LESSON three and the halfway mark of the Wine School's wine appreciation course focused on choosing wines for a home wine cellar, either for consumption, keeping or investment.
Most people keep their wines in the kitchen, usually on top of the fridge but these are not ideal conditions, according to Chris Baker.
The temperature must be a constant 12-14 degrees Celsius with adequate ventilation.
Light oxidises wine, so a dark place is essential to keep stock in good condition. Bottles of wine should be stored on their side, while spirits should be kept upright.
Each wine-making country was looked at, to determine which made wines that would keep well.
Recommended were the ''tough'' wines of South America, Australia, the south of France and some parts of America.
For investment and keeping, Mr Baker says, nothing can match Les Grands Crus of France - Lafite Rothschild and Latour, for example - but prices are correspondingly high.
