How and where you store your wine can have a very big effect on your enjoyment of it. Read these tips and principles to help you ensure you get the best out of your wine and avoid unnecessary spoiling.
Store your wine at the right temperature
You should store wine at the correct temperature to ensure a wine’s flavour and balance remains. You don’t want a wine to age prematurely or be ruined by its storage conditions, so it is essential to know the optimal wine storage temperatures and conditions for your bottles of wine.
Temperature fluctuation probably poses the biggest threat to your wine. Extremes of hot or cold will almost certainly spoil your wine. In general, the ideal temperature for long-term wine storage is around 10ºC - 13ºC. For mid to short-term storage you’ll be fine keeping your wine within a range of 7ºC to 18ºC. Stability is key and you should try to avoid it rising above 20ºC.
The fridge is not the best place for wine storage
Most fridges are set to a temperature somewhere between 0ºC to 5ºC, which is right for ensuring your fresh food is at its best for the longest. However, this is too cold for long-term wine storage. In addition, the dry environment inside a fridge will likely compromise the cork after a few months, leading to a ruined drink. Strong odours from food kept in the fridge can also negatively affect the quality of your wine, and long-term exposure to the vibrations from the compressor may not be good for it either. A few days or weeks in the fridge are unlikely to make much of a difference, but it is important to remember to take the bottle out a little while before serving it to give it a chance to warm up. White wines are best served at a temperature somewhere between 7-11°C, depending on the grape variety. These lower temperatures help accentuate the acidity, enhancing the freshness and crispness associated with a really good white. But if the temperature gets too cold the flavours become dulled, so a short while to warm up at room temperature before you drink it will help you get the most out of the flavours and aromas
Store wine horizontally
This keeps the wine in contact with the cork, keeping it moist and swollen, and minimising the chance of the cork drying and shrinking, thus preventing air from entering your bottle of wine and spoiling it. This is essential to maintaining the quality of your wine if you are planning on keeping bottles unopened for a long time. For mid-term storage or soon-to-be-drunk bottles this may not be a major concern, but storing sideways certainly won’t do any harm. If you are dealing with screw tops or synthetic corks this is not so much of an issue.
Humidity is important
Specialists recommend storing wine somewhere that has between 50-80% humidity, with 70% considered the sweet spot. Low humidity could lead to a dried-out cork, while damp conditions can promote mould and condensation which could spoil the labels. This can be more of an issue if you are planning on storing wines for many years. A joint thermometer/hygrometer to help you identify the spots in your house with the most suitable temperature and humidity levels. If you’re paying money for storage then you will want to have it kept as close to that humidity sweet spot as possible. Most households will sit within that recommended range, so your wine should be fine during short to mid-term storage.
The dark is the best place for your wine
Avoid direct sunlight as it is particularly bad for your wine. Constant exposure to direct sunlight can quickly change the flavour of your wine for the worse. White wine is particularly susceptible to light damage, especially because of its clearer glass bottles. If you are considering a wine cooler, you might want to consider a model that has UV protective glass on the door.
Some additional useful wine storing tips/advice
Plastic protectors or cellar sleeves will help protect wine bottle labels. These are useful in damp or moist storage settings.
When serving your wine make sure you adjust the temperature, allowing the wine to rise or fall to the appropriate serving temperature.
Collect and store bottles of wine you like! Collecting bottles of wine can be an enjoyable activity, and with the proper storage solution, you can make the most of your wine bottle collection.
Do not leave a bottle of wine in the freezer as this will be detrimental to the wine and could also cause damage if the wine was to freeze and expand, thus possibly causing the bottle to shatter.
You should store wine at the correct temperature to ensure a wine’s flavour and balance remains. You don’t want a wine to age prematurely or be ruined by its storage conditions, so it is essential to know the optimal wine storage temperatures and conditions for your bottles of wine.
Wine storage options
There are three main ways to store your bottles of wine safely and securely. Typically, Purpose-built wine rooms and wine refrigerators provide the best conditions to store wine.
Wine cellar
This is the ideal way to store your wine bottles, temperature and humidity-controlled ideally. Wine cellars are a cost-effective solution for storing wine and are bespoke from one home to another.
You can organise your wine bottles in various ways, such as by the wine’s region, (e.g, France - Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Alsace, Loire, Rhone etc.). Another way to organise wine is by vintage; if you collect a particular wine, store them in numeric order (vertical collection). Wine bottle neck tags are handy to write down the most crucial information about your bottle of wine, especially the name and date..
A makeshift closet wine cellar
This is ideal for wine lovers and enthusiasts. It is a quick and straightforward way to store your wine bottles in any size space (small or large) in your house. You can search for online guidance and videos on how to create your own makeshift closet wine cellar.
If you have a spare walk-in wardrobe, cupboard or room, you can transform it into a unique closet wine cellar! However, this option does not have temperature control. A makeshift closet wine cellar is perfect for an everyday drinker but not as effective as long term storage.
Wine Cabinet or Wine Cooler
These are reliable ways to maintain the temperature of your wine bottles and are a worthwhile investment for wine professionals and wine merchants. Wine cabinets/refrigerators are available in a variety of sizes catering for all size collections.
Optimal wine storing temperatures
The perfect temperature depends on various factors, including how much fruit, alcohol, and tannin the wine contains. As a general rule of thumb, wine should be stored around 11˚C-14˚C.
Wine storage temperatures should never go over 24˚C as otherwise, wines begin to oxidise, which negatively affects the wine.
A wine storage temperature should always be kept as constant as possible as fluctuations can cause severe damage to the wine. A bottle of wine needs a constant temperature all year round to mature correctly.
Temperature Guide
This information is a general guide to help you store your wine; remember this is not the case for all wines and should only be used as a rough guide.
Ideal wine storage temperatures
Red Wine: 12˚C < 19˚C
White Wine: 8˚C < 12˚C
Champagne: 5˚C < 8˚C