How To Store and Enjoy Fine Wines
The right temperature is always a key factor, from the ripening of the grapes to the wines' production and storage, and through to the actual drinking of the wine.
From when the first young vine shoots appear, right through to bottling, vintners employ great expertise, devotion and diligence to ensure only the very best drops fill their bottles. White wines are aged in barrels or special tanks for several months before they are ready for bottling. Red wines, on the other hand, can often take several years to age, and even then many will still not have developed their full flavor. When kept under optimum storage conditions, wines can age optimally and further improve in the bottle.
Consistently Cool – A Dream Climate For Your Wine
Whether it's winter or summer, wine needs a consistent temperature. Your precious bottles must be protected from UV light and all kinds of fragrances and odors. Even dry air and vibration can impair the quality of the wine. In Liebherr wine cabinets, fine wines are safe in the ideal storage conditions – guaranteeing pure enjoyment when you're ready to open the bottle.
Wine expertise from Liebherr
Winemaking is an exacting process that requires great care and professionalism. The film documents the processes involved and explains why a Liebherr wine cabinet is the very best place to store your wine.
Let It Rest and Mature
Champagne undergoes secondary fermentation in the bottle
"A hint of apple, floral notes of lilac, or a spicy bouquet reminiscent of cinnamon." Wine connoisseurs use figurative descriptions to characterize the flavors and aromas found in the bouquet of a good wine. The grape variety, soil conditions and time of harvest all have a significant bearing on the wine's flavor, as does the extent and nature of the ageing processes. Delicate microbiological processes are responsible for the development of the flavor. Many continue even after the filling stage. Wine connoisseurs refer to this as bottle ageing, and it is this process that gives an outstanding taste to so many fine wines.
During bottle ageing, wine should be stored in a place where it is protected against ambient influences.
Bottle Ageing
Several substances in the wine, notably acids, tannins and colorants, interact with one another during the bottle ageing stage. It breaks down any intensive woody notes and enables fruity flavors to further develop. Depending on the type of wine, its full flavor can take years to develop. During this time, ambient influences such as airborne odors can distort the flavor of the wine, especially when stored on an open shelf in the kitchen. It is important to keep in mind that not every cellar is an ideal wine cellar.
Natural corks retain their quality at humidity levels of over 50%.
The Secret to Successful Bottle Ageing
- Wine develops its flavor best in bottles stored at a constantly cool temperature of between 50°F (10°C) and 54°F (12°C). Heat impairs the bottle ageing process and destroys fine flavour notes.
- Oxygen, which usually penetrates bottles through dried-out corks, also impairs the ageing process.
- A humidity level of over 50% keeps corks intact. The bottles remain fully sealed: The wine is protected.
Liebherr wine cabinets create consistent storage conditions, offering the optimum environment for wine being aged in the bottle.
Video
Creating The Best Storage Conditions
A high-quality wine must have tranquil storage and controlled conditions. Only under such circumstances can complex aromas and flavour nuances develop in the bottle. Vibrations, odors and UV light all interfere with this development process. UV light can trigger biochemical processes in the wine, which cause its taste and color to deteriorate. Vibrations caused by footfall can also damage a sensitive product, affecting the natural ageing process of the wine molecules.
High-End Technology For Wine Aficionados
The Latest Climate Technology The Perfect Temperature
Stored in Liebherr wine cabinets, your wine is protected against harmful storage conditions. To facilitate flexible use, many of the wine cabinets can be set to between 41°F (5°C) and 68°F (20°C). Innovative technology ensures that the bottles are stored at a constant temperature. Quality wine develops its full depth of flavour within an optimum temperature range of 50°F (10°C) to 54°F (12°C).
Activated charcoal filter Safe from Odors
If odors penetrate the bottle, they are absorbed into the wine, impairing its flavor. The activated charcoal filter fitted in our wine cabinets ensures that your precious wine bottles are surrounded by air untainted by odors.
Protection against UV light Protected Against Radiation
UV light can spoil wine. The UV resistant insulated glass doors on our wine cabinets prevent UV rays from entering the appliance. In the interior, LED lights bathe the bottles in gentle light, beautifully presenting your wine.
Vibration damping Low-vibration storage
Even slight vibration, such as that caused by footfall, can disturb the ageing process of wine. Our wine cabinets are equipped with low-vibration compressors, vibration-damping components and, in the case of our top models, a SoftSystem closing mechanism. With this sort of tranquility, wine can be safely stored for a long time – until the right opportunity comes along to raise a glass.
Wooden Shelves Clearly Arranged, Sophisticated and Untreated
To have the perfect wine for every occasion, wine connoisseurs keep a selection of bottles at the ready. The hand-made, untreated wood pull-out shelves make it easy to find the wine you're looking for.
Enjoy Every Sip
The moment of truth has arrived: Your fine wine has been uncorked. Correctly stored, it will have developed its full flavor. To be enjoyed at its best, it will have been brought to just the right serving temperature before opening.
The flavour develops in the glass as the wine comes into contact with oxygen
What Is The Optimum Serving Temperature?
Red wine is served at a temperature between 57°F (14°C) and 64°F (18°C). In general, the older the wine, the higher the temperature. Dry, crisp white wine should be chilled to 46°F (8°C). More mature and heavier bodied white wines develop their flavor up to 54°F (12°C), while sweet wines should be served at a slightly cooler temperature of between 43°F (6°C) and 46°F (8°C). To enjoy the fizz of champagne or sparkling wine on the palate, it should be chilled at least to 46°F (8°C). However, at the end of the day, it all comes down to personal taste, so why not experiment with different serving temperatures? Find out what you enjoy the most?
Before being poured into a carafe, the wine should be cooled in the wine cabinet
Decant or Aerate?
Not all wines benefit from lively pouring into a carafe. Red wines that have been stored for a long time should be carefully poured into a narrow decanter to separate the sediment from the wine. Contact with oxygen, which can oxidise and spoil older wines, should be minimised by using containers with as small a surface area as possible.
On the other hand, young red wines should be poured into a carafe, and enjoyed while still youthful and at their best. The contact with oxygen, which occurs by pouring them into a bulbous carafe, enables them to develop their flavour and become more harmonious.
The right glass emphasises the individual character of a wine
Which Shaped Glass For Which Wine?
The shape of the glass has a huge impact on the enjoyment of the wine. Mature red wines unfurl their bouquet in large, bulbous glasses. Curvaceous glasses emphasise the fruity notes of young white wines. Champagne fizzes and sparkles most impressively in slender flutes. The fluted shape prevents the carbon dioxide from dissipating too quickly and enables the champagne to effervesce.
From optimum serving temperature to the choice of the right glass: wine is one of the oldest cultural commodities and drinking it should provide real pleasure. Liebherr wine cabinets ensure that wine can be both optimally stored and served at the perfect temperature – so you can have the right bottle ready for every occasion, and can truly enjoy your wine.
Liebherr's Wine Storage Cabinets
Liebherr wine cabinets feature one to three temperature zones, each of which can be independently set to between 41°F (5°C) and 68°F (20°C). This offers you optimum flexibility. One zone cabinets are perfect for storing wine bottles with similar requirements at the perfect serving temperature. Our multi-zone wine cabinets make it possible to simultaneously store red wine, white wine and champagne, all at their perfect serving temperatures. Alternatively, dedicate a zone to long-term storage. Our wine cabinets offer the ideal climate conditions. An active charcoal filter prevents outside odors from spoiling your collection. With varied sizes and precision adjustable temperature controls, Liebherr wine cabinets set the standard for housing any wine collection.
The 5 Temperature Zone SBS 246
Combine your passion for wine with ideal food storage. The stunning SBS 246 (Models WF 1061 & RB 1410 combined) refrigerator, freezer and wine cabinet has 5 individual temperature zones. It features Liebherr’s patented BioFresh technology. The dual zone wine cabinet can house up to 34 Bordeaux standard bottles on beech wood shelving with smooth telescopic rails. A unique drop-down presentation shelf displays your finest bottles.