How does a family store wine?
The Chinese people have had the habit of storing wine since ancient times. When their daughters were born, they would bury several jars of daughter red under the trees in the courtyard of their homes, and take them out to entertain guests when their daughters got married. This kind of sentiment is touching. The following is the preservation method of Baijiu, hoping to help friends who like to collect wine.
Cellar storage generally refers to the Baijiu preservation method of Baijiu enterprises, which refers to the enterprise's selection of high-quality puree wine, which is mainly filled in ceramic containers or other suitable cellars, and stored in underground, caves, and semi-underground wine cellars. The temperature of the wine cellar requires that the temperature difference between the four seasons should not be too large, that is, warm in winter and cool in summer, and well ventilated. In order to keep Baijiu intact for a long time, many factors are required. Such as precision, storage environment, temperature, humidity, air (dissolved oxygen), transportation, packaging, etc.
1. Baijiu's cellaring environment
When storing in a wine cellar, the size of the cellar pit, taking Maotai as an example, is usually 3 to 4 meters deep and can hold 15 to 20 retort lees. The walls of the cellar pit of Luzhou-flavor wine are usually made of soil, while the cellar pit of Maotai-flavor wine is made of stones, otherwise the sauce will not taste strong. The cellar pit should be sealed with local yellow mud and cannot be breathable. Check frequently during the cellar period, and sprinkle some water from time to time to prevent dry cracks and air intake. When cellaring Baijiu in a cave, you must abide by the principle of "three no choices", that is, if you do not choose a dry hole, there must be water in the hole, so that you can have your soul; if you do not choose a wet hole, if the water is turbulent, the soul will not be pure; if you do not choose a small hole, the cave sky will be vast and the "cave god" will live Cellar storage usually requires: constant temperature and humidity in the cellar, and the wine can mature slowly and evenly; the air in the cellar is clean, which can help ripening, and the more mellow the wine is, the more mellow it is; the pottery jar is sealed and stored to ensure that the wine breathes the outside air and interacts with the outside environment.
2. Baijiu's cellar container
The clay container is a traditional container, with a small mouth as an altar and a large mouth as a cylinder. It has the advantages of good air permeability, contains a variety of metal oxides, and has low production costs, which can promote the aging of the wine. The disadvantage is that it is easy to break, has weak mechanical strength and shock resistance, and is easy to penetrate. It covers a large area, has poor sealing, and is prone to volatile alcohol.
The blood material container is a basket made of thorn strips or bamboo strips, or a container made of pig blood material for the inner wall paste of wooden boxes and cement ponds. Among them, the large thorn strips are called Jiuhai, which holds 5t, and the cement pool has 10-25t. Pig blood material is a semi-permeable membrane made of pig blood and lime. The advantage is that more than 30% vol can prevent leakage, the cost is low, and it is not easy to damage.
Metal containers, aluminum containers cost less, but the metal oxides in them can easily cause the wine to be turbid, making the wine astringent. Later stainless steel tanks cost more, and the wine is not as old as pottery jars.
The cement pool container is made of reinforced concrete cement pool, coated with anti-corrosion materials, and has a large storage capacity. The inside can be coated with soft leather paper pig blood veneer, which is made of soft leather paper, pig blood, quicklime and water to make a sticky paste and stick it together on the inner wall of the pool; it can also be pasted on ceramic plates, tiles or glass, and then hooked with epoxy resin and then hooked with pig blood paint; it can also be coated with epoxy resin or pervinyl chloride paint.
3. Baijiu's cellaring time
The best storage period of Baijiu dry wine is 1 year; the reasonable storage period of Maotai-flavored wine is more than 3 years. The aroma changes greatly in the early stage, and the unpleasant feelings such as stimulation, punching nose, roughness and spicy of the new wine gradually disappear; in the middle stage, the wine body gradually becomes mellow and coordinated, delicate and plump; in the later stage, the aroma of the sauce is prominent and elegant, and the aging flavor gradually appears. Regarding the cellaring time of Baijiu, not all wines will become better after storage, and not all wines are better as they age. If they are overripe, their quality and flavor may not be good. The storage time is usually controlled at 1 to 3 years.
During the cellaring process of Baijiu, to achieve good storage results, the following points must be taken into account:
1. During storage, the container mouth must be sealed to avoid frequent opening, do not let Baijiu come into contact with the air too much, properly control the oxidation process, and improve the esterification ratio. If the seal is not strict, too much oxidation will cause too much aldehyde acid, volatilization and loss of alcohol and ester, so storage is not only useless but also harmful. Some factories store aged wine today and tomorrow, and finally only half a tank of wine is left, and the seal is not strict. After several years of storage, the more it is stored, the worse it is, and the taste of the wine becomes very weak.
2. To achieve faster storage results, the temperature of the wine should be slightly higher (more than 30 degrees Celsius), and it is best to store it in a small container, so that the odor can dissipate quickly.
3. The appropriate temperature must be given, generally around 20 ° C. If the temperature is too high, the volatilization loss will be large. If the temperature is too low, it will affect the storage effect.
4. The storage period of wine is not as long as possible. How long is appropriate, and different fragrance types require different requirements. Grass-type wine has more substances with high boiling point, and the storage time should be long. For wine dominated by ester aroma, the storage period is too long, the more volatile esters are, and the taste of the wine is less talked about. Therefore, it is generally not possible to store for too long. For example, when Xifeng wine is stored for 2-3 years, the total esters rise; if the storage period is longer, it will decrease instead. Although the wine is soft, the taste becomes lighter.
5. It should be mixed and stored first, and then blended and left the factory. Practice has proved that by blending and then storing in advance, the water and wine molecules can be rearranged and combined to improve the quality of Baijiu and maintain the balance of aroma and taste. On the contrary, blending after storage disrupts the arrangement of molecules, and the wine tastes hot and spicy, which affects the original storage effect.
The professional and standardized methods of cellaring Baijiu in enterprises have high requirements on the cellaring environment, containers, time, and management in cellaring, and the cost is too high, but it is not suitable for the daily storage and collection of Baijiu by ordinary people. Nowadays, it is difficult for urban residents to have underground storage conditions.
The family's personal collection of their favorite Baijiu not only satisfies their own preferences, but also reflects the Chinese wine culture. Generally speaking, Baijiu's storage bottle Baijiu should be selected in a drier, cleaner, brighter and better ventilated place, with a relative temperature of about 70%. If the temperature is higher, the bottle cap is prone to mildew. The ambient temperature of Baijiu storage should not exceed 30 ° C, and fireworks are strictly prohibited from approaching. The container should be tightly sealed to prevent wine leakage and "running speed". Due to the limited storage conditions of the family, it is difficult to cellar, but it can be adapted according to the location. It is best to live in a basement in a building, and it is better if there is a cellar in a rural area. The wine stored in these places can be connected to the earth's atmosphere. Its relative humidity is close to that of the wine cellar, but it should not be too humid. Through the passage of time, it absorbs its daily essence and moonlight. Over time, the wine hidden in it will become the top grade.
Li Guoguang, vice president of the Collection Branch of the Guangdong Liquor Industry Association, believes that whether a bottle of Baijiu is collectible must have two components. One is to have a relatively "complete" identity and data reference, such as the date of departure, which collector stays in the hands, what method is used to preserve and ensure the quality, and the reputation of the collector itself, all of which help to promote the value of Baijiu; the other is the brand effect, whether the output is scarce, and whether the manufacturer has a reputation. Xu Hong, director of the Tobacco, Wine and Tea Professional Committee of the China Collectors Association, introduced that the correct preservation method of Baijiu is to tighten the bottle cap by hand; followed by sealing with wax: melt the edible wax, then turn the wine bottle upside down, dip the bottle cap part into the melted edible wax, and take it out to cool it; finally cover the entire wine bottle with a fresh-keeping bag. Store in the dark, the temperature is preferably between 10 ° C and 15 ° C, and be careful not to put it upside down or flat. The container for Baijiu storage must be ceramic or glass, and the storage location is preferably underground or under the bed in a cool place.
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