Collecting wines is one of the greatest pleasures of life – but the prospect of looking after and storing fine wine can sometimes seem a complicated and daunting process. Ideal Wine Company reviews the affordable wine storage systems, perfect for any wine collection.
It doesn’t have to be. Not all wine is suitable for long-term storage – many are best consumed within a few months or years of the vintage – however some wines will improve with age. Here’s our guide to how to store your wine at home – without having to invest a huge amount of money.
Why store wine anyway?
There are two key considerations that you need to bear in mind when storing wine. The first is that you will be protecting your wine, while the second is that you are attempting to age it. The first consideration – merely protecting your wine – is most probably the most important aim of short term storage. The second, aging, is obviously only a factor if you’re looking to store it longer term.
Affordable options
So, what are the options? For short term storage, we recommend keeping things simple. For most wines that will be consumed within a few weeks or months, there is no need to worry too much about factors like humidity, vibration or temperature. Try to keep it at around 12C – but the most important consideration here is maintaining a relatively constant temperature. That means that the places people usually store their wine – in the kitchen, in the garage or in a shed – are completely unsuitable due to the fact that there is usually a broad temperature differential depending on the time of year – hot in summer, and extremely cold in the winter.
Finding a happy balance
A clean basement then is your best option – and we’d highly recommend you invest in a wine storage system to keep the bottles off the floor. You have a few options here too – wire racks are cheap, but can bend, while hardwood racks are odour-free and strong enough for the job. Try and avoid softwood systems as they can warp in the damp atmosphere. If you don’t have a basement, then under the stairs – or any cupboard away from the outside walls – is a great alternative. Remember again that a nice constant temperature is by far and away the most important consideration. There are plenty of plastic storage solutions that work well in these smaller spaces.
Longer term
If you’re looking to store bottles of wine at home for longer, but aren’t able to invest in an expensive wine cellar, then a wine storage cabinet is a viable – but still relatively costly – option. Once again, the idea is to maintain a constant temperature, away from light, in which to store your wine – fundamental principles that you’ll need to bear in mind when it comes to wine storage, however much money you’re looking to invest.
You can find out more about storing wines at home on our website.
