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FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 170 -  Wine and Beer in Western Culture

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Lecture 16 Collecting, Storage and Serving Issues

Objectives

•  List the conditions needed for successful wine and beer storage

•  Explain the value of accurate cellar records and vintage charts

•  Contrast the differences in collecting wine for drinking and for investment

•  Compare and contrast different cork removers and glassware

Cellaring Wine

•  Typically, anyone who enjoys wine regularly will start a “cellar”

–   One-bottle-at-a-time buyers will eventually find their favorite sold out

•   When they find another source, they stock up - Thus, the “cellar” is born

•  Factors that cause this stash to grow include:

–   Sentimentality (saving for special occasion); Discovery of new favorites & Boredom with old; Speculation (buying wines while still good value before price increases)

Conditions for Storage  Proper storage does not guarantee wine will improve with age

•  Temperature – ideally 50-55°F and consistent (change >10°F in 24 hrs can ruin wines)

•   Fluctuation changes "fruity" to "musty;" Heated (>70°F ) wines can taste cooked

–   Best alternative to a temperature controlled room or cabinet is the floor of an interior closet that does not share a wall with the outside, furnace, water heater…

•  Low light – to prevent oxidation

•  Humidity – some to prevent corks drying out, but not so much labels fall off

•  No vibration (so no refrigerators) – allow sediment to settle (prevent "motion sickness")

•  Stored on sides – prevents corks from drying out

So you’ve started a cellar… Buying Strategies

•  #1 rule – trust your own taste (Try a new wine before buying multiple bottles of it!!)

•  Consider your budget and wine consumption habits

•  Simple: Choose a few brands you like & stick with them

•  Complex: Collect verticals (different vintages from the same producer) of the world’s greatest wines and/or wine futures

•  Avoid buying bottles with leaks or low fills

•  Diversify your collection

•  Shop for values (buying a case frequently results in a 10% discount)

•  Drink your wines before they get too old, which leads to cellar records…

So you’ve started a cellar…Cellar Records

•  As your collection grows, you will eventually lose track of individual bottles

•  Keep a simple inventory that lists:

–   What, when and how much was purchased; Price; Consumption date; Tasting notes; Location maps (if collection is extensive); Label removers can be useful

Use of Vintage Charts (Typically assume ideal storage conditions and handling)

•  Vintage charts are specific to an area and indicate when a wine is “ready” to be drunk

–   Also indicate the “quality” of a given vintage (Scales range from 1-5 to 1-100)

•  Vintage charts are important in maintaining a cellar

Purchasing an investment wine: Collecting vs. Investing

•  Collectors buy wines and age them to drink them

•  Investors buy wines and age them to earn a profit (almost impossible to do)

–   Requires knowing what will be in demand in 5-10 years, buying at lowest possible value, and selling at highest possible price

•   Red Bordeaux typically has high prices

–   Magnums are preferred because have half the air exposure as standard bottles

Expenses Associated with Investment Wines

•  Temperature-controlled storage facility ($20/case each yr)

•  Buyer’s premium, usually 15% of sale price, to auctioneer

•  Seller’s fee, usually 10-15%

•  Shipping fee (negotiable)

•  Recorking fee (Corks last 15-20 years)

–   If wine lasts 45 years, you will have to pay to have it recorked 3 times

•   A winery representative has to come to you, and you must cover the representative’s expenses

Aging Beer

•  99.9% of beer is meant to be consumed immediately after leaving the brewery

•  A few beers do benefit from cellaring

–   Cask-conditioned beers (Done in pubs, not homes)

•   Mature in days; must be drunk in hours once tapped

–   Bottle-conditioned beers

•   Lighter bodied mature in 3-6 months; Heavier bodied can be matured for years

–   “Vintage” beers typically benefit from aging

–   High alcohol, strong flavored beers (Hops and smoke have preservative effects)

•   Want to age for less than a year

Vintage Beers

•  Vintage beers are increasing in popularity

–   Many styles of Belgian ales are good candidates for aging

–   Eldridge Pope brewery’s Thomas Hardy’s ale is legendary for the way it ages

–   Many breweries make a Christmas or New Year’s vintage ale

•   Tend to be high in flavor and alcohol

–   Price increases as a vintage becomes more rare

•  Only a very few strong lagers are suitable for aging (e.g., Sam Adams Triple Bock)

Storage Conditions for Beer  Similar to wine storage conditions

•  Temperature must be consistent, ideally within 50-65°F

•  Low light (to prevent oxidation); No vibration (to allow sediment to settle)

•  If capped (crowned), store upright; If corked, most say store on side, some say upright

•  Proper storage doesn't guarantee improvement (bad beer likely becomes worse beer)

Cork Removers  There are many types with different advantages and limitations

- Simple T-shape: Durable, but requires a lot of brute strength

- Winged-levers: Bigger, but easier to use

            - With both, want a hollow spiral instead of a "screw" (Screws rip holes in corks)

- 2-pronged cork puller: Keeps cork whole, requires some skill and won’t work with loose corks (get pushed in) or wedge-shaped corks (can't extract)

- Newest "Rabbit"-style: Bulky and relatively expensive, but extremely convenient and easy to use

Glassware

- For wine, you want a stem (to keep wine from warming in hand) and a bowl with a slightly narrowing top

            - Rolled rims more durable than cut rims, but some claim makes wine turbulent

- Red wine glasses are typically bigger than white wine glasses

- Specialty glassware is probably not worth the expense

- For Beer, ale and pilsners are typically served in different shaped glasses.

            - Ale is typically served in a "Pint" glass; Pilsner glasses are longer and narrower