Did You Know?... About "Cooked" Wine

You might think the idea of a wine cellar is just an affectation of the rich, showing off how much wine they have by setting aside a room for it. That may be the case, but there is also an important reason for it. All wine, including red wine, should be stored in a climate controlled environment to avoid "cooking" the wine. The ideal temperature for storing wine is around 55 degrees. If a wine is exposed to greater heat, the wine will taste more like cooked than fresh fruits. Most of the time it is a flaw, but in a few rare cases its the goal of the winemaker to create those flavors, like in Madeira.