How to store and serve your wine for maximum enjoyment

How should I store my wines once I receive them?

Once your shipment arrives, check for accuracy and make sure there is no bulge in the cork upward and out of the foil.  (There should not be - we check them before shipping and our shippers are extremely careful.  But things happen.  Call immediately if anything appears odd.)  You can keep them in the shippers - just make sure they are on their side.  If you have a basement cellar, store them there - just keep them off of the floor, but only as high as necessary to avoid contact with dampness.  Or put them in a temperature controlled wine cooler, at about 55 degrees F.  Lay them on their side, and avoid allowing anything to contact the labels if possible.  Or put them anyplace away from heat and light and vibration - any cool, relatively dry place is fine.

When are the wines ready to drink?

Each of our wines will age a bit differently. We generally recommend cellaring all of our Pinot Noirs for 6 months after release. The wines will continue to improve with age over the next 1-5 years and should be in a fantastic drinking window 8-12 months after their release.  If you do wish to open the wines sooner than that, we recommend decanting the wine for one to two hours prior to drinking.

Please allow the wines some time to recover from the shock of shipment by giving them a few weeks of rest before drinking.

How should I serve the wine?

We recommend cellar temperature (58-62 degrees F) for all Pinot Noirs.  If you have a wine cooler, its easy - just set it for 55 degrees F.  If you don't have a cooler or cellar, we recommend putting them in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to get them down to about 55.  Once they are up to temp, uncork them.  We always recommend decanting and letting them breathe for about 20 minutes.  You can also decant them and put the decanter in the fridge for 20 minutes to both let them breathe and get some air.  Pinots, ours included, tend to be a bit "tight" right out of the bottle, so treat them right and you will be rewarded!

What should I serve with my wines?

Taste is subjective, but generally - any preparation of duck, pork, rich fish like salmon or swordfish or mackeral (including Sushi!!), aged Gouda, Eppoisse, or Chedder.  And chocolate!! And fruit!  Cherries, pears, peaches.  And nuts!!