Cellar Conditions
How well a wine ages is not only determined in the bottle, but also by its storage location. Three key factors are most important: a cool and, above all, constant temperature of around 12 to 14 °C, a humidity level between about 60 and 70 percent, and protection from light and vibration. More important than the perfect value is that it does not constantly change.
Temperature — Consistency over Ideal Value
Temperature primarily controls the pace. The warmer a cellar, the faster the chemical processes that age a wine; the cooler it is, the slower and more refined its development. A range of 12 to 15 °C is usually cited. However, what matters is less the exact number than its consistency. A room that reliably holds 16 °C all year round is better than a cellar that swings between 8 and 22 °C — because every temperature change makes the wine expand and contract, works against the closure and draws air into the bottle over the years.
Humidity, Light, and Bottle Position
Humidity acts more slowly, but just as clearly over long periods. A relative humidity of around 60 to 70 percent keeps a natural cork elastic, so it stays tight. Very dry air below 50 percent lets the cork dry out and shrink over the years until it lets oxygen through; storage that is too damp, on the other hand, damages labels and encourages mold. For the same reason, bottles with natural cork lie horizontally, so that the cork stays moist from the inside. Light, especially its UV component, speeds up degradation and can cause atypical notes, often described as light strike — which is why wine is stored in tinted glass and in dark rooms.
Stillness as a Condition
Vibration also plays a role. Constant shaking keeps the sediment in motion and is suspected of speeding up reactions slightly; in practice, what matters most is that a wine left undisturbed matures more evenly. A cellar therefore works best quietly: cool, dark, without haste. In our chai, this simply means that the bottles are left in peace over the years until they are ready to drink.
What Good Conditions Achieve — and What They Don't
Good cellar conditions protect a wine; they do not improve it. A wine not built for aging will not gain depth even in the perfect cellar; a structured wine, on the other hand, can tire under poor conditions long before its drinking window would actually be reached. Oxidation, premature degradation or a shift in aromas then arise not as flaws in the wine, but as a consequence of its environment. The conditions give the wine the chance to show what is in it — no more, but no less either.
Where Responsibility Transfers
For us, this responsibility lies first in our own cellar, because we only release our wines once they are ready to drink. We bear the years of aging, not the buyer. As soon as a bottle leaves the estate, the same logic continues in the home cellar, with the same consistency and the same calm. How long a wine can be kept there also depends on its storability and on its closure — and on whether it is opened at its drinking maturity.