More on the cork debate - lay it down or stand it up

There’s more in the short article than just this part so it’s worth the quick read. But I’ve changed my mind about always having to lay bottles down after seeing bottles standing for well over 100 years in a cool, dark, damp cellar that were in better shape than corks from bottles laying down. This article would explain why, if certain conditions are met.

When it comes to wine storage, old habits are hard to break. But Dr. Paulo Lopes, Research and Development Manager at Amorim Cork, advises that if temperature and humidity are maintained at the correct levels, wine can be stored upright with no ill effects.

In fact, sparkling wine should always be stored upright: a little-known fact that seems lost on many wine experts. During the course of his groundbreaking research, Lopes has seen no difference in the amount of oxygen found in wines that have been stored horizontally or vertically.

Interesting conclusions, but absolutely zero information re: the process and data collected.

Thanks for sharing - I read the majority of it as well. I agree with Brian - if you’re going to make ‘scientific statements’, please provide data for context.

The ‘challenge’ here is defining what ideal temperature and humidity is - I have a bunch of wines that I’ve had stood up for a number of years (not because I want it to be the case but it’s what I had to do). The main issue I have had with these bottles - the corks have become a bit brittle and are challenging to take out in a single piece. The wines have all been fine - and in fact, have shown no signs of ‘poor storage’ whatsoever. But not all of us are going to be able to have ‘ideal’ conditions for decades.

I also continue to find the argument that no oxygen gets through the cork to be an interesting one - we know that corks are porous and one would think that, over time, oxygen would make its way through. I’m still ‘hesitant to believe’ this entirely.

Cheers.

I agree it was a short article. Given the person and company I’m pretty sure it’s fairly sound info. He even states screw caps are better for certain issues…that never would have happened 10 years ago. Amorin has come a long way and put many millions into scientific studies and equipment in recent years.

Larry,
I would disagree on the storage part. Modern cellars are FAR better than the passive cellars of yesteryear. Think about it, we can now keep a cellar at a specific ideal temp and humidity year round. That generally wasn’t the case even 40 years ago.

I have always assumed this to be the case.

From a common sense perspective the idea that corks would “dry out” (and become any dryer than they already are when the wine is purchased) in an environment where the air space INSIDE of the bottle (ullage) has a humidity approaching 100% and the outside of the cork has a humidity equal to the ambient environment, simply makes no sense. Over time, why would a cork just shrink up and dry out? (And if it could, why wouldn’t it dry out in a matter of days? Even an entire bucket of wet rags would dry out in days, not years!).

Even if the outside environment consistently had a very low humidity of 25-30%, I just don’t see it as likely. Remember that one end of the cork, even if not in contact with the liquid, is in contact with an airspace that is very, very “humid”. The only scenario where I would think this was possible is where the corks were initially made and installed in environment with artificially extreme humidity levels, so that the cork is saturated with water at the time it is put into the bottle…In that case, I think the cork might dry out and fail within about 2 days of being put into the wine and moved to a dry environment.

In any event, I’ve had many bottles that were stored vertically for up to 3-4 years and the only consequence I’ve ever noticed is that the corks come out of the bottle with less stain on the base of the cork than wines stored laying down, and are never “stuck” to the inside of the bottle by dried sugars/wine (which can cause the cork to break if it requires great pressure to remove the cork).

What is the reasoning for standing up champagne in particular? Is it the absorption of CO2 by the cork?

No, the high atmospheric pressure keeps the inside of the cork wet. However, not indefinitely: I’ve seen lots of old (30-40 yo) Champagnes that had been a mix of bottles standing up and bottles cellared vertically. Practically 100% of the wines that had been kept standing up were flat, oxidized and dead, but most of the bottles kept on their side were sound. Some were just past their peak, but some in perfect condition.

And regarding those regular bottles that had been kept standing up for decades in old, damp cellars - those were probably Tokajis. There are cellars where the air humidity hovers around 90% and the walls are normally covered in thick, billowing mattresses of mold. In these kinds of cellars the air humidity is so high you can keep the bottles standing up and there is no evaporation through the cork, and also the cork retains its buoyancy. The drier the air is where the cork is kept, the faster the moisture escapes the cork cells and the faster it loses its buoyancy. I’ve seen quite many bottles that have been kept for a long time standing up and the cork doesn’t require much more than a light tap to drop into the bottle.

Exactly what I was going to say. And I also have a good fraction of wines stored vertically in a wine locker (because that optimizes the use of space). Haven’t had a problem yet, though I’ve only been doing this for about 15 years.

I’ve had more problems with rotting, disintegrating corks from bottles laying down than cork problem from stand up bottles. If it was the optimum way to store, I’d stand up all my bottles.

Many cellars in Barolo stand up their wines and they have been that way decades with no real issues to speak of. Of course, Madeira as well which are virtually indestructible.

The same argument goes to humidity in a wine cellar. Its virtually 100% inside the bottle, I am not sure, at least within reason, it matters what it is in the wine cellar.

I think if nothing else this can go a long way for calming my fears of standing a bottle of old Piedmont wines up for a few weeks before opening without fear of trading sediment for a terrible cork.

I would also love to see the data and more actual science involved in some of this stuff. So much of wine is done because “thats the way it has always been done”. To a large part that is actually OK- in this case my guess as to why bottles are stored on their side has far more to do with storage effeciency than anything else, but as it is known to be safe that way, we continue to do it and rationalize it. No harm no foul.

However it is also a huge impediement to potential progress i.e. alternate closures etc

In the case of champagne, the argument I have seem for standing them up is that the alcohol in the wine degrades the elasticity of the stopper, which is much more important in champagne than still wine.

Thanks for posting this article, Andy. I’ve been trying to convince one wine lover at a time for years that the wine doesn’t need to be in contact with the cork, at all. It’s the most sacred of all wine myths. And we have many myths in this passion of ours.

You are spot on !!

There is 100% humidity in the headspace of the bottle so therefore the cork doesn’t become brittle from lack of humidity. Typically a cork crumbling on extraction is a surface coating issue.

Here is a link to The detailed study.

The Cork quality council (CQC) here in the US has been recommending for the last several years to store wine neck up

I don’t need the data. This man is correct.

The article posted above states that sparkling wine should always be stored standing up, completely the opposite of what you are saying, so my question is what is the logic behind the articles’ statement.

The article is not news in any way. There have been lots of Australian studies over the years and an old one from sometime in the 1990s that specifically measured the ability of (good) cork to transmit air. It has been known for years that the air in the bottle comes from the cork and not through the cork. I think I’ve posted that about a half dozen times as well over the years.

And logically, keeping one end dry and one end wet would seem to guarantee that you’re going to wick moisture out of the bottle through the cork.

Cork is mostly small air sacs made of waxes and cellulose. That’s why it can be compressed and spring back. The sacs are not water soluble.

Not only are the cellars of today better than they were in the past, so are closures. There is no reason at all to use cork.

But wine writers and bloggers who are “de-mystifying” wine, and wine experts all nod sagely and tell you that you need to keep bottles on their sides in damp places. It’s wine. Common sense and practicality have no place in the discussion.