Spend some time in the wine world and you're likely to witness the scene: A self-professed aficionado hoisting his glass, gazing at the ruby red elixir contained therein and announcing with great gravity that "wine, unique among beverages, is a living, breathing organism."

Amazingly, there's something to this vinous verbiage. Wine may not function as most living creatures we know – it doesn't need a cup of coffee to get going each morning, like you and I – but in the sense that it is constantly evolving, it is indeed alive. For this reason, it is wise to be careful (that's careful, not obsessive) about how wine is stored and cellared.

Storing vs. Cellaring

We draw this distinction between "storing" and "cellaring" wine: Storing is about waiting until you are ready to drink a particular wine; cellaring is about waiting until the wine is ready to be consumed.

The overwhelming majority of wines don't need to be cellared. They are made to be drunk young, taste fine upon release and, in fact, will probably lose their appeal if not consumed within a few years. This is especially true of white wines, most of which can claim fresh, fruity aromas and flavors as their most attractive features. Red wines are more likely to need aging, especially those that are substantial and well-balanced, with plenty of ripe tannins. Over time, these components will soften and evolve to give the wine depth and complexity that a young wine will rarely exhibit.

All of Columbia’s reds enjoy a phase of youthful fruit and charm after they are released. Most will repay being tucked away for a decade or more, if you enjoy wines with the extra bouquet that develops with age, and the sense that each bottle is a time-capsule from a special year. If you decide to lay wines away, it takes patience to allow the wine to negotiate the few years of ‘awkward adolescence’ that usually mark a wine’s transition from charming youth to elegant maturity!

Storing Wine
Temperature and light are the factors that will most influence the rate and the ways in which a bottle of wine will change. Ideally, wine is stored at a constant temperature between 50 and 59 degrees Fahrenheit, with little exposure to light and a slightly higher than normal humidity. Under these conditions, the wine will change slowly and incur no damage from its environment.

Of course, most wine drinkers will not be able to replicate these ideal conditions. Given that, here are our recommendations:

• In the summertime when it's hot out, don't let a bottle of wine sit in a parked car all day, or even for a few hours. The extreme heat will damage the wine—and you'll probably have a mess on your hands as well as wine escapes through the pushed-out cork.
• For wines likely to be consumed within a day or two, a room-temperature counter is fine. If possible, however, make sure the wine isn't subjected to direct sunlight.
• If the wine isn't likely to be consumed within a few days, and if you don't intend to lay it down for several years, tuck the bottle away in a closet or under a stairway.
• If your home is prone to large day-to-night temperature swings, consider putting the bottles in Styrofoam packing material. This will provide insulation.
• Many wines would be fine stored standing up for a month or two, but to avoid problems with dry corks lay the bottles on their side.

Cellaring Wine
We mentioned an ideal cellar temperature of 50 to 60 degrees. Some experts insist on the magic midway point, 55 degrees. Others say that creeping into the low 60s wouldn't be a problem – as long as it’s a steady 62 or 63 degrees. Medium to high humidity is also recommended; it helps keep corks moist. But unless you live in a remarkably temperate climate or have a naturally dark, dank and deep basement on the north side of your house, maintaining such conditions can be a challenge.

• Consider converting a large closet into a wine cellar. Most contractors can do this work, or you can consult the bible on home cellaring, Richard Gold's How and Why to Build a Wine Cellar.
• Another option – one that you can take with you when you move – is a free-standing cellar. One word of advice: Get one a little larger than you think you'll need. It's the rare wine nut whose stash shrinks over time.
• Buy according to your cellaring situation. If you're cellar is borderline adequate, don't waste your money on young wines that need decades to be at their best. Instead, buy wines that can be consumed within 3-5 years of release.

Our 1998 Syrah Red Willow should drink well as an aged wine from 2005 to 2010. And our 1996 Peninsula Meritage Red Willow should show well as a mature wine from 2006 to 2015.