Fridge and wine don't always get along.

“Have a seat. I’ll treat you to a great Nebbiolo from the Langhe!”... Noooo, your friend pulls it out of the fridge. As much as you love them, you can’t stay quiet. “Why did you put it in the fridge? It’s Nebbiolo! It’s a red wine... you’re ruining it!” Your friend looks surprised and says, “I opened it yesterday...” Classic. But what if it were a nice Grillo from the vineyards of Paceco in Sicily? Well, then yes!

Wine is a living product and to be properly enjoyed, it always requires the best conditions for temperature and organic stability. What does that mean? For example, if you serve a red wine too warm, the alcohol will become dominant. If you serve it too cold, the tannins will become sharp and glassy. In short, storing wine has its logic, just like serving it properly.

Storing sparkling wine and prosecco
[See the selection of sparkling wine and prosecco]
If you open a bottle of sparkling wine and need to store it, do so for a maximum of one or two days, but seal it well with special airtight caps for sparkling wines. Keep it in the fridge. This way, you’ll control the wine's pressure and prevent excessive degassing. Do this for both white and red sparkling wines like Lambrusco.

Storing red wines
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If you need to store red wine, don’t put it in the fridge. Keep it cool, at a minimum of 10-12°C. The fridge tends to alter the wine’s quality because, once opened, red wine needs time to regain its balance between the hard and soft elements and cannot handle another drastic temperature change. Let it mature in the bottle; sometimes, after a day or two, wines offer pleasant surprises.

Storing still white wines
[See the white wines]
If you need to store white wine, keep it in the fridge, especially if it’s a simple, unstructured wine. For complex whites that have been aged, store them at a cool temperature, no lower than 10-12°C. Like red wines, 4-6°C in the fridge could upset their balance.

Storing dessert wines
[See the selection of dessert wines]
Sweet wines should generally be stored in the fridge, though in the warmer part. For dessert wines with high glyceric and structural content, a slightly higher temperature (10-12°C) is better. It’s not advisable to leave them at room temperature for too long, as oxidative processes could negatively affect their flavor profile.

Want to know the 6 key parameters your wine cellar needs to store wines properly? We asked Bernardo Pasquali to explain them in "The Ideal Cellar".