Wine and light?
July 14, 2015 8:51 PM Subscribe
I own a wine rack that holds 13 bottles, which is quite a supply for a single guy, so bottles end up on the rack for a few months. It's as much an art piece as it is a place to store the bottles, but the wine is strictly for consumption. In other words, none of the wine is valuable. I only buy 'em to drink 'em. How long can wine sit in a wine rack at room temperature in a well lit room before the wine starts to go bad?
I know that light isn't good for wine, but let's be honest here... Stores like Trader Joe's are always well lit.
My wine rack isn't getting hit by direct sunlight, but still, I've always wondered how long it's ok to keep wine in less than optimal conditions - such as a wine rack in a typical apartment or condo dining room, where it's probably not getting hit by direct sunlight, but there's lots of light coming through the windows during the day and from light fixtures at night. A month? 6 months? A year?
Note! I live in a building with modern windows that reflect UV rays, and my lights are LED, not florescent. I have AC, so it never gets too hot or too cold in my place.
I'm asking this question because searching for info on wine and light always brings back results about long term storage of valuable bottles, mostly for collectors. I'm just a guy who wants to make sure my wine doesn't go bad before I have a chance to drink it.
I know that light isn't good for wine, but let's be honest here... Stores like Trader Joe's are always well lit.
My wine rack isn't getting hit by direct sunlight, but still, I've always wondered how long it's ok to keep wine in less than optimal conditions - such as a wine rack in a typical apartment or condo dining room, where it's probably not getting hit by direct sunlight, but there's lots of light coming through the windows during the day and from light fixtures at night. A month? 6 months? A year?
Note! I live in a building with modern windows that reflect UV rays, and my lights are LED, not florescent. I have AC, so it never gets too hot or too cold in my place.
I'm asking this question because searching for info on wine and light always brings back results about long term storage of valuable bottles, mostly for collectors. I'm just a guy who wants to make sure my wine doesn't go bad before I have a chance to drink it.
Best answer: Following up on Hiro, I'd guess you're drinking it on the left side of the Bell curve, anyway. If you want to check, search for your bottles on cellar tracker or similar.
posted by notyou at 9:33 PM on July 14, 2015
posted by notyou at 9:33 PM on July 14, 2015
The most important thing is to make sure that the bottles are slanted down a bit so that the cork stays wet. If the cork dries out, it can start to leak air -- and then the wine can go bad, like turning to vinegar. As long as the cork is wet, though, the seal will be good.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:35 PM on July 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:35 PM on July 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Hi. I am a winemaker, IANYWM, etc.
The short answer is, don't stress it at all. You are fine.
The long answer is:
If you are buying Trader Joe's type wines: affordable, larger production, large distribution, younger vintage, etc. you really have nothing to worry about if they hang out for...a year? Maybe longer. Most folks who make large amounts of wine have to count on consistency and a wine that has a "shelf life." Very simple things are done to the wine to make sure it is stable enough to handle getting cold or hot and retaining it's...uh...yumminess (the scientific term, I promise!!)
However, there are two really bad things, that all wines (fancy and fragile, everyday and sturdy) will not enjoy, even for fairly short periods:
1) Sunshine. Sunshine is really bad for all wine, in all circumstances. I cannot explain the science, but man it's for real. Yuck. Do not leave it in the sun, even in a cold room. All kinds of yuck ensue. It tastes like plastic and things that are not from a cork or a screwcap or glass, hah! It's awful and real and doesn't take long. Us dorks call it "sunstruck" and it tastes like you put a mix of butterscotch and lime Pucker in your wine. It's best to avoid, if I haven't already made that clear.
2) Vibration. I know, right...what? Vibration, like sitting on top of a fridge, or being in a place with ongoing jackhammers, or some crazy other vibrating options. This is another one I can't explain, but it messes up wine SO BAD. Lot's of folks say the wine will recover if left still for a period, I can't speak to that. I know winemakers that had caves dug out (major bad vibes!) while their wine was in barrel, perfectly good vintage, and it all smelled like nothing and tasted like pee. I can attest to similar. It's terrifying and real. I think the term "bottleshock" is actually a tiny form of it- the wine chills out it's whole little life in one place, big ole mix of acid and tannin and alcohol and esthers and it's all pretty fragile and volatile and then you pump it through a crazy impeller to a bottling line where it's shot into bottles and vibrated down a line....ugh, I can't even go on. UGH.
Neither of these things can be ameliorated by large production type winemaking, but it sounds like you are good on both accounts.
As for temps, heat is really bad, but fluctuation is the worst. Even if it's a little warm, as long as it's always that way, it's okay, but drink it sooner. Cold is really, really bad. Don't keep wine in the fridge. It will oxidise mega fast- the colder it gets, the faster it oxidises (ages, turns brown, tastes loke doodoo) the faster it's a bottle of junk.
posted by metasav at 9:37 PM on July 14, 2015 [50 favorites]
The short answer is, don't stress it at all. You are fine.
The long answer is:
If you are buying Trader Joe's type wines: affordable, larger production, large distribution, younger vintage, etc. you really have nothing to worry about if they hang out for...a year? Maybe longer. Most folks who make large amounts of wine have to count on consistency and a wine that has a "shelf life." Very simple things are done to the wine to make sure it is stable enough to handle getting cold or hot and retaining it's...uh...yumminess (the scientific term, I promise!!)
However, there are two really bad things, that all wines (fancy and fragile, everyday and sturdy) will not enjoy, even for fairly short periods:
1) Sunshine. Sunshine is really bad for all wine, in all circumstances. I cannot explain the science, but man it's for real. Yuck. Do not leave it in the sun, even in a cold room. All kinds of yuck ensue. It tastes like plastic and things that are not from a cork or a screwcap or glass, hah! It's awful and real and doesn't take long. Us dorks call it "sunstruck" and it tastes like you put a mix of butterscotch and lime Pucker in your wine. It's best to avoid, if I haven't already made that clear.
2) Vibration. I know, right...what? Vibration, like sitting on top of a fridge, or being in a place with ongoing jackhammers, or some crazy other vibrating options. This is another one I can't explain, but it messes up wine SO BAD. Lot's of folks say the wine will recover if left still for a period, I can't speak to that. I know winemakers that had caves dug out (major bad vibes!) while their wine was in barrel, perfectly good vintage, and it all smelled like nothing and tasted like pee. I can attest to similar. It's terrifying and real. I think the term "bottleshock" is actually a tiny form of it- the wine chills out it's whole little life in one place, big ole mix of acid and tannin and alcohol and esthers and it's all pretty fragile and volatile and then you pump it through a crazy impeller to a bottling line where it's shot into bottles and vibrated down a line....ugh, I can't even go on. UGH.
Neither of these things can be ameliorated by large production type winemaking, but it sounds like you are good on both accounts.
As for temps, heat is really bad, but fluctuation is the worst. Even if it's a little warm, as long as it's always that way, it's okay, but drink it sooner. Cold is really, really bad. Don't keep wine in the fridge. It will oxidise mega fast- the colder it gets, the faster it oxidises (ages, turns brown, tastes loke doodoo) the faster it's a bottle of junk.
posted by metasav at 9:37 PM on July 14, 2015 [50 favorites]
I've let bottles sit in similar conditions (not in direct sunlight, fairly constant temperature even if that temperature is just ordinary room temperature) for a year or so, with no detectable (to me) loss in quality. Granted, I'm not buying super-expensive bottles of wine; most of them are in the $10-$25 range.
Sunshine is really bad for all wine, in all circumstances. I cannot explain the science, but man it's for real.
I know this one! Sunlight has a lot of ultraviolet light. Ordinary household artificial lighting — whether incandescent, fluorescent, LCD, or LED — does not. UV light, with more energetic photons than visible light, is strong enough to break molecules apart. Visible light, not so much. (An oversimplification, but that's the 101-level explanation.)
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:29 PM on July 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
Sunshine is really bad for all wine, in all circumstances. I cannot explain the science, but man it's for real.
I know this one! Sunlight has a lot of ultraviolet light. Ordinary household artificial lighting — whether incandescent, fluorescent, LCD, or LED — does not. UV light, with more energetic photons than visible light, is strong enough to break molecules apart. Visible light, not so much. (An oversimplification, but that's the 101-level explanation.)
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:29 PM on July 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
This is loosely related to sunstruck wine: skunked beer.
There is a chemical reaction which can happen to well hopped beers whereby UV rays convert iso-alpha-acids into 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol (which is the same thing that skunks produce).
apparently (I just looked this up) In wine, riboflavin, reacts with (amino acids) under UV. This reaction forms hydrogen sulphide and mercaptans, notably 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol. It's worse for whites and roses, because the riboflavin in reds is more tightly bound.
The responsible light wavelengths (in both beer and wine) are between 350-500 nm, but activity is noted to peak at 370 and 440 nm, so in the near-ultraviolet and part of the visible wavelengths.
You can combat this by putting your booze in dark bottles (apparently clear-bottled Corona gets easily skunked, which is why they suggest you stick a lime in the bottle before you drink it. It masks the smell.)
Brown bottles block 98% of the offending light. Green ones block about 60%.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 5:30 AM on July 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
There is a chemical reaction which can happen to well hopped beers whereby UV rays convert iso-alpha-acids into 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol (which is the same thing that skunks produce).
apparently (I just looked this up) In wine, riboflavin, reacts with (amino acids) under UV. This reaction forms hydrogen sulphide and mercaptans, notably 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol. It's worse for whites and roses, because the riboflavin in reds is more tightly bound.
The responsible light wavelengths (in both beer and wine) are between 350-500 nm, but activity is noted to peak at 370 and 440 nm, so in the near-ultraviolet and part of the visible wavelengths.
You can combat this by putting your booze in dark bottles (apparently clear-bottled Corona gets easily skunked, which is why they suggest you stick a lime in the bottle before you drink it. It masks the smell.)
Brown bottles block 98% of the offending light. Green ones block about 60%.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 5:30 AM on July 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Just this guy, y'know said: "You can combat this by putting your booze in dark bottles"
I appreciate the info, but it kind of makes me wonder if you read the question. I'm asking how long I can keep bottles bought at stores like Trader Joe's on my wine rack before conditions in an ordinary apartment make the wine go bad. I'm not going to open bottle after bottle of cheap-ish wine just to swap the bottles to darker bottles, and then put them back on my wine rack. Red wine usually comes in brown bottles anyway.
posted by 2oh1 at 10:23 AM on July 15, 2015
I appreciate the info, but it kind of makes me wonder if you read the question. I'm asking how long I can keep bottles bought at stores like Trader Joe's on my wine rack before conditions in an ordinary apartment make the wine go bad. I'm not going to open bottle after bottle of cheap-ish wine just to swap the bottles to darker bottles, and then put them back on my wine rack. Red wine usually comes in brown bottles anyway.
posted by 2oh1 at 10:23 AM on July 15, 2015
Response by poster: DevilsAdvocate said: "Sunlight has a lot of ultraviolet light. Ordinary household artificial lighting — whether incandescent, fluorescent, LCD, or LED — does not. UV light, with more energetic photons than visible light, is strong enough to break molecules apart. Visible light, not so much. (An oversimplification, but that's the 101-level explanation.)"
You've really got me wondering how much UV my windows actually do block. I'm pretty sure they block most if not almost all of it. My windows are the modern ones that have a metallic film (?) inside them which also, unfortunately, partially blocks other things like radio and TV signals. Then again, it doesn't really matter since I have to assume the heat from direct sunlight would also harm the wine over time, so I make sure the wine rack doesn't get hit by any direct sunlight.
What's really annoying though, is the fact that my apartment does get some pretty ugly reflections of light from other buildings in the evening just before sunset. I live downtown and there's a glass-sided skyscraper a few blocks away. Reflections of light from that building don't seem to generate heat the way direct sunlight does, but they do throw an impressive amount of light for about a half hour. Ugh. Luckily, I don't think any of that evening reflection light hits my wine rack.
This is my wine rack. It looks far more impressive when it's full. It stands nearly 5 feet tall and looks like such a neat art piece... plus, it's made by an awesome local shop called Delia.
posted by 2oh1 at 11:04 AM on July 15, 2015
You've really got me wondering how much UV my windows actually do block. I'm pretty sure they block most if not almost all of it. My windows are the modern ones that have a metallic film (?) inside them which also, unfortunately, partially blocks other things like radio and TV signals. Then again, it doesn't really matter since I have to assume the heat from direct sunlight would also harm the wine over time, so I make sure the wine rack doesn't get hit by any direct sunlight.
What's really annoying though, is the fact that my apartment does get some pretty ugly reflections of light from other buildings in the evening just before sunset. I live downtown and there's a glass-sided skyscraper a few blocks away. Reflections of light from that building don't seem to generate heat the way direct sunlight does, but they do throw an impressive amount of light for about a half hour. Ugh. Luckily, I don't think any of that evening reflection light hits my wine rack.
This is my wine rack. It looks far more impressive when it's full. It stands nearly 5 feet tall and looks like such a neat art piece... plus, it's made by an awesome local shop called Delia.
posted by 2oh1 at 11:04 AM on July 15, 2015
:) Good point. I wasn't really advocating decanting the wine, I was really just adding some additional chemistry info to metasavs excellent answer, because I knew about skunked beer (I'm a brewer) but not sunstruck wine, and was rather pleased to learn it. You'd probably do more damage decanting the wine than you'd ever save.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 3:10 PM on July 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 3:10 PM on July 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is not so much an answer to your actual question, as a possible strategy for getting optimal flavor from your wine, given the rack and environment.
What I would do is experiment with a bunch of your favorite cheapest wines. If you already happen to know that one particular Trader Joe's red is good after being stored in that rack for a month, let one sit there for three months. Write the date of purchase on its label. If three months works, try six.
Obviously this experiment would take a while, but you'd be learning useful data within a month.
You could also combine this with a sort of freshness rotation system. Since that rack is just one column, you'd have a great way of sorting from oldest to newest. If you dated all the wines as you bought them, and spent the time to reorder the bottles in the rack by date every so often, you wouldn't even have to check those dates when you wanted an older bottle.
posted by jessicapierce at 8:52 AM on July 16, 2015
What I would do is experiment with a bunch of your favorite cheapest wines. If you already happen to know that one particular Trader Joe's red is good after being stored in that rack for a month, let one sit there for three months. Write the date of purchase on its label. If three months works, try six.
Obviously this experiment would take a while, but you'd be learning useful data within a month.
You could also combine this with a sort of freshness rotation system. Since that rack is just one column, you'd have a great way of sorting from oldest to newest. If you dated all the wines as you bought them, and spent the time to reorder the bottles in the rack by date every so often, you wouldn't even have to check those dates when you wanted an older bottle.
posted by jessicapierce at 8:52 AM on July 16, 2015
Response by poster: jessicapierce said: "Obviously this experiment would take a while, but you'd be learning useful data within a month."
Y'know... that's a good idea. I already have a system for rotating through the bottles to make sure I more or less go through them all at an equal rate, so it wouldn't take much effort.
posted by 2oh1 at 11:15 AM on July 16, 2015
Y'know... that's a good idea. I already have a system for rotating through the bottles to make sure I more or less go through them all at an equal rate, so it wouldn't take much effort.
posted by 2oh1 at 11:15 AM on July 16, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
Think of your wines 'drinkability' as a curve somewhat similar to a bell curve, starting at the left immediately after bottling, improving over time as you move to the right, eventually reaching a peak from which it gradually declines.
The actual values involved in the span from bottling to peak drinkability, and from peak drinkability to 'past it' depend not only on the cellaring conditions, but also very much on the individual wine.
As long as your wine is not getting hit by direct sunlight, and is in reasonably stable temperature conditions, I would say that you should not be seeing problems over the span of a year or two.
posted by HiroProtagonist at 9:25 PM on July 14, 2015 [6 favorites]