from the furnace, hot
water heater, water pipes, and other appliances. However, even in
Seattle's mild climate, makeshift cellar temperatures can often
range from below 50 degrees in the winter, to over 70 in the
summer, with a large humidity range. Poor storage conditions are
kind of like compound interest. The longer a wine is kept in a
significantly non-optimal environment the greater the negative
effect on the wine. Gradual changes are less of an influence than
daily swings, which can quickly reduce you wine to vinegar, not to
mention the unsightly seepage from the cork. If you are cellaring
wines short term for personal consumption (rather than for
possible resale or investment purposes), you don't need to worry
if your passive cellar maintains a temperature between 50 and 65
degrees, as long as the temperature changes are gradual and you
drink the wine soon after purchase.
As your cellar grows in size and value, you should make it a
priority to store your wines in a temperature-controlled environment.
Building a temperature controlled cellar in your basement is one
option, such as those designed and installed by Bellevue's
Apex
Wine Cellars, one of the world's premier in-home cellar
manufacturers. Typical costs range from $1,000-$5,000 for racking and
refrigeration, depending on the size of the room and the type of
racking used. Unless you plan on staying in the same place for
some time, however,
a formal cellar may not be a good investment--it may be hard to justify the cost
unless your collection is fairly large. And if you are planning to
move, you might want to wait before bringing too many bottles
home. Trust me--you do not
want to experience moving a cellar, it can be real bummer!
 Many smart wine aficionados keep a good supply of wines that are
ready to drink within arms reach and keep the rest in a
professionally temperature/humidity controlled storage facility,
such as the one provided by Esquin
Wines of Seattle. They have
done an excellent job of creating a convenient service, your wine
is easy to get to, easy to load, and the parking is free. Esquin
is just 8 blocks south of SAFECO Field, so it's convenient to
check on game day. Esquin has created a perfect environment to
yield the maximum pleasure of properly aged and matured wine, an
experience every wine aficionado should enjoy.
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