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Why Does Wine Taste Better on a Plane?

  While “better” is quite subjective; it’s probably more accurate to say, “different.” Studies have shown that one’s sense of taste and smell are indeed affected by elevation, and more so, inside the airtight, environmentally controlled fuselage of a plane. Let’s look at how flying affects our senses, and how that might make a wine taste better to some people. How Flying Affects Your Senses According to the BBC , our sense of taste decreases by about 30% when we’re at higher altitudes. At 30,000 feet, the humidity inside a plane is around 12% — drier than a desert. And since our olfactory system requires a substantial amount of moisture to work effectively, we lose a fair amount of our sense of smell when the air is too dry. Our taste buds can detect only sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami sensations. It’s actually our nose that parses the different flavor nuances in a wine (e.g., cherries, tobacco, and vanilla). In fact, 80% of what we “think” we taste, we technically smell. The lo
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How Humidity Affects Wine

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  Wine Storage Humidity Humidity is a critical, yet often overlooked feature in wine cellar design. A relative humidity (RH) of 50% to 70% is recognized as an adequate wine cellar humidity level, with 60% the ideal. Without ideal humidity, wine quality may be affected in a number of ways. When the humidity is higher than 70%, it will likely cause mold and degradation of the labels and glue. When the humidity is below 50%, corks will begin to dry out resulting in loss of liquid in the bottles and possible degradation of the wine. Problems resulting from humidity issues can be solved or avoided with the right planning. The first step should be the installation of a vapor barrier around the entire room. A minimum of 4 mil. plastic is recommended, with seams overlapped and taped. The vapor barrier is installed on the outside (or warm side) of the cellar insulation. This is to prevent condensation forming on the vapor barrier, potentially causing mold. A cooling unit alone cannot add moistu
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To Humidify or Not?

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At the cornerstone of wine preservation is a robust and reliable climate control system. Temperature is an undisputed essential, while humidity is considered by some to be discretionary when it comes to protecting our prized vintages. Even serious wine collectors attempt to utilize comfort cooling units to maintain their investments because they operate under the assumption that simply maintaining a consistent 55℉ to 57℉ (12℃ to 14℃) is sufficient. At Wine Guardian, we believe that temperature and humidity go hand-in-hand and have designed our systems accordingly. In order to understand why humidity is so crucial in the long-term storage and aging of wine, we must begin with the science behind it. The aging of wine is a biological process that depends upon the presence of oxygen. An intact cork will allow a small amount of oxygen into the wine, while releasing naturally occuring gases. There are misconceptions that tight corks and wrappers are impervious and prevent this exchange, whic
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Location: North Syracuse, NY, USA
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3 Tips for Constructing a Small Wine Cellar

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Modern design and clever construction have made it possible to transform residential and commercial spaces into tasteful wine rooms, wine walls, and wine caves. Limited square footage dedicated to smaller collections are no exception. In fact, with knowledge, experienced support and the right cooling technology, a small wine storage vision can become a reality in your home or place of business. Calculate Wine Storage Potential A terrific first step when contemplating the right cooling system to store and age wine is using Wine Guardian’s  wine cellar cooling calculator , which offers recommendations for small wine cellar solutions depending upon your requirements. The calculator’s “advanced mode” is appropriate when more in-depth design and construction parameters have been set. It is important not to select a wine cellar cooling unit that has too much capacity for a small wine cellar. A unit that is too powerful may cool the area too quickly to dehumidify the air properly. The air wil
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