skwid
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5452
 | | 12/20/2004 6:30 PM |
| | The reason you received no reply from me is that it is pretty much flat out impossible to do anything but lay the bottles on their sides. Many of the bottles are too big to fit in racks and the boxes they come in have the Champagne laid down facing each other either six or 12 to a box. So I have no choice but to lay them down as that is how the shipping boxed are setup. Turning the box on end will set half the bottles upright and the other half downward. | | | |
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David Sullivan
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2276
| | 12/20/2004 6:31 PM |
| Quote:
Can I throw this question out there: We all know that just about all Champagne bottles are odd shaped. Being that storage in an issue here, can I store these standing up??? Is that OK OR I would be making a BIG mistake (storing standing up)???
See Bressler's Post above. | | | |
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winebrat
Sacramento, Ca.
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2326
| | 04/24/2005 3:26 AM |
| I know this is an old thread, but I am currently reading "Sales and Service for the Wine Professional" (Don't ask) and ran across this in the book.
"It is Recommended that Champagne stored for eighteen months or more should be stood upright rather than on its side according to research carried out in 1996 by the Comite Interprofessional du Vin de Champagne (CIVC), but this is subject to debate and is not recommended by this author"
Interesting as Brian K. Julyan (The Author) does not explain his reasoning as to why he disagrees. | |
"Everyday is worthy of a glass of sparkling wine" - Andrea Immer MS | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4767
| | 04/24/2005 4:42 AM |
| Quote:
Interesting as Brian K. Julyan (The Author) does not explain his reasoning as to why he disagrees
perhaps he has no room in his cellar for upright storage? | | | |
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ChangeMe
Grape Puncher
Posts:986
| | 04/24/2005 2:23 PM |
| The details of the research were never made available. It was just basically a one-liner saying to store the wines upright.
It's pretty stupid since stocks of finisihed Champagne under cork (e.g. Krug Collection or Dom Perignon Oenotheque) are stored under cork laying down. There does not seem to be any problem with those bottlings. | | | |
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David Sullivan
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2276
| | 04/25/2005 11:05 PM |
| | Common sense question – Why is it every time you take a tour of a champagne house all the bottles of champagne dating back to the beginning of time, all the bottles are lying on their sides??? | | | |
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Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10373
| | 04/26/2005 1:12 AM |
| Grapefulldead - I think you've answered your own question. | | | |
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skwid
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5452
| | 04/26/2005 5:18 AM |
| Quote:
Common sense question – Why is it every time you take a tour of a champagne house all the bottles of champagne dating back to the beginning of time all the bottles are lying on their sides???
Space reasons. HCP (Hexagonal Close Packed) is the most efficent way to store bottles. Given that the Champagne houses also pack in the bottles between each other (noses towards each other wedged in). There are litterally millions of bottles in the Champagne cellars. So standing the bottles upright and getting enough storage would be impossible. Second most of the bottles in a Champagne houses cellars are not closed with a cork closure. Until the Champagne is disgorged the Champagne bottles are closed with a crown cap (think glass soda bottle). So therefore the question of cork does not even come into play. | | | |
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Edward Bowers
Palm Beach Gardens
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2072
| | 04/27/2005 3:22 PM |
| | Always thoght that corks were to be moist | | | |
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Bob Bressler
Napa Valley
Wine Lover
Posts:4767
| | 04/27/2005 5:41 PM |
| Edward,
Check out some of the links above. Moisture content in the air bubble varies (increases) with pressure | | | |
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ChangeMe
Barrel Filler
Posts:1371
| | 04/28/2005 9:16 PM |
| | Thread-drift, funny WineBrat, I think MLV just picked up that same book to read. | | | |
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love_cab_chard
Master of Wine
Posts:12248
| | 12/15/2005 1:58 AM |
| Continuing on the theme of learning about Champagne (from the Wine Conversations section), I have a question:
It seems to me that to run into a bad bottle of Champagne/Sparking Wine is rare. In my experience, it does not happen as often as other wines (i.e. reds & whites). I have actually never hit upon a bad bottle of Champagne.
I have read & noticed from others who posted about a bad bottle of Champagne. But still, I don't see it happening as often as the other wine(s).
Yes? No? True not really? A scientific fact or just a theory or luck? | | | |
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skwid
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5452
| | 12/15/2005 7:28 AM |
| | I don't know about that. I've run into a few bad bottles of Champagne. I've had corked bottles (but it "corked" seems to be less than still wines). Bad bottles still happen (i've had several subpar bottles of 1985 Salon including one I brought to a tasting which wasn't even finished (which is rare, most Champagne I bring is toast very quickly). If you purchase recent vintage stuff you are probably less likely to get a bad bottle. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Barrel Filler
Posts:1475
| | 12/15/2005 1:25 PM |
| With only anecdotal value,
I have found the frequency of bad bottles of sparkling wines to be much lower than that of still wines. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Grape Stomper
Posts:152
| | 12/29/2005 3:23 PM |
| I think one reason for the lesser occurence of faulty sparklers is the smaller consumption of sparkling wine compared to still wine.
Carbon dioxide intensifies the smell of cork taint. | | | |
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