Maybe you have a painstakingly preserved bottle of Two-Buck Chuck 1991 or Cisco 1974 that you are keeping for an important anniversary? Inquiries concerning the storage of wine intrigue me seeing as roughly 90% of it is drunk within a couple of days of acquisition!

The length of time a wine should be cellared is really a tough question to reply to. One can find a great number of factors such as the variety of grape, type of wine, quality of vintage, skill of winemaker, track record of the company for creating wines that last well, and of course the cellaring environment where you store your wine.

Favorable conditions do much to help a wine to achieve long life. Optimal conditions are cool, away from light and moisture, with good ventilation and free from movement and strong smells. And if you are unfortunate enough not to own a manor with an underground chamber, rest easy because it is easy for us mere mortals to create such conditions.

The single most important factor is maintaining a stable temperature. Storing wine where the temperature varies gradually with the seasons is okay. But storing wine in a room that is heated during the day and cools off to winter temperatures at night is not okay. Big temperature fluctuations will accelerate the demise of your wine.

The ideal cellar temperature is 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit (12 to 15 degrees Celsius) with a relative humidity of 65 to 75 percent. Wine will mature more quickly in cellar temperatures over 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius) reducing the length of time it can be cellared, so I recommend monitoring summer temperatures with a thermometer.

Store bottles on their side, ideally with the neck sloping slightly upwards so that the cork remains wet, the bubble of air is in the shoulder and any sediment will collect at the bottom of the bottle. Even though screw caps are much more prevalent now, it's a good idea to keep to this routine as it makes the wine easier to pour. Make sure the label is facing up so you don't disturb the bottle to identify it.

Refrigeration and air conditioning are great for lowering the temperature. The downside is that they also decrease humidity, which brings about shrinkage of the cork with negative outcomes. Provided you can afford it, a superior option is a cellaring cabinet - in effect a revised fridge that includes humidity control - which a number of firms now provide in different sizes.

Wine storage can be a challenging problem for apartment dwellers and condo owners, so these small refrigerator-like storage cabinets are perfect, easily fitting into a dining room or modern kitchen. It's much better than storing wine under the sink, which due to hot and cold running water overhead and often a dishwasher alongside is far from ideal storage conditions. Storing wine near heat grates or radiators is equally bad.

If you own a house, the basement is a great place to store your wine. A brick or concrete cabinet or miniature room will moderate the temperature, and if you can insulate it, even better.

Monster reds used to be steeped in oak and not great drinking when young. The tannins mellowed and the fruit came into balance as they aged and after a number of years they were delicious drinking. These days, however, most wines do not improve with age. They just slowly develop into something different. Sometimes it's a better different; sometimes not.

Inexpensive, light-bodied reds and most white wines that you quaff during the week are best drunk when young, preferably straight away or at least within a year or two of purchase. That's when the primary fruit characters are most favorable. Some can last longer but they won't necessarily get better. It's best to save your precious cellar space for the really good stuff.

Wines that improve over years of cellaring are generally full-bodied, quality reds. Quality is paramount - most wines of good quality improve with age. The chemical reactions that occur during ageing allow new aromas and flavors to develop, giving the wine softer complexity and more interest. As it becomes fully mature, a good red will develop less tannic astringency and more notes of cedar, tobacco and coffee - a truly mellow delight.

I recommend buying 6-12 bottles of a premium red wine if you intend to cellar it. After a couple of years, drink a bottle every six months to assess its development. When you think it couldn't possibly taste any better, drink the rest up over the next few months!

If in doubt, drink it sooner rather than later - there are far too many "nursing home cellars" full of wine that has been kept too long and is past it. It is way better to drink a wine too young than too old!

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Author DARRYL SOLJAN learnt about winemaking from his father, grandfather and great grandfather. Darryl's business, Ascension Wine Estate, is premier Auckland conference centre.

Wine can be a mysterious substance. That's one of the things I love about
making the stuff. People who don't grow grapes and make wine for a living
find it even more mysterious. That's why they tend to ask me so many
questions. A common one is, "How long will wine last for after opening?"

Whoa! Are you seriously telling me this is a genuine problem you have?

This is not a question that taxes my mind, I have to say. At our place the
empty vessel goes out in the trash the very same night!

But if you are more disciplined than us in your wine consumption, you need
to know that wine starts changing upon contact with oxygen. If you are not
intending to finish the bottle in one sitting, you should replace the cap or
cork. Another tip is to store the bottle in the fridge. This slows the
oxidization process, but it is not ideal for red wine unless you warm it up
again.

A bottle of wine sometimes tastes better the following day. This is
especially true for red wines that are younger and heavier in body. But
other wine can lose its fruit structure and taste rather flat. This is
especially true for all wine aged in a cellar, and almost all white wines.

If you are looking for a cast iron rule, I can't give you one but as a rough
rule of thumb, I suggest you drink it in a matter of days. You might even
get a week out of it before it goes off but it really depends on the wine,
with some retaining their structure much better than others.

If you sample a little bit each day, you should taste the difference. When
you do, finish it off that day before it's too late! It's a bit like slicing
a pear - the longer a slice is left sitting on the bench, the more it will
oxidize and go brown.

What about those vacuum pump thingies, I hear you ask. Well, I've studied
the research and what I've read suggests that they make the problem worse.
Apparently the vacuum process removes a large portion of the aromatics in
the wine. Heaven forbid!

Here at Ascension Wine Estate, a strategic retreat in
a beautiful vineyard setting, we envelope our opened bottles at the
conclusion of each day in a heavy fog of argon, an inert gas. I admit that
this is not really a practical option for you at home though.

There is of course a blindingly obvious answer to this whole question.
Forget the self-restraint. Drink the whole bottle and keep winemakers fully
employed!

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DARRYL SOLJAN, chief bottle washer and winemaker, owns Ascension Wine
Estate, New Zealand corporate function rooms not far from central Auckland. Ascension is a
popular function venue for Auckland businesses wanting a vineyard location
with a difference.