Constant temperature
Heat hastens a wine's development and can leave it tired. But the greater damage comes from fluctuation: as the temperature rises and falls, the wine expands and contracts in the bottle, pressing against the cork.
ADMOR HAYAYIN · THE CELLAR
The cellar
The wine room of Shimon Badush, Admor HaYayin. Every bottle in the catalogue rests here, in constant conditions, until its time comes to be opened.
Cellar log
TEMPERATURE—°
HUMIDITY—%
LIGHTDark
MEASURED—
№ 01 · WHY IT MATTERS
Why it matters
Wine keeps changing even in the bottle. How fast it changes, and in which direction, depends on the conditions in which it rests – which is why the same wine, from two different cellars, can arrive in the glass as something else entirely.
Humidity
Dry air dries out the cork, and a dry cork lets in oxygen. Balanced humidity keeps it supple and sealed, for many years.
Darkness
Light – sunlight and fluorescent light above all – damages the compounds in wine and alters its aroma. In the cellar the lights stay off, unless there is a reason to switch them on.
Quiet, lying down
The bottles lie on their sides, so that the wine stays in contact with the cork and keeps it moist, and they are kept as far as possible from vibration and disturbance.
Every wine in the catalogue carries a record of its keeping: when and where it was acquired, how long it has been in the cellar and under what conditions. The figures in the "Cellar Log" are updated from readings taken in the wine room.