Red Wine Storage and Serving

RED Storage and Serving

Whether you’re a larger establishment with a dedicated sommelier on deck or a small bar with limited capacity, a tight but ample selection of red wine will be enough to please even the most discerning whiny (winey, sorry). Storage is key to longevity and getting the most out of your wines and serving them in optimum condition.

Drinks World spoke to some of the finest sommeliers about red wines, what to stock, correct storage and serving techniques.

Shiraz is often the go-to red or house red that will appeal to the majority of customers. Additionally, cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir will cover most bases. For those with more room, cabernet merlot and malbec are great to offer scope.

For venues with smaller spaces and storage, stocking as little as three reds can suffice.

When asked about which varieties venues should stock, Ian Urqhart, Sommelier at The Avoca Hotel in Victoria’s Pyrenees region said, “I have no particular preference as long as the wine is well made and representative of its origins. That said, our list is almost exclusively local-wine focused because of our position in the heart of a wine region.”

STORAGE

Storage can be a difficult one, making sure you have enough to complement a menu and appeal to your market.

DRINKS WORLD: What do you believe is the most efficient way to store red wine (particularly wines that are served by the glass)? WALLACE LO, Sommelier at The Park Lane

Hotel, Hong Kong: For restaurants, I think it is always best to have a small wine fridge to keep wines by the glass standing in it and I am a strong believer in the Coravin system. For by the bottle wines, I will say the best conditions are to store in the storage of the vendor and I prefer to order more frequently than keep high stock; I take less risk like damaging the label when pulling wine out in a super packed wine fridge.

IAN URQHART, Sommelier at The Avoca

Hotel, Pyrenees: We are extremely lucky being located no more than 20 minutes drive from any of our wine suppliers so we don’t need to carry large stock of any particular wine. The method we choose to store each wine depends upon the frequency of sale. High value and older vintage wines are either stored in their cases in a special storage area or racked on their sides in our general cellar room. Faster moving wines and wines that are available for off-premise sale are stored upright on shelving within the cellar room for easy identification and access. Wines that are sold by the glass are also stored in that

way, but the stock is split so that some bottles are always available in under-bar shelves to be opened for pouring. Open bottles are kept on display on shelving at the back of the bar.

ALAN SUN, Hotel Sommelier at the Mira,

Hong Kong: I think the best way for wine storage is to keep it in the wine cellar. The most important thing is the ability to maintain a stable temperature, away from sunlight, making sure the wine is free from vibrations and keeping the humidity level stable. The ideal temperature is about 10 to 15 degrees Celsius. Thermal expansion and contraction can happen due to temperature change, accelerating the oxidation of wine. About 70 per cent is the best humidity for wine storage, because if it’s too wet the cork will easily rot and if it’s too dry the cork will lose its elasticity, which in turn means there’s not a tight seal on the bottle. Even wine served by the glass should be stored in a wine cellar.

DW: How can venue owners make the most of a small storage space?

ALAN: For the smaller places, if the red wine is kept for just a few months in storage and there’s no wine cellar, there are ways to store red wine that won’t damage it. Hightemperature damages wine less than extreme temperature changes. To avoid this effect, switch the air conditioning or temperature difference between day and night so it remains stable. Red wine can be kept in a styrofoam box and can also be placed inside a cup of wet sand, keeping a stable humidity level.

WALLACE: Have better bar stock management, make sure every item on the list is moving and rather than buying ten wine fridges, it’s better to build a walk-in fridge; it works much better, as the door doesn’t need to keep opening and closing during inventory day. IAN: We don’t really have a storage space problem here but in our previous restaurant things were a bit tighter. We found that the best practise was to only carry as much stock on hand as we believed we would sell in two or three days even if this meant only having one or two bottles of any given wine.

Wallace Lo, Sommelier at The Park Lane Hotel, Hong Kong

TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION IN WINE

CORAVIN SYSTEM

For those who have not seen nor heard of the Coravin system, it is the only tool in the world that allows access to wine from a bottle without pulling out the cork. This technology gives venue operators the ability to pour one glass at a time, while the remaining wine in the bottle is left unspoilt for months or even years to come.

The Coravin system uses a medical grade needle and a capsule of argon gas to pour a bottle of wine through the cork. The cork is never removed. This helps prevent oxidation, increasing the longevity of the wine. It accomplishes this by first inserting a hollow needle through the cork. The user then presses a trigger to pressurise the bottle with argon gas. When the user releases the trigger, the wine pours into the glass. The needle is removed from the cork, a naturally elastic and porous material, which then reseals, protecting the wine from oxidation and leaving the remaining wine unaffected.

HOW TO USE CORAVIN

After selecting a bottle of wine to taste, quickly press the trigger to clear the needle of oxygen. Push the needle down through the cork to access the wine. To pour, tilt the bottle as you would pour wine normally. Press and release the trigger to pour the wine. Repeat when the flow slows or stops. Return bottle to an upright position.

For wines that are served by the glass, I think the best way is to use the Coravin for service. As the Coravin wine system allows you to pour your favourite wine by the glass, without pulling the cork. With no oxidation, this preserves your wine over weeks, months and longer. ALAN SUN

Hotel Sommelier at The Mira, Hong Kong