But hitting ideal wine storage temperatures is easier. In fact, even serving temperatures within types of wine vary. Wine storage temperature and wine serving temperature are not the same thing. Additionally, a bar inventory template can help keep you organized during your storage adventure. What is more difficult is choosing the right temperature for a collection whose constituent parts have different optimal storage and serving temperatures-along with finding a balance between ideal light levels and the light needed to showcase your collection, if you plan to. It’s not hard to lay bottles sideways, reduce vibration, or achieve and manage optimal humidity levels. It’s a pretty big range and most indoor environments fall within it. Most wine enthusiasts agree that 50–80% humidity is acceptable. Humidity isn’t as dangerous as light, temperature, or vibration. One your wine is open and ready to serve, it can benefit from a little jostling: that’s exactly what wine aerators do. A lot of vibrations can break apart delicate chemical structures and reintroduce tannins that have resolved, AKA become sediment. Don’t disrupt your wine bottles too much. This keeps the cork in constant contact with the wine which keeps natural corks moist and maximally expanded. Like they’re some sort of late-in-life Howard Hughes. When you turn the lights on, imagine your wines violently twisting their heads and staring daggers at the light source through squinted eyes.

Keep your wine storage temperature consistent. Even within the acceptable limits of 50–70☏, if temperatures change frequently undue stress is put on both the cork and the wine’s precious little molecules.

And temperatures below 50☏ slow down the aging process and expand the liquid-potentially damaging the cork or seal. Temperatures above 70☏ are harmful to wine, and above 77☏ massively harmful, even for short periods of time. Being even vaguely aware of these six wine storage basics-based on common wine-collecting wisdom-will make all your future wine storage decisions easier and more effectixve. Before we cover anything in more depth, you need to familiarize yourself with the general landscape of wine storage. There are six basic guidelines to wine storage. Know thy enemy.Īnd, finally, we’ll get into the practical matters of what wine storage cabinets and racks will best help you manage the life of your wine collection. Then we’ll dig into the two concepts that forever hang over wine bottles like a curse, temperature and light, so you get a better idea of what you’re trying to prevent.

These are the things you need to keep in mind as you’re squirreling away bottles-no matter how many. In this guide, we’ll first look at the very basics of home wine storage. Temperature and light can absolutely kill your wine.īut if you nail your wine storage, you’ll have happy, healthy-and, importantly, delicious-wines for as long as you’d like. They’ll run out of the room screaming as if from eternal rest itself. Sometimes it seems temperature and light can do no wrong. Grower of plants, bringer of color, warmer of bones. The ingredients of so many sunny days and happy memories.

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