Wine Storage Cabinets

If you live in an apartment or space is an issue and you want to store and age wines at home, wine storage cabinets are the answer. These fridge-like units that run on electricity simulate perfect storage and cellar conditions including temperature, humidity and vibration. They come in different sizes that will store up to hundreds of bottles. I always recommend to folks who are considering buying one of these that whatever size they are looking at, double the size and buy it instead. Almost everyone who invests in one of these gets so into stocking it that in no time they have filled it and wish they had purchased one with a larger capacity. They really are a great alternative to having an actual wine cellar in your home.

The Heartbreak Grape

Pinot Noir is known as “The Heartbreak Grape”. For winemakers, it’s hard on the soil, young vines don’t produce decent wine, clonal selection is extremely important, it’s rarely consistent in character and is overall expensive to produce. It’s equally hard on consumers. When great, it can be a revelation, but far too often it ends up being mediocre and costing a pretty penny. Probably the most consistent in quality regions is Burgundy, France. Other smaller areas within Oregon, New Zealand, California, South Africa, Ontario and British Columbia, to name a few, do a favourable job. Unfortunately, once you’ve been bitten by the Pinot bug, you can spend a lot of time and money searching for good ones

Rodney Dangerfield Syndrome

Just like the late comic’s trip about never getting any respect, certain wines and grape varieties also suffer from this dilemma. Much of it has to do with the use of oak. Oak is a great tool for winemakers as it adds aromatic complexity and texture to a wine. However, too much oak overwhelms the varietal character and the wine tastes like “Chateau Two-by-Four”. Other winemakers oak varietals and wine styles that should never see a barrel. It masks and often detracts from their real character and soul making them something they are not. Sure, they might be interesting, but not true to their inherent make-up. Why not respect wine styles and grape varieties more for what they are and not play Frankenstein with them.

Vin de Glaciere

Icewine is usually made from grapes naturally frozen on the vine into the dead of winter. The berries freeze up like marbles. When pressed, an unctuous nectar is produced from the frozen, concentrated fruit juice, leaving the frozen water behind. This can only be produced in regions with cold enough winters. However, other parts of the world with milder winters create a style of icewine known as “Vin de Glaciere”. In this case, late harvest grapes are put into a freezer to solidify the grapes like marbles and then the pressing takes place. The resulting wine is very rich and sweet, but not as good as real icewine. In fact, real icewine producers frown on this method of production saying it’s a weak imitation.