Preserving Wine

During the Dog Days of Summer

by Dave Slayton

happen in a hot car. Pitcher says that none of the factors affecting wine storage is more critical than temperature. Experts vary in their beliefs of the ideal cellar temperature, collectively suggesting a range from 45 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Generally speaking, the cooler the temperature, the slower the aging process; warmer temperatures accelerate the process.

Temperature fluctuations are just as significant. Heat spikes and frequent broad changes in temperature may also cause spoilage.

Pitcher says humidity must be kept within a particular range to protect your wines. Too little humidity can cause corks to dry out and shrink, allowing oxygen penetration.

Light, ultraviolet light can cause photochemical reactions in the wine that would not usually occur in darkness, which is why many wines are packaged in protective, dark-colored bottles. The safest course is to keep wines stored in the dark most of the time.

Some wines benefit from aging, as harsh tannins can open up to allow you to appreciate a full, rich, complex flavor. But most wines today are created for consumption at the time of purchase. A few wines, notably vintage port and some fine Bordeaux and Burgundy, lend themselves to a few years of cellar age.

So, chill that Pinot Grigio or Beaujolais and enjoy the dog days of summer, preferably in the shade. Cheers!

Bubbles

by Mack Williams

The extreme “fizziness” (carbonation) within a bottle of Cheerwine soft drink recently took me back to my early childhood in my old hometown of Salisbury, N.C. (still the home of Cheerwine).

In the hottest part of summer, the meteorologist warns us of thunderstorms popping up in the sky. But the above-ground, adult immersion pool pops up in the country, while the toddler-size wading pool pops up in suburbia! (the in-ground pool just “is”).

A summertime drone’s view of Danville would likely reveal, in addition to “The River District,” a tiny blue dot here and there, representing those inflated wading pools reminiscent of my childhood!

Our family never vacationed at the beach, but in the mountains, instead. My sole contact with water as a young child (other than bathing, of course) was at a neighbor’s house with some other kids a couple of doors down in their backyard. Their mother would inflate a small plastic pool and fill it with water, then we would step in (not deep enough for jumping into) and splash about!

In this type of pool, my feet felt the earth through the plastic. And that part of me naturally engineered for sitting felt the earth through the plastic as well, taking all of my fear of water away.”

A translucent plastic hose which had been used to fill the pool was lying nearby. On that hot summer day, we would all take turns turning on the faucet and taking a frequent “dink-a-wawa” (toddler talk).

Nowadays, many people are always drinking water from plastic in a different form: “bottles.” Some scientists say that drinking from such bottles may pose a health hazard. Our drinking from that hose was probably not safe either, but a hose is not as likely to be used as a regular, portable drinking vessel; since the extent of its portability as a drinking source only equals the extent of its length (provided it’s hooked up to a faucet).

My neighbor’s well pump evidently infused some air into the water; so, inside that transparent hose could be seen a series of bubbles, “at length,” so to speak.

As each of us drank, the bubbles approached.

Today’s multiple, simultaneous, unnumbered explosions of Cheerwine carbonation in my throat contrast with my memory of that childhood summer day when, through a clear garden hose, “bubbly gulps of air” in my “dinka-wawa” advanced towards me, one-by-one!