Wine Storage

You decided to purchase some bottles of fine wine but you have no plan on consuming them immediately. The next question perhaps would be: how do you store your wine?

Is it safer to place your wines in a wine cellar, a wine cabinet, a wine racks or a wine fridge? Or are there any things that you should consider first? According to experts wine is delicate; any changes in its surrounding can affect its taste.

For example wine should not be stored in a place that is exposed directly to the sun, but it should not also be stored in a totally dark room.

Tips For Storing Your Wine

Humidity

The humidity factor is an issue on the cork. When you store your wine inside a wine rack, make sure that the humidity is in its optimal level. If not, there is a possibility that the cork will be too dry in case it is excessively low and also the possibility of growing mould if it is too high on the other hand. If you happen to have a wine fridge that controls the humidity then it would be perfect store it there, if not, try placing your wine cabinets in an area with aircondition that dehumidifies the area.

Storing Bottles Sideways or Horizontal

Traditionally, you will notice that people have a tendency to store their wines sideways on their wine racks. This is their method to avoid the cork from drying in case the humidity is too low. But if you have an environment that has a controlled humidity or in case that it has an alternative closure, you can store it horizontally in your wine cabinets.

Temperature

Temperature is another major concern when storing your wine. The most ideal situation would be storing your wine in an environment with a stable temperature. In order to maintain the temperature for long amount of time, a wine cellar is the optimal choice.  You may also place the wine in an environment wherein you can control the temperature, perhaps with an air cooler system. Temperature is one of the reasons why experts are not recommending installing the wine cabinets in the kitchen where temperature highly varies.

Lighting

Notice what kind of bottle vintners use for selling wine, they are almost always made of thick and colored glass. This is one way to protect your wine from the excessive rays of the sun. However it is also not advisable to store your wine in a very dark location. Use an incandescent bulb in your wine cellars. Fluorescent Bulbs have a tendency to emit tiny amount of UV light that can affect your wine.

The Best Places to Store Wine at Home

On the off chance that your house does not have a cool area such as your basement that you can transform into a wine cellar, you can try installing a wine cellar or wine cabinets in a safe place. Places in the house that emit too much heat (such as kitchen and boiler room) and that are too damp (laundry room) are not the ideal place to store your wine. You can use wine fridges but be sure you can the monthly electricity bill will not cost more than your wine.