Storage of Port (VP, Colheita, LBV,...)

[Andreas Platt]

Hi there!

Some of you might have read my Colheita-topic and may have seen the bottles Erik posted for me.

So i was curious and asked my dealer if the bottles were strored standing for only the last whatsoever (days, months years) and here is what he replied by email:

"Portweine müssen immer stehend gelagert werden, auch bei Ihnen zuhause dann, da diese mehr Alkohol haben und somit den Korken angreifen, womit der Port untrinkbar wird."

My translation:

"Port always has to be stored standing; furthermore at your home, because they have more alcohol and would therefore affect the cork, making the Port undrinkable."

Well, i have only been collecting/buying Port for a few years, but that is new to me. If i am adviced correctly Madeira should be stored upright because of the high acidity - but Port??

What do you think about that?

Thanks

[Nikolaj Winther]

I think it depends on a lot of things. There's the old version of keeping the cork wet. I personally doubt that, as humidity inside the bottle would be rather high, but what do I know.

Then there's bottles that are sealed with a lacquer-seal covering the entire top of the bottle rendering it air-tight.

Finally there's the one about the cork disintegrating when in contact with port (for varying reasons). There could be some sense in keeping the port standing and just shaking it slightly once every month or so, to keep the corck wet, but not soaked in the wine.

However, I store all my wine lying down. But primarily for practical reasons.

[Erik Wiechers]

hmmmm, interesting point of view.
The oldest port wine i did drink till now was 1967. Upon pulling the cork it was pulverized. Maybe because the cork was soaked ? I dont know.

When i visit winestores, they always have the Port standing straight up. In the basements, the normal wines are lying down.
My port wines are lying down in my cabinet but also in my crawlspace under the floor. But that has also practical reasons because i can store more bottles then.

I cant tell you right now if standing straight or lying down is THE way of keeping port, maybe more experienced guys know it better.

[Robert O.]

Yes, I am very interested to hear what the experts here have to say as this is new to me, too

[Tom Archer]

There is only one way to store port, of all types, and that is lying down.

Stored vertically, the cork will shrink, rot and allow the ingress of air.

That is one wine dealer you should never buy from again!

Tom

[Roy Hersh]

"Port always has to be stored standing; furthermore at your home, because they have more alcohol and would therefore affect the cork, making the Port undrinkable."

I think Vintage Ports stored this way is plain wrong and agree with Tom. Madeira is stored standing up by many a Madeira lover and the fact that most Madeira houses use a fairly inexpensive cork even in their top bottlings, tells me they see nothing wrong with that practice either.

With Colheita it depends. Some folks believe that this category of Port does not benefit whatsoever from bottle aging and suggest looking for the freshest bottle possible, while others (including Dirk Niepoort, one of the leaders in the category) espouse the opinion that Colheitas actually do get better with bottle age. However, standing up for long term storage is certainly not a good bet, while if it was just on the shelf that way ... ask questions.

You can always buy one bottle and try it and see for yourself how the quality seems to you if the prices are compelling enough. Like you, I thought that probably the bottles had been standing up for the short term. It is good you asked the question! Now that you know that this particular retailer BELIEVES in standing up his bottles, I'd take Tom's advice or purchase just one bottle and evaluate its performance.

[Johannes Stadler]

You could ask that guy what he thinks that these nice white paint marks, that you find on many Port bottles are good for then

I aslo strongly believe that Port should be lying down, therefor when I see some Port standing in a shelve I also sometimes ask how long it has been there before I buy, just to know it hasn't been standing upright (+ mostly in too warm and dry conditions) for too long.

Also when thinking of the cases, there would be no chance of keeping all bottles upright in a case.

[Andy Velebil]

I agree with Tom, Roy, and Johannes. For all long term storage Port should be stored lying down.

[Moses Botbol]

That is one wine dealer you should never buy from again!

Tom

Does he do the same with wine?

[Andreas Platt]

Moses,

no way. The rest of his wines is perfectly stored in an underearth climatisized cellar.

I think he believes in what he doing with the Ports.

Still undecided. Does anyone have a book about Ports where this issue (how to store them) is covered - would be interesting.

Thanks

[Andy Velebil]

Just to let you know. EVERY wine cellar I have been into in Portugal and the USA stores their wine on their sides, laying down (Madeira is the only exception).

So I would stick with what the rest of the world agrees on...lay them down!

[Erik Wiechers]

Still undecided. Does anyone have a book about Ports where this issue (how to store them) is covered - would be interesting.

I looked it up for you in the book "Port" by Henrik Oldenburg(ISBN 87-90179-16-1)

On page 341, and i quote:

- No port improves from standing in a vertical position compared to lying down
- Vintage Ports and unfiltered LBV's should always be laid down
- Just as some wines, Port should be kept in a cool and dark place
- the temperature should always be kept as constant as possible

I recommend this book Andreas. On eBay or Amazon you should find it with ease.

Cheers

[Andreas Platt]

Erik, shall we do it (buying a bottle or two)?

Let me know if you want to proceed, if so i'll let you know everything.

BTW: If there is written what you say it is interesting since the laying down is explicitly regarding LBV and VP, not Colheitas...

For those of you been to Portugal an visited the Port Houses: how do they do their storage (especially interesting for their re-releases).

[JacobH]

- Just as some wines, Port should be kept in a cool and dark place

Out of curiosity, isn’t this the case for all wines? I though that although some oxidized wines (such as Madeira) can survive less than optimal storage conditions, all wine should be stored in the cool and dark.

-Jacob

[Andy Velebil]

For those of you been to Portugal an visited the Port Houses: how do they do their storage (especially interesting for their re-releases).

Andreas,

See my above post. ALL PORT that I've seen aging in cellars in Portugal was lying down.

Here is a cellar pic from a major producer in Portugal.

[Erik Wiechers]

JacobH wrote:

Out of curiosity, isn’t this the case for all wines?

I dont think so, only the BIG wines which are meant to be laid down for improvement. The majority, 99 %, of the wines are meant to be drunk within 2 years and will not improve when stored.
But it wont hurt them either is my guess.

Andreas, i send you a PM

Andy, i absolutely LOVE that pic. If you have more please send some to my mail address

[Roy Hersh]

I've read Oldenburg twice and have referred to it on occasion and find Henrik a reliable source of Port information and hope to meet him someday.

Let's make sure some facts are straight:

ALL Port, Colheitas included, are best stored on their sides regardless of their cork/closure type. This is an absolute. Can some Tawny Port with an indication of age (10/20/30/40 years old) nd Colheita possibly sit in the cellar for a year or two with little effect ... yes. But aging changes things and in that case, my first sentence stands.

The best storage conditions include indirect lighting, temperature and humidity controls and one often forgotten is free from vibrations.

With Madeira, it does not matter whatsoever nor does Madeira benefit from horizontal storage and vertical storage has no negative effect on this type of wine at all. Every expert I have read or spoken to agrees on this.

Cool and dark IS key for storing all wine except Madeira. It is as bullet proof as Superman and temperature makes no difference as Madeira has been all but pasteurized in its production process and some would argue that Madeira production is darn close to pasteurization anyway. Regardless, it is really tough to kill Madeira. Port is nowhere near in the same league, even though it is MUCH hardier than your typical table wine in terms of its resiliency and ability to better handle more difficult storage conditions (especially for the short term).

However, unlike Madeira you can "cook" Port by storing it at temperatures high out of "the zone" which in terms of Farenheit is typically 52-58 degrees with 55 optimal. At 70 degrees F. which most consider room temperature (+/- 2 degrees) the shelf life/ageability of Port is dramatically reduced the longer it is exposed to those conditions. If you want to pre-maturely age your 1994 Vintage Ports so they will drink (beautifully in 5-10 years), like they would in 2025 for example, all you need to do is remove them from temperature controled storage and keep them horizontally at room temperature.

[Glenn E.]

One more note to add to what Roy said - I have been told that variations in temperature also prematurely age wines. I was told that a wine is better stored at a constant 70 degrees F (which would normally be considered too warm) than in a location where the temperature varies between 55 F and 75 F.

I also have a picture from a port lodge in Gaia... I hope this isn't too large and that the embedding works.

[Harry Trac]

Dont forget they paint the top of the port bottle white so you know which side to lay down your bottle. This is key for the building of the crust and also for effective decanting. Therefore, I think Port was meant to be lay down