With summer upon us, meaning longer, lighter days and warmer evenings, it can often be a challenge ensuring your drinks are served and stored in the right conditions to really maximise different notes within your wines.
From the vine to the shelf, the journey of making delicious wine is a very intricate and time-consuming process. For the people that do it, it’s a passion. And it’s a passion that premium Scandinavian appliances brand ASKO has paid tribute to by teaming up with wine expert and sommelier, Andreas Larsson, to reveal some top tips on how to store your finest wines this barbecue season.
Temperature
With temperatures soaring during the summer months, it can often be hard to keep beverages at the correct temperatures, but there really is nothing worse than a warm glass of white wine or a flat, flavourless beer. Ensuring your drinks are stored in the correct environment with accurate temperatures is essential factor in maximising flavours. Wine especially has a variety of tones and flavours, but many spoil the taste by serving it at the wrong temperature.
“It is commonly thought that red wine should be served at room temperature – but that’s a myth. Wine should be served at the right temperature,” says Andreas Larsson, world-renowned sommelier.
The recommended temperature for serving red wine is between 12˚C and 18˚C whereas the ideal temperature for white wine is between 8˚C and 12˚C, according to Wineware.co.uk. ASKO’s Wine Climate Cabinet is the perfect addition to help you store your wine as it contains three temperature zones for different types of wine, each of which can be meticulously controlled.
Top tip: Add frozen fruit (preferably grapes or berries) to your wine to ensure it stays cool during a long summer barbeque.
Light conditions
Whilst a rise in UV light may herald the return of summer, it can be detrimental to your favourite bottles of wine. Ensuring light conditions are controlled and minimizing over exposure to UV light is essential when storing wine, even though many may not take this into consideration. UV light can affect and alter the liquid and its flavours dramatically, resulting in a strange taste or odour.
Knowledge about the wine you are drinking and the conditions it should be stored in are critical in order to get the best out of your bottle.
Humidity
As well as UV light and incorrect temperatures, humidity can also have a big impact on the overall outcome of your drinks, wine especially. In the summer season, the air can naturally contain more moisture effecting the overall serve of your wine, with worse case scenarios leading to mould.
“Wine is a living product,” says Andreas. “We can’t forget that. What everything really comes down to in the end, is how the wine has been stored. Wine should be kept in conditions with a humidity level of around 70%, to ensure maximum flavours.”
Originally launched in Sweden more than 70 years ago, ASKO has graced millions of homes worldwide with its luxury appliances. The brand-new ASKO Wine Climate Cabinet not only helps you perfect your serve by chilling beverages perfectly, it also features a virtual sommelier feature – allowing you to learn more about your wine’s provenance and tasting notes.
For more information and stockists, visit www.asko.com/uk. The ASKO Wine Climate Cabinet WCN311942G retails at an SRP of £5,999.
