introduction

"Ninety percent of wine is consumed within three hours of leaving the bottle shop." Perhaps once correct, this commonly quoted statistic is not quite so true today. The drinking habits of wine consumers are maturing, as we learn that our wines will do the same. Increasingly, we are appreciating the merits of aged wines.

There have always been the privileged few who maintain state-of-the-art cellars, safeguarding hundreds or even thousands of bottles. But more and more the average consumer is putting bottles aside to be blessed by the rewards of bottle age: a couple of cases stashed in the linen cupboard, a few dozen in the wine rack, a hundred bottles tucked away under the house. There are few greater joys than sharing a carefully cellared old bottle with good friends. And there are few greater disappointments than finding that the prized bottle has been spoilt by careless treatment. Many well-meaning ‘hobby collectors’ are oblivious to the reality that their storage conditions are slowly but surely killing their wines.

A number of years ago I set about establishing a small cellar of wines in my rented home in Brisbane, Queensland. I was told that this was an impossible task in our harsh subtropical climate, unless I was prepared to spend a small fortune. With a little creativity and perseverance, I have discovered otherwise.

My pursuit of information on budget cellaring has been a far-reaching endeavour. When it became apparent that there was nothing in print, I turned my questions to winemakers, wine consumers and wine experts across Australia and across the world. Where the answers were not clear, I returned to my scientific training and devised experiments that would provide the answers. This book is the culmination of these endeavours. It sets out to unravel the secrets of cost-effective home cellaring.

Numerous books have been written on how to build large and expensive cellars and on choosing wines to stock them. This book does not attempt to address either of these topics. Rather, it is dedicated to the hobby collector, and to the well-being of his or her humble but nonetheless prized wine collection.