damage altogether. Changes in structure equate to a changed experience while sipping. Like a bubble bath gone flat, it loses its entire appeal.

Bottle position is also important for the cork. Cigar smells are another common culprit. For everyday wine, the how-to for storage is simple.

Leaving a bottle on the counter at room temperature will do the trick. Even a closet or pantry works. Cold temperatures can slow down the aging process and protect from maderization, a form of oxidation that can give white wine a brownish color and caramelized flavor.

However, refrigerators can get a bit too cold, so try not to store all your wines in there for a long amount of time. But even wine pros like Cabrales rely on a standard refrigerator. Keep in mind, however, that storage temperature is different from serving temperature.

The main takeaway for short-term storage? Not too hot, not too cold. A dark countertop, fridge or wine cooler can be perfect. Wine can take a turn for the worse after being opened.

Uncorking a bottle exposes the wine to oxygen. And as we know from the effects of humidity, exposure to oxygen runs the risk of spoiling the wine. Tilden uses an alternative solution to preserve his wine. If you stand somewhere between a laid-back drinker and an avid collector, your storage system may warrant an upgrade.

Wine refrigerators are one option that can help take the guesswork out of storing wine properly. But how exactly are they different from standard fridges?

According to Tilden, the two serve different functions. Wine refrigerators provide a more suitable climate and often have features that control for vibrations and odors—something to consider, amongst other factors, when selecting the best fridge for your needs.

In addition to providing an aesthetically pleasing way to show off your bottles, wine racks are another long-term storage solution. They come in different shapes, sizes and styles—from wooden display shelves to compact table-top wire racks.

Wine has a lifecycle. The purpose of aging wine is to bring out tertiary flavors and textural changes that can only develop with time, given the proper storage condition to do so. This is the point of a wine cellar: to control for those factors that impact the quality of age-worthy wine and take the guesswork out of storage.

And, perhaps, to show off your collection in style. In this case, storing wine properly is a matter of recreating cellar conditions at home. Start by choosing the room. A basement or garage is perfect, so long as pungent odors stay at bay.

To protect your bottles from light, try a cupboard or pantry. Another option: Cover them with a blanket. Not only does this help protect bottles from the sun, but it also keeps wine cozy during cold winters. Wherever you choose to store your bottles, remember to lay them down on their sides. That way, the corks stay moist throughout the aging process.

Although aging can bring a wine to its peak quality, its decline can happen quicker than you think. Welcome to Wineenthusiast. Skip to content Main Navigation.

Speak to a Product Expert. Contact Us. Get Help. Need Assistance? Let us help. Order Status. The Volcano Issue. Read More. If you let that apple juice sit in your hot garage for more than a few days, the bottle will start to expand and, as the juice cooks, it will start taking on rancid qualities.

This is why temperature is so important. If you want to be on the safe side, just place your bottles in your fridge.

Keeping the wine in constant contact with the cork maintains the seal and protects the wine. At home, you can ensure this through a tabletop wine rack or even a custom built wine cellar. This is why if you enter a store that is not only warm, but also seems to have had the bottles they are selling sitting upright for a prolonged period of time, you could be stepping into a terrible combination.

Instead of paying for a nice bottle of wine, you may be buying vinegar instead. If you notice this, simply back out of the shop slowly, and find a different place to purchase.

We have about bottles so a fridge is out. ibglowin Moderator Staff member. Super Moderator. Joined Jul 7, Messages 28, Reaction score 52, Location Northern Nuevo Mexico.

Just remember that 55 is the magic temp to age a red wine to perfection. Just because you don't have that temp doesn't mean your wines will be destroyed.

It just means that they will age faster and go downhill quicker than if stored at You will still get years of age time in which to drink them but not as much as if kept at ~ Keeping the area as cool as possible close to 55 in the Winter will help slow the overall aging process.

Large daily temperature fluctuations are actually worse for a wine than a warmer but static temp. Keep it as cool as possible and keep the temp as stable as possible. Add insulation 12" attic blanket to the area above where the wine will be stored.

This will greatly dampen the temp swings year round. Use the window AC in the Summer for the "cellar". TonyP Senior Member.

Joined Apr 9, Messages Reaction score Location Shoreline, Connecticut. Sammy, bottles is enough wine that I'd find the best location. And the best location is where it is coolest, given that somewhere close to 70F will probably be your best.

My suggestion is to find that place and go with it. It may be under your room air conditioner. Right now we have them in the walk in closet with the door closed and it is staying in the 60's. We have the register shut, the blinds closed and the main door closed.

It is also winter. Because it is upstairs we are worried about the weight even though it is a good sized walk in closet. There is no other place in our home to put the wine. If the weight was not a problem and we are not sure if the weight IS a problem we would find an air conditioner to put in the closet but there is no window in the closet and I think you have to have a window for an air conditioner.

I never intended to get so far into wine making but YOU are all enablers! Sammy, weight should not be a problem if the footprint of your wine rack is at least 4 square feet. I estimate that the wine and the bottles weigh between and pounds plus the rack.

Unless you have a very old house pre you should be fine. dangerdave Chief Bottlewasher. Joined Jul 13, Messages 2, Reaction score I've got your solution, Sammy! Start pulling up floor boards. Depending on the design of your house, you may be able to build some wooden box units inbetween your floor joists.

Use the priviously removed floor boards to create hinged hatches to access the space and voila! Oh, and you are very welcome! Don't mention it! Thig Senior Member. Joined Sep 14, Messages 1, Reaction score Sammyk said:. Click to expand NoSnob Senior Member. Joined Jan 17, Messages Reaction score I'm not sure anyone actually addressed the issue of what the maximum temp is for wine storage.

From what I read in the literature, research has shown that any temp above 82F results in substantialy degraded quality of wine. As noted, there are other variables including vibration and direct UV light which worsen the situation. With several hundred bottles on hand and wanting it to age at closer to ideal temp, I bought a LeCache refrigerated wine cabinet.

My big problem is that I drink the wine before it has a chance to show me how long it will keep! If others have additional information on this I would like to hear it.

btom Wine On My Mind. Joined May 27, Messages Reaction score Agree Thig is correct. May also just have to place a vent fan below at well as the ground plastic shetting. I was thinking after reading DangerDaves post. Sammy said it's a small closet.

Instead of attempting to put an airconditioner in there, as they do drip water while in use and will damage the floors if not checked.

I've seen where other covert a refrigerator into a wine storage unit. I think he should get one of those mini friges, covert it with the coverter to the temp.

he wants and then just take the door of while it's in the closed. This way he can keep the whole closet at a certain temp. I win the prize for best idea of the day. It is not a small closet it is a large closet. We have 2 Sam's Club wine racks in there and there is room for maybe 10 more.

More of a concern is the weight. We have around bottles on the 2 wine racks plus a bunch of 1-gallon carboys aging in the closet. Living in NC the humidity is very high in the summer.

The mold or mildew was only on the outside of the bottles. Wiped right off with a rag in light bleach water. Ripping up the floor is not an option as we hope to sell and move to a smaller home in about a year. Sammyk, that is a little different load problem. If you are using the Sam's Club wine racks and they are fully loaded probably about pounds , you have a load of about or so pounds per square inch under the feet.

A safer way to do it would be to get some 8' 2x6's, lay them on the floor and set the wine rack on them. That would distribute the weight more evenly. Rocky we did talk about putting a sheet of ply wood under the rack to distribute the weight better. I did calculate the weight pretty close to your figures.

I thought I had the problem of storage in the crawl space until there was mold or mildew. We invested in large lidded totes that held 8 1-gallon carboys. Then when we checked the airlocks we saw the mold or mildew on the outside of the bottles.

It meant crawling on hands and knees to get in and out so that was a real pain in the rear. Temperature was pretty constant at around 55 degrees in the summer. So we moved them back inside. And we did not think about the heat until everything was upstairs and we had a couple of warm days last week.

DaveL Senior Member. Joined Jan 1, Messages Reaction score What about a regular refridgerator? Turn it as high as possible. wouldn't 40 degrees be better than 70? terroirdejeroir Senior Member. Joined Apr 7, Messages Reaction score We have over bottles aging plus many 1-gallon carboys.

galen1 Junior Member. Joined Nov 17, Messages 51 Reaction score This means a constant temperature of 55 degrees with little or no fluctuation.

Most home environments can be potentially destructive to wines. We are comfortable in the degree range, but wine can age to rapidly at temperatures above 65 degrees and greatly affect its taste. On the other scale, temperatures that are too cold can slow the aging process, negating the positive effects that aging can bring, or in the case of freezing push the cork out.

For every degree increase in temperature, chemical reaction times double. Heat can destroy your wines. Warm places like the kitchen or near a heat source are not recommended storage locations; they will only bake your wine into oxidization. You can accelerate aging at higher temperatures, but that runs the risk of masking the fruity and varietal characteristics of the wine.

Bright light will oxidize and affect the taste and aroma of your wine. It is best to store it in dimly lit areas, or to have the lights on a timer or a switch that turns them off when you close the door on a cellar. It is the ultraviolet end of the light spectrum that is most harmful to wine; both sunlight and artificial lighting should be avoided.

Too little will dry out the cork and allow air into the bottle, again causing oxidization and affecting the taste. Too much and the labels will curl and the chance of mildew forming on the neck and cork is possible. More seriously to the wine investor, damaged labels decrease the resale value of the wines.

Remember the cork must be kept moist; this can be accomplished by lying the bottles on their sides, thus keeping the cork swollen and airtight, and keeping the humidity levels constant. Vibration will massage your wine into oxidization.

A peaceful environment is one of wines best friends. Vibration stops sediment from settling and in turn prevents the wine from aging properly.

It is best not to shake the wine to disturb the sediment. Storing wine in a refrigerator or near machinery will cause vibration. Strong smells will permeate the corks over time and taint the wine. Do not store wine near goods that emit strong odors, because the wine "breathes" through its cork and has a tendency to absorb odors from the air.

Good ventilation creates odor-free environments. This can be produced with a proper cooling unit. A constant ambient temperature is crucial in the proper storing and aging of wine.

Sudden and frequent spikes in temperature may prematurely age a wine through heating, or by allowing the seal the cork provides to become permeable.

That is because the liquid wine expands at a much greater rate than does the solid glass of the bottle itself. There are many styles and finishes to choose from. As far as manufacturers there are few. Quality and craftsmanship are important, be aware of construction materials used.

Cabinets should be made of solid woods or metals not particle boards and veneers. This will only lead to problems later as moisture can cause the veneers to lift or the boards to swell. Danger still to the cabinets that arrive to your house, only for you to find out assembly is required.

If care is not taken when assembling or the joints are not closed correctly, the cooled air will escape and cause the compressor to work harder to compensate for temperature variations. Look for the CSA seal of approval. Having the precision standards mark ensures high quality components are assembled to ensure optimum performance.

Wine requires a balance of temperature and humidity to age to perfection. Quality cabinets will have temperature and humidity control to create the optimum environment. Don't be fooled by cabinets with inferior cooling units. Make sure the racking system in the cabinets can hold any oversized or other nonstandard bottles you might have.

Most models are boxes and racks installed and a cooling unit installed in the upper corner. Vibration is a factor in a perfect environment; check to see the cooling unit and compressor are independent from your storage compartment. Taking all of this into account, remember the cost of a self-contained temperature controlled unit or a custom built cellar can outweigh the cost of replacing your wine collection.

Proper wine storage is easy to accomplish given the right knowledge, and remember, if you're looking for personalized wine glasses or custom wine glasses to use when enjoying your investment, make sure you check out Tipsy Grape's wide selection of customizable drink ware.

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