Wine Storage

SStoring wine is different from storing many other consumable items. A lot of people think wine can handle nearly anything until it is opened, but that is unfortunately not the case. Wine that is exposed to a lot of heat will become sour and undrinkable, even when completely sealed up. It should also not be exposed to very cold temperatures or allowed to freeze, since that also changes the flavor - and not for the better. Wine that is stored correctly will last for a long time and remain drinkable and enjoyable, even when left unattended (and still sealed) for years.

Many expensive wines are from a number of years ago, and they still taste amazing when they are finally purchased and opened. If you store your wine the right way, you can get that same taste. 

All too often, people purchase bottles of wine and place them upright in cabinets, on shelves, or even in the refrigerator. That is understandable for a bottle that will be consumed quickly, but true storage of wine requires more than that. Wine should be stored on its side, which helps preserve the flavor and prevents sediment from collecting in the bottom of the bottle. When it is stored upright for too long, there is some separation that occurs, and that can damage the flavor and the quality of the wine. Fortunately, that can be avoided by placing the wine bottles on their side for storage.

Special racks are made to store wine bottles on their side, whether these racks sit on the counter or they are much larger and designed for a wine cellar or other storage facility. They can be made from metal, wood, or another material. The choice of material for a wine rack is mostly aesthetic, and has little to do with how the wine is actually stored. 

Wine needs to be stored in an area where there are little to no vibrations. Shaking the wine can harm it, in both quality and flavor. Some people store their wine in an area of the house where there is a lot of foot traffic, such as in a rack on the kitchen counter. It may seem like stable location, but the small vibrations from people walking through the area so frequently can degrade the wine over time. Opening and shutting cabinet doors and appliances like ovens and refrigerators also causes vibrations, as does preparing some food items on the counter.

Running a hand or stand mixer, for example, will send vibrations through the countertop, up the wine rack, and into the bottles of wine. These are the kinds of vibrations that most people do not think about, or realize are occurring. The wine, however, is affected by all of those tiny movements and shakes.

Wine has a lot of enemies, and one of them is light. If you store your wine where bright sunlight hits it, you will quickly find that the quality of the wine is not as good as you had hoped. The flavor will change, too, and the wine just will not be as good as it otherwise would be. Part of the reason for that is that light usually means heat, which can lead to temperature fluctuations, but that is not the only consequence of letting too much light get to your wine. The light itself causes the wine to degrade, and wine that is kept in a darker space survives much longer and with better quality than wine left in the light.

While you do not have to store your wine in pitch darkness and hunt for your next bottle with a candle or a flashlight, it is important to have wine storage that is away from any sources of bright light on a consistent basis.

If you plan to store your wine away from your home or business, in a storage facility, it is very important that you consider a specialized unit. Some people just choose to put their wine in a climate controlled unit and assume that will be enough, but that really does not do a thorough job of protecting the wine the way it should. It does help make the wine less likely to degrade because of extreme temperature fluctuations, but even the best climate controlled unit is not set at one constant temperature. The temperature in the unit varies, sometimes by as much as 20 to 30 degrees.

That is too much fluctuation for wine, and it is not the only problem. The light level in most climate controlled units can also be a problem, as the overhead, fluorescent lights are very bright, and there are no options for a lower light level. Instead of taking a chance with climate control, a specialized unit that is designed specifically for wine is the right choice.

When storing wine, it is also important to select the right size unit. You do not want to pay for dozens of empty wine racks, but you also do not want to end up filling them up quickly and being out of room for more bottles. Those with large wine collections add to them and subtract from them frequently, and they have a good idea of the space they really need. If you are just getting started on a wine collection, or if you have recently decided to expand the collection you already have, it may be more difficult for you to determine your true need for size and space.

When possible and affordable, err on the side of too much space, as opposed to not enough. You can always add even more to your wine collection, but moving all of your bottles to a new unit because you ran out of space can be costly, time consuming, and hard on the wine itself.

Even if you aren't storing large quantities of wine, you can still take advantage of wine storage. Many wine storage facilities across the country have specialized wine storage bins that allow wine connoisseurs to store as little as 4 cases of wine safely and appropriately. Prices can be as low as $9/a month and can free up valuable space in your home or basement.

These specialized wine bins are located in locked temperature controlled spaces—free from ultraviolet light and vibrations. This is the perfect solution for the average wine collector or someone whose wine collection has outgrown their home.