It’s often said that the vast majority of wine is designed to be drunk young. That’s true, but the vast majority of wine, like the vast majority of cheddar cheese, Harry Potter fan fiction or baroque opera, is pretty bad. As good wine matures, its flavours soften, evolve and harmonize.

It’s nearly impossible to find properly aged wines in a store, and if they’re available in restaurants at all, they’re absurdly expensive. So, if you’re ever going to experience the mellow elegance of a well-aged Chateau Mondieu, you’re going to have to DIY by starting a cellar. Here’s how:

• You don’t need an actual cellar: a closet or the underside of your bed will suffice. The most important things are darkness and a steady temperature, ideally of around 14 degrees Celsius.
• Store wine on its side on shelves or in a cheapie wine rack (Ikea’s Hutten for $16.99 is just fine). If wine sits upright, the corks will dry out and air will get to the precious liquid and ruin it.
• Expensive trophy wines like Amarone, Châteauneuf-du-Pape or Grand Cru Bordeaux almost always require five to 10 years of aging to blossom. Opening them young is infanticide.
• On a wine budget? German Rieslings and Spanish Rioja under $30 improve dramatically in two to five years. Same for Ontario Chardonnays from Tawse ($19.95), Le Clos Jordanne ($30) and Hidden Bench ($32).
• The only sine qua non for a cellar is patience. If you can’t keep your hands
  off your treasures, always have a few cheap bottles on hand as substitutes.