Have you noticed how curtains hung in a sunlit room tend to fade after a few
years? Light will do the same to wine. A glorious red grape will fade
toward rose. A beautiful berry wine will fade almost to clear. As it
fades, it's flavor is effected as well, not just the color. Over a long
period of time light can do a lot to anything left in it.

Green bottles may or may not help protect the wine. I always bottle dark
wines in dark bottles. But one thing is for sure. Keeping them in a dark
room will DEFINITELY help.

Ray

"Sabia Vanderzeeuw" > wrote in message
...
> Hi Greg,
> Please explain why the wine should be kept in the dark. I have see this
item
> in many home brewers (wine) books. There is no explanation of why. In beer
> there is the chemical change in the hop compounds due to UV light. Why do
> we, as wine makers always state that light is bad for wine. Is there a
> scientific back ground? If there is please post it.
> Thanks,
> Eddie V.
> The Wine And Beer Factory.
>
> "Greg Cook" > wrote in message
> s.com...
> > On 5/11/04 3:35 PM, in article ,
> "Dar
> > V" > wrote:
> >
> > > Just an observation, I store all my wine in our basement. And as I
> build up
> > > my stock (so to speak), I have had a small concern that maybe my
> basement
> > > isn't the best place, but better than anywhere else in my house. The
> > > difference in the temperatures down there is about 10 degrees from
> winter to
> > > summer - it is dark, and generally very little vibration. I've
always
> had
> > > wine stored in my basement since we moved here 14 years ago, although
I
> > > didn't start my wine-making until 3 years ago. Not all of us can
spend
> the
> > > big $ to protect our wine, but we do the best we can. Needless to
say,
> I
> > > was pleased when I opened up a 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon over the past
> > > weekend - the wine was very, very good. How's everyone else's wine
> storage
> > > working out?
> > >
> > > Darlene
> > > G'town, Wisconsin
> > > USA
> > >
> > >
> >
> > The two most important things to do is keep it in the dark and keep the
> > temperature (whatever it is) as constant as possible. It sounds like
your
> > basement is ideal. Slow temp changes of 10 degrees from summer to winter
> is
> > GREAT.
> >
> > I've stored my wines in my basement with a bit more fluctuation of
> > temperature. I'm really lucky to have a brand new basementroom that was
> just
> > poured for my new home addition. I will insulate the walls and make this
> my
> > wine cellar-tasting room. Oh, I can't wait. You can find pictures on my
> > website of my winecellar.
> >
> >
> > --
> > Greg Cook
> > http://homepage.mac.com/gregcook/Wine
> > http://homepage.mac.com/gregcook/aws
> >
> > (remove spamblocker from my email)
> >
>
>