1982 Chateau Petrus?

It’s next to the Nikes

For the vast majority of wine drinkers, a hallway closet may be as good as a wine cellar, says The Wall Street Journal.

In a recent article, the newspaper said booming sales of wine cellar equipment may just be a fad.

Equipment like wine racks and refrigeration devices can cost thousands of dollars.

According to the article, wine cellars have become so popular that several top builders estimated that 70 percent to 85 percent of their clients in $1 million-plus homes designate a space for wine storage.

But Joshua Wesson, owner of Best Cellars, a wine shop in New York, says, “For 99 percent of the wine lovers of the world, a closet is as good as a cellar.” Wesson told the newspaper he stores his wine “in boxes in the back of my closet, just to the left of my socks.”

Experts advise wine lovers to get their wine out of the kitchen, where fluctuations in temperature can kill a wine faster than you can say phylloxera.

Justin Morris, an international expert on grape growing and viticulture, says wine should be stored in air conditioned spaces out of the light. Basements sometimes make good wine cellars but pipes and vibrating machinery beneath houses can cause problems. Turn the bottles on their sides to keep corks wet and oxygen from spoiling the wine, advises Morris, who is a distinguished professor of food science at the University of Arkansas.

“Wine is alive with chemical changes,” says Morris. Temperature fluctuations of more than 5 degrees can rapidly age a wine, he adds.

Although wines can vary considerably, in general, Morris says white wines should be served at about 55 degrees and red wines are best at about 65 degrees.

White wines can be stored in the refrigerator (where temperatures are usually about 40 degrees) but should be allowed to warm at room temperature before serving.

Red wines can be chilled in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes before serving. With both varieties, be sure to refrigerate wine after it’s opened. If it’s red wine, you can let it warm up in a glass before serving.

According to the Wall Street Journal article, 50 percent of all wine drunk in America is consumed within 24 hours of purchase, and 94 percent of it costs $15 a bottle or less.

Connoisseurs — people who plan to store wine for five to 10 years before consuming it — need cellars, says Morris. If you plan to drink a wine within a year or two of purchase, store it in a cool space in your home.

“Wine is made to be consumed, not stored,” Morris says.

Although wine consumption is up with the over-40 crowd, it’s down among people in their 20s and 30s, according to the Wine Market Council, a trade association. But wine groups have been forming across the county to target the beer drinking Generation Xers and latter-day Baby Boomers and help educate a new wave of enophiles.