Basis for 55 degrees(F) optimal storage temperature

The Parker board.

And while 55°F is seen as the optimal storage temperature in the North Americas, this is in no way universal.

Ask Europeans who will tell you anything between 10 and 15°C (50 to 59°F); the first would be Champenois, German growers or myself; the latter figure is tought in French gastronomy and sommelier cercles.

As I have done on the Parker Forum, I seriously deny the theory stated in the article, 49°F being possibly too cold:

| 49°F may be too low a temperature to allow some desirable aging | changes to occur at a rate that is comparable to the human life | cycle. Remember from our earlier discussion that different | reactions are affected differently by temperature changes | because each has a different barrier to reaction. Reactions with | high barriers are more sensitive to temperature changes and with | decreasing temperature will slow down more than reactions with | low barriers. Since the harmonious aging of wine is due to many | different chemical reactions occurring in a naturally | orchestrated manner, the lower temperature may slow down some | reactions to the point where they become non-contributors to | desirable flavors, and, therefore, the wine’s evolution is | thrown out of sync. It would be interesting to carry out | research on this, but the time line required is beyond that of | most humans.

After over 20 years of experience with a passive cellar at 50°F with a temperature variation of ± 1°F over the year, I know what I am talking about, there is absolutely nothing "out of sync".

M.

Dale,

Thank you for this link. Haven't read it all yet, but will.

Hunt

Dale, I read through his article and -- since he is a chemist -- feel compelled to comment on some points. His basic thesis, that reactions go faster at higher temperature, is true in most (but not all) cases. However, his statement that some reactions which do not proceed at all at lower temperature will occur at higher temperature displays a basic misunderstanding of chemical kinetics: even at the lower temperature they occur, just at very slow rates (rates which may be meaningful over the long duration of wine aging). More imporantly, though, he considers only one aspect of how temperature and temperature variation can affect the aging of wine. As Ian has pointed out here, temperature fluctuations lead to pressure changes inside the bottle that lead to the influx of oxygen. There are also processes, like the deposition of sediment, that are promoted by lowering the temperature and which may affect other chemical processes associated with aging. Conversely, at higher temperature the increased loss of alcohol by evaporation might retard some reactions, although I doubt that this could be very significant. In summary, he presents a very simplistic view of how changes in temperature can affect the aging of wine. I can easily believe that there may be some things going on in the bottle that actually go faster at temperatures below 55 F, or at the very least that there are reactions that proceed as fast at 10 C as at 13 C.

Mark Lipton

Mark, great article. What % of humidity is ideal?

I am checking my cellar now. Please advise.

dick