Conservation in bottles

The weak point in a bottle of Rioja wine is the cork. The cork is a living element which after being taken from the cork oak, continues to age slowly. This implies very slow contraction which may, in the long term, cause deformation in the diameter of the cork.

Corks follow the same process in the bottle. At the end of ten or twenty years it loses its sealing powers. At the end of more than 25 years, this seal may be less than perfect, allowing air to enter and even permitting wine to escape.Then, the wine becomes vinegary and cloudy.

This process is very slow and should not alarm consumers of Rioja wines. Wineries control the quality of corks closely and use the most expensive types available. Today, Gran Reserva wines are bottled with corks which are four times more expensive than those used for wines bottled in the year following the vintage.

Due to reasons which are easy to understand, the consumer wants his or her wine to retain its taste for a long time so the bottle must be in good condition.

A high conservation temperature of over 20° C means:

• The expansion of wine and loss through the cork.
• The possible ejection of the cork.
• The premature ageing of the cork.
• The acceleration of the chemical processes in wine, which shorten its life.

A temperature which is too low, i.e., below 5° C, makes all the above points difficult, but facilitates the coupling of polyphenols, which are responsible for colour, producing sediment in the wine and accentuating the instability of its clarity.

Cyclical temperature variation is least beneficial. This can occur when the bottle is in the window of an establishment, heating up during the day and becoming cool at night. This causes thermal changes bringing about all the above-mentioned disadvantages, plus periodic regurgitation of the wine through the cork, with the incorporation of moulds and substances from the cap and exterior.

Light always causes wine to oxidise, and Rioja wine, as in the case of other famous Appellations, is the enemy of oxidation.

It is difficult to talk about the position of bottles. Contrary to everything which has been said about the advantage of the wine dampening the cork so that it does not become dry, we have seen that wine also attacks the cork, making it lose its elasticity. This process is very slow, but it has been demonstrated that bottles which are kept in a vertical position maintain their quality for a long period of time, better than in those which are placed horizontally.

Nevertheless, although the above-mentioned results are accurate and true, we still do not have enough experience in the subject to recommend that a bottle of Rioja wine be kept in a vertical position.

To summarise, we can say that bottles of Rioja should be kept under the following conditions:

• Moderate temperature, between 9 and 12° C.
• Atmospheric humidity above 70%.
• Placed horizontally (until proved otherwise).
• Absence of light.
• Absence of smells.
• Absence of wood containing moths.

The questions which consumers often ask can be answered simply:

¿Does wine improve in the bottle?

Bottled wine continues a process which is conditioned by the personality of the vintage and the variety of grape. We can say that this process does, in synthesis, improve the quality of the wine.

¿How long can wine remain in the bottle?

The life of the wine in bottle depends on its weakest point, the cork, and the conditions under which the bottle is stored. Without light and at a low constant temperature, of about 5° C, wine can remain in bottle in good condition for dozens of years.

Once a wine has been bottled, how long must it remain in the bottle before being consumed?

The standards set by the Regulating Council are very strict in this respect and stipulate very long periods in bottle. Our studies show that in three months wine recovers from the oxidative impact of the bottling operation. As of that moment, wine continues to mature and evolve slowly in bottle, sometimes for many years.