I apologize profusely for not being being able to update my blog for what feels like ages. As the title implies, our family has moved from one part of town to the other. After many boxes, much furniture shopping, and dog re-potty training , I am back.
Speaking of moving, I would like to discuss moving wines. For some people, moving wine is akin to moving any other beverage bottle. Do take note, however, that vintage wine is an entirely different animal altogether (our dog Schrumpf barks in protest to my use of “animal” here).
Finally settled in!
First off, vintage wine by definition is old wine (vintage Champagne is a different story). My personal take on what is old (note that people have different opinions on old) is any wine that has been lying around for five years or so. This is because the sediments (the grainy stuff that settles on the bottom of the bottle) would have increased in quantity and therefore is more pronounced.
Is it safe? For sure. Sediments are a natural occurrence. It would not alter the taste of the beverage but it would leave a sandy sensation in your mouth. Not the best way to enjoy your beautiful vino.
So, what to do… Like it or not, moving from one area to another would entail quite a bit of shaking in the bottle. Most wine scholars would highly advise against this, but I’d be damned before I leave my beautiful vintage St. Emillion behind.
Try to minimise the shaking occurence as much as possible. If you’re working with professional movers, they would normally know what to do as long as you explicitly discuss how valuable your babies are to you. If you are doing this alone (like we did, but with the help of the most fabulous house helper in the planet), make as much cushion as you can before putting it in the box. Minimise moving the bottle (avoid shaking, turning over, etc). Remember that the ideal scenario is for the sediments to stay on the bottom of the bottle.
Minimise points of transfer. Try these steps:
1) Wine sloooooooowly goes from rack to box
2) Box settles in one spot before transporting to vehicle
3) Box goes to vehicle
4) Vehicle goes to next destination
5) Dislodge box from vehicle and settle in the new home
6) After a day (or two, if the travel was particularly rocky) of letting the box rest, slowly transfer the bottles to new racks
7) Let the bottles rest a few more days before consuming, or let it stay there until that “perfect time”. 😉
Speaking of moving vintage wine, here’s a bit of trivia for you: If you want to be guaranteed the quality of the vintage wine you are to purchase, select wines that hardly moved from that region. My husband and I learned this from a small vintage wine collector in Beaune called Millesime. He only buys wines from Beaune (or anywhere in Burgundy at most). This ensures that the wine was hardly moved, guaranteeing the quality. Good idea to keep in mind should you decide to buy a wine from the 50s or something.
Now that we have settled in, I am looking forward to writing more stuff. Do let me know what beverages you want me to discuss. I believe in getting inspiration from others too. 😀 Cheers!
