The right temperature

Like all wines, Alsace wines are best kept in a cellar at a temperature of between 10° and 14°C. The most important thing is for the temperature to remain constant, as it's not so much the heat that that causes wine to age prematurely, but variations in temperature that make the cork expand and contract and hence risk oxidation of the wine.

The right humidity

The floor of a good cellar is ideally made with hard-packed earth, or of concrete with a layer of sand or gravel, which should be watered from time to time to keep the moisture level up at about 75% to 85% humidity. This will prevent the cork drying and shrinking back into the bottle. The cork likes to be contact with the wine, so the bottles should be laid flat.

Light

Too much light can speed up the ageing process and give the wine a wet cardboard taste and the cellar should therefore be kept reasonably dark.

The atmosphere

The cellar should be kept free of any odours, especially fuel oil, and vegetables such as onions, garlic and bananas, the smell of which can be absorbed by the wine, to often disastrous effect. The only thing you should be able to smell in the cellar is the inimitable blend of maturing bottles and a hard-packed earth soil.