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Little confused on wine storage

L

LOCAL669

New Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2007
Messages
1,079
Location
Jersey
I have been drinking wine for about ten years at a very casual pace, never really having more than a dozen or so of my favorite wines handy in the house. I have always just grabbed a few bottles here and there in my local stores and saved them for the rare the nights me and the wife could enjoy them with out the kids ramming around the house. When it came to storage I have always just stored them on my wine rack in the living room, they would sit there for a week or two and sometimes up to a few years. I have always enjoyed the taste of the wines with the current storage method but the more I am getting into wine and researching the more I am learning about tempurature for storage. This gets to the point of my message. I am reading that wine should be stored around 55 degrees but whenever I have purchased a bottle they were always stored on wall racks in the liquir store and never at controlled temps. Even the higher end bottles are just sitting there at room tempurature, so how important is temperature trully?

Please lend me your experience.

Mark
 
It is important for long term storage. Wine will keep well for years in a controlled environment like a store always at 72 degrees but will keep better at a cooler temp for a longer time. What you don't want is fluctuations from 90 to 60 or to keep at a higher temp since this will make expensive vinegar.
 
It has been discovered that 55 deg. is optimum for aging. The reason you don't want the temperature fluctuations is it causes the cork to expand and contract allowing air in and possibly resulting in oxidation. Higher temps will also cause the wine to age at a faster rate. Next time you open a bottle of wine check the cork. If you see signs of seepage (wine stains up the sides of the cork, then it has been stored improperly. If the wine has stained only the bottom of the cork then you are set! You'd be suprised to find how many liquor stores do not store their fine wines properly. I recently stopped going to one store because as I was browsing the racks looking for a wine to add to my collection I couldn't help but notice the blast of the heater blowing directly onto the bottles.


Anyway- If you don't plan on storing your wines for a long time, a rack should be fine, just make sure that they are on their sides to keep the wine in contact with the cork. If you do plan on keeping some for at least a year or more before drinking, you might look into getting a small 6 bottle or so countertop wine cooler.

Salute!
 
I have a wine fridge in my basement. That I use to store my wines. Mine is a duel temp fridge for storing reds and whites at their optimum temperatures (between 50F and 60F.)
 
bluue13 said:
It has been discovered that 55 deg. is optimum for aging. The reason you don't want the temperature fluctuations is it causes the cork to expand and contract allowing air in and possibly resulting in oxidation. Higher temps will also cause the wine to age at a faster rate. Next time you open a bottle of wine check the cork. If you see signs of seepage (wine stains up the sides of the cork, then it has been stored improperly. If the wine has stained only the bottom of the cork then you are set! You'd be suprised to find how many liquor stores do not store their fine wines properly. I recently stopped going to one store because as I was browsing the racks looking for a wine to add to my collection I couldn't help but notice the blast of the heater blowing directly onto the bottles.


Anyway- If you don't plan on storing your wines for a long time, a rack should be fine, just make sure that they are on their sides to keep the wine in contact with the cork. If you do plan on keeping some for at least a year or more before drinking, you might look into getting a small 6 bottle or so countertop wine cooler.

Salute!
[/quote

yummm. Agree with bluue. Most reputable wine stores will store their older wines in wine fridges but for the most part, store room temperature which is usually around 70-74 is fine for short term storage. Key point is as mentioned above temperature fluctuation. A wine fridge will keep your bottles at a nice sleeping temperature and will let your wine age nice and slow. At higher temps ie room temp, you wont hurt your wine as long as you have AC. With better wines, I would recommend decanting. Its amazing what a few hours will do for a tight bottle of wine. If you're going to store anything for any extended period of time ie years, a small wine fridge will work fine but wine fridges like humidors will always become too small :) We started with a vinotemp 58 bottle, needed more space so went with a 160 and we're basically out of space again and just coming back from Napa/Sonoma. Good luck and also know that winerys also make your "limited editions" :) Youre starting to get into another "aged is good" hobby. G1

Oh and if you do open a bottle of wine that you purchased and the nose is like wet newspaper and or it has wine along the cork, be sure to return it and let the shop know it was corked. Of course you cant' do that many years later so thats a catch 22. Definately don't purchase any bottles where the cork looks like its protruding a little in the foil. G1
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Some wine retailers are more conscientious than others.The better ones have provide temperature control storage, especially for higher end wines that may not turn over as quickly. Another consideration are the conditions wines are subjected to before they arrive at the retailer. It's becoming a more common practice for importers of higher quality wines to use temperature controlled shipping containers.
 
Hi local669,
I am also a wine lover like you and am very fond of collecting different types of wines . I have a collection of echo falls, kumala and so many other varieties.
As it seems that you also like collecting wines I want you to know that temperature is really important factor to keep your wine safely without ruining it's taste.

Once, I had a really bad experience when I invited my friends for dinner and my wine collection really spoiled the night as the wines were not stored properly and at right temperature.
After that I started searching about temperature and humidity conditions for storing wine and through this website(http://www.griffinwinestorage.com/) I came to know that the best temperature to keep your wine is around 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Trust me this link is really helpful if you want to know more about it you can check it out and do let me know if it's of any use for you.
 
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Larry McCoy said:
hi local669,
I am also a wine lover like you and am very fond of collecting different types of wines . I have a collection of echo falls, kumala and so many other varieties.
As it seems that you also like collecting wines I want you to know that temperature is really important factor to keep your wine safely without ruining it's taste.

Once, I had a really bad experience when I invited my friends for dinner and my wine collection really spoiled the night as the wines were not stored properly and at right temperature.
After that I started searching about temperature and humidity conditions for storing wine and through this website(http://www.griffinwinestorage.com/) I came to know that the best temperature to keep your wine is around 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Trust me this link is really helpful if you want to know more about it you can check it out and do let me know if it's of any use for you.
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Hi Larry. It's amazing what you learned from your own website. Thanks for bumping the 5 year old thread.

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tomthirtysix said:
Hi Larry. It's amazing what you learned from your own website. Thanks for bumping the 5 year old thread.

hXTjcv5.png
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Oops! didn't notice that it was 5 year old thread. It's not my website. As I am also a wine lover so I just thought to help and give some suggestions.
 
I have always understood that one of the critical factors for long term storage is darkness. In addition to the temp and humidity, UV light can harm wine over time.
 
golfgar said:
I have always understood that one of the critical factors for long term storage is darkness. In addition to the temp and humidity, UV light can harm wine over time.
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That's why most red wine comes in colored glass bottles. Helps keep the UV light out, but yes for proper aging of wine its a stable "cellar" or "cave" temp, humidity to keep the cork from shrinking and darkness or keeping them away from direct light at least.
 
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