Wine rack

[mangocrazy]

As I've mentioned in other posts, we have a fixer-upper/project/moneypit in the Languedoc in southern France. The area is blessed with excellent wine of all sorts at very reasonable prices, so it has been a no-brainer to bring back pretty much unlimited quantities of the stuff prior to Brexit spoiling the fun (allowable imports are now drastically reduced).

All this wine needs storing somewhere and thankfully our terraced house has a cellar. Glory be. I really don't know how people manage without a cellar. It's a workshop, secure tool storage area and wine storage all rolled into one. 2 or 3 years ago I built a full height wine rack (1.8 metres high by a metre wide) and filled it up. But I still had some bottles that wouldn't fit and stayed in cartons, and prior to Brexit I went on a buying frenzy and bought enough to fill a second rack.

The second rack has now been built and there is simply no more space for another rack in the cellar, so wine purchases will now have to be made on a one out, one in basis. Anyway, here's the new rack sitting snugly in the alcove for which it was designed. It needs bolting to the back and side walls and filling up, but those photos will follow.

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[Horse]

Talking of cellars, who was it talking about converting the cellar into a workshop, with a lift to get the bike in and out?

[G.P]

You're in Banyuls territory down there aren't you? need an extra shelf for that

[DefTrap]

Can't have a wine rack.
If it's in the house i drink it, no self control.

I like your rack though.

[Count Steer]

You're in Banyuls territory down there aren't you? need an extra shelf for that

Ooh...Banyuls. Kept alive by the late, great Dr Parcé and now his son.

The very thought of it could get me off the wagon.

I must be one of the few teetotal wine buffs.

[mangocrazy]

You're in Banyuls territory down there aren't you? need an extra shelf for that

Yes, Banyuls is about an hour's drive towards Spain. And you have identified a gap in my collection. I'll rectify that next time we're over...

[mangocrazy]

Can't have a wine rack.
If it's in the house i drink it, no self control.

I like your rack though.

You're like a mate of mine. I tried to convince him of the theory of 'critical mass'. When you have enough bottles of wine in your cellar (or wherever) you can buy wines to age because you have a buffer to drink (assuming you replenish as you drink, of course).

[Mussels]

I didn't think wine improved with age, you just have good years that are worth looking after?

[mangocrazy]

I didn't think wine improved with age, you just have good years that are worth looking after?

Some wine does improve with age, but most is made to be drunk within the first year or two of its life. There are wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Rhone (and other countries) that will improve for 15-20 years, even more if it's a particularly good vintage. I've got a few bottles of 1989 wine that are just reaching their peak. Even some of our Languedoc wine will easily improve for up to 10 years if stored properly.

Generally the wines that can survive cellaring for much above 5 years are those that have been aged in oak barrels. Most wine in supermarkets is made to be taken home and drunk within 6-12 months of purchase, especially if they are white or rose.

[Yorick]

Can't have a wine rack.
If it's in the house i drink it, no self control.

I like your rack though.

We do like a nice rack

[Count Steer]

I didn't think wine improved with age, you just have good years that are worth looking after?

Some wines do and they're made that way, some wines are made to drink almost as they go in the bottle. If you buy a good bottle/case 'in bond' from, eg, the Wine Society they give a drinking window when it's expected to be at its best and for some of them the window opens some years after bottling and closes some years after that. Until they're ready you can leave them in reserves in the Wine Soc 'cellar' - big temp and humidity controlled warehouse. If you want to sell them that storage/provenance is a big factor in getting top $ as buyers know they've not been left standing upright on a shelf over a radiator or in a sub-zero damp shed. They really do improve - if they're made to develop over time. My main thing was Rhones, bought each year and left until they're ready.

[mangocrazy]

I didn't think wine improved with age, you just have good years that are worth looking after?

My main thing was Rhones, bought each year and left until they're ready.

Big fan of Rhone wines. I was fortunate enough to visit the premises of Paul Jaboulet Aine in 1991 and Gerard Jaboulet, the head honcho, invited us for a wine tasting the next day, in spite of only being small fry. To my eternal astonishment we were given a vertical tasting of their La Chapelle Hermitage reds, along with selected Cornas & St. Joseph reds. I could only stretch to 8 bottles of 1989 La Chapelle (along with various other reds) and remember paying about £14 a bottle for them. If you can buy them now they fetch well over £100 a bottle. My abiding memory of Gerard is him taking a 3/4 full bottle of Muscat Beaumes de Venise back with him to his desk as an aperitif for his midday meal. That and insisting that no tax was to be added to the purchase price.

Wotta guy...

Six years later he succumbed to a massive heart attack at the ridiculously early age of 55 - a terrible loss. RIP Gerard.

[Count Steer]

I didn't think wine improved with age, you just have good years that are worth looking after?

My main thing was Rhones, bought each year and left until they're ready.

Big fan of Rhone wines. I was fortunate enough to visit the premises of Paul Jaboulet Aine in 1991 and Gerard Jaboulet, the head honcho, invited us for a wine tasting the next day, in spite of only being small fry. To my eternal astonishment we were given a vertical tasting of their La Chapelle Hermitage reds, along with selected Cornas & St. Joseph reds. I could only stretch to 8 bottles of 1989 La Chapelle (along with various other reds) and remember paying about £14 a bottle for them. If you can buy them now they fetch well over £100 a bottle. My abiding memory of Gerard is him taking a 3/4 full bottle of Muscat Beaumes de Venise back with him to his desk as an aperitif for his midday meal. That and insisting that no tax was to be added to the purchase price.

Wotta guy...

Six years later he succumbed to a massive heart attack at the ridiculously early age of 55 - a terrible loss. RIP Gerard.

Indeed RIP Gérard. Got several different Paul Jaboulet Aine wines in the 'stock', mainly now dating from 98 onwards. Only got another 8lbs to lose and I can start drinking them again - they'll keep.

[mangocrazy]

Rack is now bolted to the wall and fully loaded...

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