SIX BASIC RULES FOR STORING WINE ON YOUR BOAT with comments from The World Executives Sailing Club

This article came about by trial and error, and through the experiences of local and international sailors who enjoy the occasional glass of wine or two at the end of the day.

First, it is important to note that wine is very much an organic product, which can change with time, temperature, light and movement.

Finding “ideal storage conditions” on your boat is challenging, and unless you have these, it is not wise to store your bottles, as you will soon find out.

For the purposes of this article, the wines that I will be referring to are “ready-to-drink”, short-term storage wines with cork closures.

1. TEMPERATURE
The key here is to maintain a constant temperature, with little or no fluctuation. The generally agreed-upon temperature for short-term storage ranges from 45-64ºF (7-18ºC) as long as variations are gradual. Temperatures above 65 ºF (19 ºC) will cause wine to age prematurely and lose its flavour and balance.

Temperature stability is the “holy grail” to storing your wine on your boat

2. LIGHT
Ensure the area is dark. Ultraviolet light can affect the composition of wine, which is one of the reasons why wine is traditionally bottled in coloured glass.
Extra care should be given to Champagne and other sparkling wines; they are more sensitive to light.

Never store your wine in direct sunlight or in a well-lit cabin

3. VENTILATION
Air can easily seep into a wine bottle through the cork enclosure. Highly volatile chemical compounds, and other odors such as: gas, diesel fumes, solvents, cleaning solutions, or aromatic food products such as onions, garlic or strong cheeses can and will significantly affect the characteristics of the wine.

When storing your bottles make sure there are no chemical compounds, or strong odors in the area

4. HUMIDITY
Ensure there is humidity and proper air circulation. Humidity is necessary in order to prevent corks from drying out.

Mold or rot will develop in areas with longstanding moisture, or high humidity conditions. Low humidity can cause the cork to dry out and crack, allowing more air into the bottle.

The ideal humidity level for wine storage is between 50% – 70%

5. MOVEMENT
Wine bottles should never be shaken, bumped, or vibrated. This will greatly increase the rate of chemical breakdown. Avoid storing your bottles where there are frequent vibrations, such as close to dishwashers, air conditioners, and boat engines.

Purists insist that vibrations affect flavour and bouquet

6. STORAGE
Wine should always be stored on its side to keep the cork moist and wet. Storing wine on its side keeps the wine in constant contact with the cork ensuring no air gets into the bottle.

Air is one of the greatest enemies to a good wine

If you do not have the luxury of having a built-in wine cellar on your boat, my suggestion is that you find a location that captures all the above conditions. I have found that most of these can be met by storing your bottles in the bilge. Further to preserve the wine I also suggest to wrap the wines individually in newspaper. This is not attractive but it works!

Members of The World Executives Sailing Club further assisted me with my research. I received an overwhelming response to my question: “Do you have an unique way of storing wine on your boat?” The answers range from comical remarks to technical overviews – Here are some of my favorites:

“my belly 🙂 – Howard Colt”

“I was the skipper of a 106 ft staysail schooner, then called S/Y Mariepierre now Aschanti of Saba. The trick of storing wine on a boat, any boat, is even temperature as close to cellar temp as one can get. Mariepierre had a wonderful wine cellar in the mid-ship bilge area with normal wine racks, no particular trick to that. That wine was meant for the aft’guard, we up forward of the foremast, we had a 50 lit. red wine cask from an Alicante ship chandler. We stored that cask as close to the waterline we could under the fo’c’s’le ladder. We gained access to the wine by siphon it out. This wine was sensitive to everything including air so we made air as scares as possible. Well after a good month at sea only our engineer managed to drink the vinegar. Here in Sweden on more modestly sized sail boats we have a problem with a short season with very low temperatures on both ends, and midnight sun and quite warm during the six weeks surrounding July. When the water temp is quite right we store wine as dry as possible in the bilges, bottles and “wine in the box” with the carton box part removed prior castoff. On late or early season voyages cold weather and cold water we store the wine we consume for the next two – three days wrapped in a sleeping bag or similar. NB one need two good days of even temp for the wine to taste as good as it can. Best of Luck http://www.superyachttimes.com/images/4/2214/pic1.jpg- Göran Svalling”

“I like your priorities Liz!

We lived aboard for four years and travel overland often, here are a few ideas:

The PlatyPreserve, transfer the wine from the bottle to this container for durable, compact, short to medium term storage. http://www.cascadedesigns.com/Platypus/Wine-Preservation/PlatyPreserve/product

Padded pack for two bottles – http://www.bottlewise.com/

And then there is my favorite! A 10L French military issue jerrycan marked “VIN” on the side. These are the cans that the French military used to use to dole out the soldiers daily ration of wine. If you live near your favorite winery this would be perfect! http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21917 – Brian McVickers”

“Liz,
On a boat, it is likely to get hot in the salon and cabins. The coolest place is under the salon flooring (bilge) where it is cooler and near water temp. Place the bottles so they don’t block any water flow thru the bilge and separate them with material that does not break down when wet. If the yacht has other storage areas, be certain that bottles are seriously secured since normally the yacht may rock & roll in various weather conditions -Tim Monsul”

“Excellent question! Before opening, we stored red wine in the icebox of each of our different sailboats over the years. After opening, the wine bottle storage was never a problem because the wine was always finished, and the empty bottle secured appropriately. Many sailors on the great lakes would store their wine or beer in the bilge of the boat. especially during long distance races. Jeremy, where does one store red wine on the corporate aircraft that you sell? – Thomas Harvey”
“Well…. wine in my country is a national sport (Spain), and I would say that wine (good wine that is) does not like being shaken about nor does it like warm temperatures. I would not take GOOD wine to a sail. However, if desperate for wine while sailing, carton box wine (…personally, wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole…) could do the trick. In a transatlantic crossing in 1990, we took 200 bottles or cheap white and rose, newspaper wrapped and stored in carton boxes all over. We drank about two a day and the skipper sold the rest when we arrived (at quite a profit I must say….) – Victor Guasch”

“I had an interesting observation a number of years back regarding wine and passage making on sailing yachts. There might even be some money to be made here if we are clever… I was thinking all wines turned to vinegar because we had those expensive charter wines still on board during our post season passage from the Caribbean to the Med and once we would arrive it, the little that was left (ha!) was no good any more.
Not being able to resist the amazing price on those reds out of Provence at the end of the season I decided to stock up anyway for the return to the Caribbean. Lo and behold, by the time we got back the wine was aged perfectly. The moral: Don’t keep the good vintage wines around too long. But if you want to stock up, buy some of the fresh young ones and roll ’em around for about a month or so. Don’t let your friends see the bottle, just tell them it is something really special you brought back. They will be really impressed! 😉 – Ann E McHorney”

Lastly, make note of these six basic rules next time you stock your boat with wine, and enjoy what you drink because life is too short to drink bad wine!

Liz Palmer
Wine Writer

~ Champagne Outing In Style ~ With Five Sommeliers and One Apprentissage Sommelier

As a practising (and practical) Sommelier, it has long been a rule of mine to confine my examination of fine wines to dry land only, citing the importance of dexterity and balance; in other words avoiding, for instance, tasting delicate, delicious Champagnes on a 38-foot sailboat stationed several hundred metres off the coast of Lake Ontario. And yet, this is precisely what I undertook recently on the brilliant watercraft of avid boaters Liz Palmer, Wine Writer and Apprentissage Sommelier, with partner Robert Roland (jazz piano extraordinaire), both active affiliates of Port Credit Yacht Club, soon to play host to a multitude of fine wine tastings for its members. Also in attendance were fellow sommeliers Kate Hatherly, Richard Wah Kan, and Wanda Wang.

Of my hosts, let me just say that they are experts in combining the pleasures of wine and sailing with remarkable contentment — I believe the phrase “This Is the Life” was uttered on more than one occasion during my time aboard. Boarding Déjà Vu on a sunny thirty-degree afternoon, I was first treated with a refreshing serving of J’adore Tiffany Champagne Cocktail™ a creation of Liz’s own making, comprising one-thirds Champagne, mango juice, and pink lemonade. Delicious, refreshing, and strongly mango-flavoured, these were served in unusual conical-shaped glasses, which Liz had procured on her most recent expedition to Paris, from the Eiffel Tower.

The Champagnes:

Casting off and sailing out onto the water, we first partook of a lovely half-bottle of Chassenay d’Arce Brut NV ‘Sélection’ (89+/100, priced well under 20 Euros), comprising 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay, sourced from the Aube winegrowing region of Champagne: revealing lovely scents of delicate toasted biscuits, lemon, pears, dried nuts, and spice; complex and elegant, though definitely lighter-styled. Quite interestingly, the claim to fame for this smaller-scaled house is its participation with various famous artistic establishments (including the Louvre) in organizing wine-and-art events. Usually, when one hears about such activities, one tends to think of Veuve Clicquot or Moët & Chandon, not the smaller houses – a real coup if you ask me.

Our second Champagne was the exceptional Drappier Brut Vintage 2002 ‘Millésime Exception’ (93/100, approx. 90 Euros), comprising 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay: starbright, pale straw colour, offering incredible scents of fresh toast and biscuits, switching to pears, hazelnuts, lemon, green apples, brioche, and spice; extremely complex, stylish, moussy, and crisp; disgorged in March, 2010.

The Accompaniments:

With such marvellous Champagnes, Liz and Rob were wholly up to the task of providing a wide array of delightful food accompaniments for the afternoon. On her latest visit to Champagne, Liz had been able to procure a lovely packet of authentic ‘Roses de Reims Biscuits’ Champagne biscuits, used primarily as a palate-restorative by the locals whenever they partake of some bubbly. Combined with an exquisite helping of locally: (Champagne) crafted pork liver pâté, cheeses, crackers, and Californian berries (where else?), it was assuredly clear that all things edible only served to enhance what was truly a lovely Champagne-and-sailing outing … utterly worthy of mention in the inaugural column of ‘Wine Waves’ and GAM on Yachting.

Julian Hitner and Liz Palmer

Part I – Yacht Club de France: History; Location; Racing; Library & Membership

Philippe COURT, Président,
Yacht Club de France

The Grande foyer of this highly prestigious club is adorned with trophies, cups, sculptures, paintings and half-hull models (of its members).

HISTORY
Yacht Club De France (YCF) was founded in 1867 during the Second French Empire, and according to Maritime Literature is one of the oldest yacht clubs in the world.
Admiral Rigault de Genouilly served as the club’s first Président from 1868 to 1870. According to Philippe Court, twelve of the 20 past-Présidents have been Admirals. By tradition, a strong bond unites the Navy and the Yacht Club de France. This relationship extends to marine trade, fishing and salvage values which are fundamental to the Yacht Club de France and its members.
The club remains faithful to its mission: “helping the development of recreational boating in all its forms; cruise as race, defending and promoting values of solidarity, courtesy and moral elegance that motivate all seafarers”.

LOCATION
Yacht Club De France was formed and established to be close to the “Power” or the “Institutions”. Avenue Foch has the reputation of being the most expensive residential neighborhood in Paris and one of the most expensive addresses in the world, as well as home to many grand palaces, including international ambassadors, Onassis and the Rothschild families and others.
In addition to its landlocked Paris headquarters, Yacht Club De France has developed close–ties with yacht clubs located on all coastlines of the hexagon and overseas.

RACING
During 1907 Union des Yachts Francais, Société d’Encouragement pour la Navigation de Plaisance and YCF merged and were recognized by the International Sailing Federation.

Apart from the trophies and cup races, YCF organizes the annual prestigious Coupe de France (the elite of the yachting world), the annual Autumn Cup, and together with the Yacht Club Italiano, the Giraglia Cup regatta from Saint Tropez.

The Coupe de France Cup is a beautiful ornate silver trophy,
designed by the jeweler of the Place Vendome Cardeilhac


MEMBERSHIP

Yacht Club De France is one of the world’s most distinguished and influential yacht clubs. The membership currently has over 500 members, (20% female and 80% male members).

A prospective candidate must have two sponsors in order to obtain membership admission. Ownership of a sailboat, large or small, civil recognition, civic and military, are not part of the election criteria, only a matter of adherence to the values of the club and the desire to “serve” to defend, at sea and ashore. The merit of the application is submitted by the sponsors to be reviewed by the Commission of the Interior, who shall in turn submit to the Council.
Distinguished Members include under the high patronage of the President of the Republic

HONORARY CHAIRMEN
Minister in charge of the Navy
Minister of Merchant Marine

HONORARY MEMBERS
HM Queen ELIZABETH II of England
HM King Juan Carlos of Spain l
HM King Constantin of Greece Il
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
HSH Prince Albert II of MONACO
HIH the Princess NAPOLEON
HRH Prince Consort Henrik of DENMARK

LIBRARY
Since its inception, the Yacht Club de France has been and continues to build, collect and preserve prestigious maritime heritage that illustrates the memory, and new maritime adventures of its members. The Heritage Commission is working to highlight these treasures.

Through text, photographs, and illustrations you will find many big names in sailing such as Marin-Marie, Alain Gerbault, Olivier de Kersauson Virginie Heriot, Commander Charcot Montpassant Guy, Eric Tabarly, Damien, the America’s Cup Jules Verne.

Part II (coming February, 2011)

Dining, Menu and Wine list
Taittinger is a staple on the wine list
Secrets from Chef Benoît Fleury

UNLESS YOU WANT TO END UP WITH MADEIRA OR VINEGAR, HERE ARE 6 BASIC RULES FOR WINE STORAGE ON YOUR BOAT

This article came about by trial and error, research, and the experiences of local and international sailors who enjoy a glass or two of wine after a day at sea.
.
Firstly, it is important to note that wine is very much an organic product which may change with time, temperature, light and movement. Finding ideal storage conditions on your boat is challenging, and unless you have “ideal storing conditions”, it is not wise to purchase and store fine wines. Otherwise, you’ll probably end up with the most expensive vinegar around.

For these purposes I will be discussing short-term storage for “ready-to-drink” wines with cork closures.

~~~~~~

TEMPERATURE
The key here is to maintain a constant temperature, with no fluctuations. The generally agreed-upon temperature for short-term storage ranges from 45-64ºF (7-18ºC) as long as variations are gradual. Temperatures above 65 ºF (19 ºC) will cause wine to age prematurely and lose its flavour and balance. If wine stored at temperatures below 45ºF, the wine will lose its flavor and aromas.

• Temperature stability is the “holy grail” of wine storage.

LIGHT
Ensure the area is dark. Ultraviolet light can affect the composition of wine, which is one of the reasons wine is traditionally bottled in coloured glass. Extra care should be given to Champagne and other sparkling wines; they are more sensitive to light.

• Never store your wine in direct sunlight or in a well-lit cabin.

VENTILATION
Air will seep into your wine bottles through the cork. Highly volatile chemical compounds are particularly harmful. Some odors to look out for include gas or diesel fumes, various solvents (i.e. paint, cleaning solutions), or various aromatic food products such as onions, garlic and strong cheeses.

• Check to make sure there are no strong smells or odors coming from substances stored near wine.

HUMIDITY
Ensure there is humidity and air circulation. Humidity is necessary in order to prevent corks from drying out. Do not store bottles in area with longstanding moisture or high humidity conditions or mold will develop. The ideal humidity level for wine storage is between 50% – 70%. Low humidity can cause the cork to dry out and crack, allowing more air into the bottle. High humidity can create mildew or rot on the cork.

• Humidity is necessary in order to prevent corks from drying out.

MOVEMENT
Wine should never be shaken, bumped, or vibrated. This will greatly increase the rate of chemical breakdown. Therefore, avoid putting your wine in locations where there are frequent vibrations such as close to the engine, near dishwashers and air conditioners.

• Purists insist that vibrations affect flavour and bouquet.

STORAGE ANGLE
Wine should always be kept on its side – this will keep the wine in constant contact with the cork ensuring no air gets into the bottle.

• Air is one of the greatest enemies to a good wine, and it can turn it into vinegar.

If you do not have the luxury of having wine cellar on your boat, my suggestion is that you find a location that captures all the ideal conditions. I have found that most of these conditions can be met by storing wine in the bilge. Further to preserve the wine and keep the constant temperature, my suggestion is to wrap the wines individually in either polystyrene or newspaper.

To further assist me, I sent out the question: “Do you have an unique way of storing wine on your boat?” to The World Executives Sailing Club (Social Network Site). I received over 30 answers from fellow sailors ranging from quite comical to technical – Here are some of my favorites:

“my belly 🙂 – Howard Colt”

“I was the skipper of a 106 ft staysail schooner, then called S/Y Mariepierre now Aschanti of Saba. The trick of storing wine on a boat, any boat, is even temperature as close to cellar temp as one can get. Mariepierre had a wonderful wine cellar in the mid-ship bilge area with normal wine racks, no particular trick to that. That wine was meant for the aft’guard, we up forward of the foremast, we had a 50 lit. red wine cask from an Alicante ship chandler. We stored that cask as close to the waterline we could under the fo’c’s’le ladder. We gained access to the wine by siphon it out. This wine was sensitive to everything including air so we made air as scares as possible. Well after a good month at sea only our engineer managed to drink the vinegar. Here in Sweden on more modestly sized sail boats we have a problem with a short season with very low temperatures on both ends, and midnight sun and quite warm during the six weeks surrounding July. When the water temp is quite right we store wine as dry as possible in the bilges, bottles and “wine in the box” with the carton box part removed prior castoff. On late or early season voyages cold weather and cold water we store the wine we consume for the next two – three days wrapped in a sleeping bag or similar. NB one need two good days of even temp for the wine to taste as good as it can. Best of Luck – Göran Svalling”

“I like your priorities Liz!
We lived aboard for four years and travel overland often, here are a few ideas:

The PlatyPreserve, transfer the wine from the bottle to this container for durable, compact, short to medium term storage. http://www.cascadedesigns.com/Platypus/Wine-Preservation/PlatyPreserve/product.

Padded pack for two bottles – http://www.bottlewise.com.

And then there is my favorite! A 10L French military issue jerrycan marked “VIN” on the side. These are the cans that the French military used to use to dole out the soldiers daily ration of wine. If you live near your favorite winery this would be perfect! http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21917 – Brian McVickers”

“Liz,
On a boat, it is likely to get hot in the salon and cabins. The coolest place is under the salon flooring (bilge) where it is cooler and near water temp. Place the bottles so they don’t block any water flow thru the bilge and separate them with material that does not break down when wet. If the yacht has other storage areas, be certain that bottles are seriously secured since normally the yacht may rock & roll in various weather conditions -Tim Monsul”

“Excellent question! Before opening, we stored red wine in the icebox of each of our different sailboats over the years. After opening, the wine bottle storage was never a problem because the wine was always finished, and the empty bottle secured appropriately. Many sailors on the great lakes would store their wine or beer in the bilge of the boat. especially during long distance races. Jeremy, where does one store red wine on the corporate aircraft that you sell? – Thomas Harvey”

“Well…. wine in my country is a national sport (Spain), and I would say that wine (good wine that is) does not like being shaken about nor does it like warm temperatures. I would not take GOOD wine to a sail. However, if desperate for wine while sailing, carton box wine (…personally, wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole…) could do the trick. In a transatlantic crossing in 1990, we took 200 bottles or cheap white and rose, newspaper wrapped and stored in carton boxes all over. We drank about two a day and the skipper sold the rest when we arrived (at quite a profit I must say….) – Victor Guasch”

“I had an interesting observation a number of years back regarding wine and passage making on sailing yachts. There might even be some money to be made here if we are clever… I was thinking all wines turned to vinegar because we had those expensive charter wines still on board during our post season passage from the Caribbean to the Med and once we would arrive it, the little that was left (ha!) was no good any more.
Not being able to resist the amazing price on those reds out of Provence at the end of the season I decided to stock up anyway for the return to the Caribbean. Lo and behold, by the time we got back the wine was aged perfectly. The moral: Don’t keep the good vintage wines around too long. But if you want to stock up, buy some of the fresh young ones and roll ’em around for about a month or so. Don’t let your friends see the bottle, just tell them it is something really special you brought back. They will be really impressed! 😉 – Ann E McHorney”

Lastly, make note of these six points (Temperature, Light, Ventilation, Humidity, Movement, and Storage Angle) when storing wine on your boat, enjoy the summer and what you drink because life is too short to drink bad wine!

Liz Palmer
Wine and Travel Writer
Summer 2010