If you’re an avid wine collector, you know how much of an investment wine is, and what kind of value those bottles hold. It is essential to take necessary precautions and make preparations to maintain your collection and ensure it continues to increase in value.
With wine, storage is everything. Consider the following these tips to keep your bottles in peak condition:
Humidity Control
If the environment you’re storing your bottles in is too dry or too damp, it will affect your wine and possibly ruin it. If the humidity is too high, this will encourage mold to grow and condensation to form on bottles which can cause the bottle labels the deteriorate. If the humidity is too low, the cork can dry out. The ideal humidity level for wine storage is around 70%. Temperature can greatly affect humidity, so make sure you monitor both closely. You can buy small temperature and humidity sensors to assist you with this.
Temperature
As mentioned in the above, temperature plays a large factor in preserving your wine. The ideal temperature range varies slightly depending on the type of wine, but is usually between 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. If your storage location is too cold, wine will take longer to mature, but on the flip side, if the area is too warm, your wine will age too quickly. If the area you plan to store your wine has regular temperature fluctuations, like in a garage, maybe consider finding a better location that you can control more accurately. A cellar or a dedicated wine cabinet might be abetter option as custom temperature and humidity levels can be set and monitored to ensure optimal preservation of the wines.
Storing Bottles
Controlling the environment of your wine is very important, but you also need to take into consideration how the physical bottle is being stored. Bottles should be kept on their sides, in the dark, away from any kind of light source. This could be in a dark room, or inside of a box, or even wrapped up. Bottles also need proper ventilation to prevent musty smells from penetrating them.
Storage Units
If you have a smaller collection, a wine fridge is a great option, although they are designed to store wine for short periods of time and are more for wines that are ready to drink. Look for one that has accurate temperature and humidity controls – which should be able easily controllable. If you need to store wine long term, consider building a wine cellar (this doesn’t have to be over the top. Wine cellars can even be designed to be part of your house, although you usually see this in celebrity homes with 100s of bottles in their collection.
Whether you’re new to the wine storage game, or you’re looking to expand your collection, cutting corners will only hinder your assets. At the end of the day, a wine collection is an investment that you should take seriously and really take the time to research. It’s a very rewarding experience that will pay off for many many years.
