Fine wine and yachting have always gone well together, whether that involves a crisp, clear bottle of your favourite Australian Chardonnay on a hot day under a pristine blue sky, or a deep and complex Shiraz below deck while entertaining friends and whiling the night away. However, if you want to ensure that your bottles of wine are as perfect as they deserve to be, you need to take some steps in order to avoid spoilage.

Wine storage is a complicated art – fine wines are often liable to be affected by the smallest changes, which is why the best wine cellars in the world are carefully controlled atmospheres, with collectors going to great lengths to make sure their prized collections are well looked after. The angle of the bottles, exposure to light and movement are all factors which could negatively affect your wine, meaning that knowing the best place and method for storing your wine on your yacht is crucial. After all, you want those precious moments when you bring the glass to your lips to yield only pleasure, not disappointment. Here are some things to keep in mind.

Firstly, remember that wine matures more quickly on a yacht than it does on terra firma. The sway of the waves, and the vibration of the engine will affect your wine on a molecular level, breaking down the tannins which give your wine structure and body. As such, it is said that younger wines are more appropriate for yacht journeys than aged wines, which could end up tasting far older than their years.

The other key piece of advice is to do with exactly where on your yacht your wine should be stored. Ideally, this should be in the part of the boat where movement is at a minimum – in the heart of the ship, near the central pivot point where the bottles won’t be affected by the rocking of the sea. Don’t worry too much about standing your wines up to save space, most wines will be fine in an upright position for up to a month, so long as the corks are fitted tightly.

Image Credit-Boat International