Step 1: How long are you storing your wine for?

The first decision to make is how long you are planning to store your wine for. Generally short term storage means 3 to 6 months and should be your cheaper, less cherished wines, where as long term can mean decades and should be reserved for your quality, precious wines.

Step 2: Correct storage conditions

Whether it’s short or long term storage the same rules apply, firstly and most crucially the bottles should be laid horizontally instead of upright, this ensures the cork remains moist, to stop it drying out.

It is essential to keep the wines in a vibration free environment so they can not move about, therefore on top of electrical appliances or a place subject to external forces (i.e. from a subway) should be avoided.

Places to avoid for wine storage that are all too common in a family home are; above electrical appliances, under a window, beside a radiator or in a greenhouse or conservatory. These places are not ideal and could potential spoil an unopened bottle of wine.

Wine can be greatly affected by its surrounding temperature; the ideal temperature is roughly 55 degrees Fahrenheit (12°C). Bottles should be kept out of drafts and any temperature change should be very gradual.

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B Y O (Bring Your Own) is a concept that YATS Restaurant & Wine Bar popularized in the Philippines.  Putting it simply, it means removing the hurdle of corkage fee to encourage patrons to bring a nice bottle of wine to enjoy a specially designed wine-friendly dinner at the restaurant.

Taking it a step further, Yats Restaurant sets up a communal table usually seating 8 to 10 so guests can dine with other guests all sharing at least one common interest – wine. 

Each week, Chef Philip Golding unveils a special menu for the popular Saturday BYO dinner.  Guests do NOT have to be wine connoisseurs to attend.  In fact, wine knowledge is not relevant at all.  Those who have wine cellars at home or those who recently received a gift of wine, find this an excellent opportunity to share their treasures.   If there is one thing in common among wine enthuisiasts, it is the reluctance to drink a fine bottle of wine alone.  At least half the enjoyment is gone if the good stuff isn’t shared with someone else. 

B Y O (Bring Your Own) is very popular with wine enthusiasts and foodies.  Saturday is B Y O nights at YATS Restaurant in Clark Philippines.  You can bring a bottle to share or come to dinner with a bottle or two and dine with friends and family.  The menu is very wine friendly, meaning everything mild but delicious.   Read more...

When it comes to finding fine wines on the internet, Sokolin sets the standard. In business for over 75 years, Sokolin has produced and offers the single, best wine search engine in existence. Sokolin’s inventory of wine consists of over one million bottles that are stored in a state-of-the-art storage facility to ensure its safekeeping under optimal conditions. This family-run business is ‘old-school’ and proud of it as the philosophy of white glove service is something the staff strives to keep alive.

If you are looking for a particular bottle of rare wine, you will receive personalized service to ensure that it is located for you. Sokolin’s mission is to offer customers the world’s most sought-after wines ranging from hard-to-find vintage wines to exciting new premier wine at the lowest possible prices. Sokolin has been offering the widest selection of wine on the market for three generations thus far and offers wine connoisseurs like yourself concierge services to ensure that you receive the best experience possible as you expand your collection.

As well as offering one of the world’s most expansive selections of fine and rare wine, the folks at Sokolin are just as excited and passionate about discovering top-rated and inexpensive wines that offer an exquisite taste. Hundreds of wines are sampled each and every month and the experts at Sokolin select only the best wines of their region and type that they consider to be the best values. These experts do not wish to offer wines that they do not like but rather aim to offer you first-rate wines that you will certainly love. If you want to pay less for some of the finest wines on earth and receive personal service, then you most certainly should shop at Sokolin.  Read more...

Private Wine Tasting (PWT) is not just about serving wine in a reception or cocktail party.  It is about delivering a  real wine tasting experience to keep your guests.  PWT has become so popular, it has overtaken dinners and cocktail parties as celebration of choice.  It is the best form of “entertainment” that you can use to keep your event lively so guests will stay longer but at the same time avoid distracting everyone present with a lot of noise and movements.  

Birthday, anniversaries and other social functions have long lost their attraction.  Guests attend these parties and gatherings because they are obliged to do so.  Well, all that has changed.  For the same budget you can achieve much more and win not just the attendance of your friends but also their gratitude for having been invited to spend a rewarding afternoon or evening with you.

Various themes can be considered to mark specific nuances of the event.  For example, a birthday celebration can feature a few bottles of wines from roughly the same time period, if not the exact same year as the year of birth of the celebrant.  

YATS Wine Cellars likes to believe that it offers a major competitive advantage to a client who chooses to use wine tasting as a means to achieve a marketing edge.  The wine is just part of it.  There is a serious amount of software involved in staging these events, besides the obvious – tasting glasses, decanters, rinsing and spitting stations.  Read more...

This is the most exciting idea for this year’s Christmas gifts for wine lovers.  Yats Wine Cellars came up with several interesting wine gift packages each with a different theme.  This is called the Connoisseur Series of Wine Gifts.

Each wine gift pack of the Connoisseur Series comprises five bottles which forms a sampling lineup.  Prices range from p7,000 to p20,000 and the wines are very unique and not available anywhere in Manila.  These gifts are not only good for personal gift-giving but also for corporate clients and VIPs who are wine lovers.

Here is an example of one such package and there are many options to choose from:

CONNOISSEUR’S VINTAGE WINE GIFT PACK

Php 18,500

A 5-bottle sampler comprising one wine from each of the five decades

From this decide

2006 Château Ludeman la Côte, Graves

Decade of the 90s

1996 Château Vieux Montaiguillon, Saint-Georges, St. Emilion

Decade of the 80s

1983 Château La Fleur Milon, Cru Bourgeois, Pauillac

Decade of the 70s

1978 Château du Courneau, Margaux

Decade of the 60s

1966 Château Jean Voisin, Grand Cru Classe, St. Emilion  Read more...