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Wine Park

Wine Buyers Beware!

Where to buy well stored wine is a uniquely Indian and very important question that needs urgent answering.
Can I confidently buy wine at all wine shops?
Now there’s a question that calls for a pause longer than one would ordinarily think given the ubiquity of liquor outlets in our mostly wet democracy. Wine unlike spirits requires special attention to storage. You can however only take responsibility for storing the wine once you’re purchased it. So where you choose to buy the wine is a decision not be taken lightly in this country. Most of us rely on general ‘wine shops’. Here’s why that decision might end up with the penalty of suffering bad wine. Wine’s potential to improve with age is a doubled edged sword and nowhere is the negative impact more likely to fall than in this, the biggest chink of the wine supply chain. Wine unlike spirits is low in alcholol (11 to 15 per cent). Alcohol is that most reliable of preservatives never mind, 95 per cent reason most spirits sell.

Wine on the other hand is slim on alcohol and more so, wine is alive – it’s content maturing with the passage of time. A constant storage temperature is a non-negotiable. Wild swings in these temperatures gradually alter the character of the wine which, especially in the case of fine wines, is like a pin prick to the heart with fatal results. Wine is also vulnerable to sunlight, and low humidity and therefore does not belong in ‘wine shops’ that pride up in flaunting them like eye catching mannequins. As the hot UV rays beat upon the transparent or tinted bottles, the ferment inside tragically begins to lose all that makes its endearing enough to pay for – fruit and acidity. Harsh tannin and alcohol await an unfortunate victim. Furthermore, these establishments stock their wines all stood up, not pausing to wonder about the wisdom of laying down the wine.

Most wine is still closed with cork (wood) which is can partially crumble in dry hot conditions, letting oxygen in and effectively killing off the wine. Laid down however, the bottle’s content, in constant contact with the cork, keep it moist and tightly secured. Wines closes with screw cap however aren’t vulnerable on this count but may still deteriorate in a retail environment with virtually no temperature control. In recent years, a few wine boutique shops have sprung up as have dedicated wine sections in urbane super markets across most major Indian cities. These outlets do have reasonably reliable storage Some of them even rack wine bottles according to country or varietal while some have raised the bar all the way to displaying wine libraries with daily tastings by a resident sommelier. All frills aside, this sophisticated wine retail offers the limited best hope of buying drinkable wine. Of course, we could have given you a much shorter and most accurate answer right at the onset – simply buy from thewinepark.com. We deploy the wine storage warehouse of the highest industry standard and deliver the wine to you in best possible condition every time. We take wine storage very seriously and now you know why.

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