Knowing how to store your wine is important. Improper storage can ruin the taste of the wine, regardless of how expensive it may be. Unless you are fortunate to own a personal wine cellar, you should know how best to store your wine.
Why do you need to store wine properly?
Wine is very sensitive. It can react to almost all outside influences which can improve or diminish its quality. Threofore, storage is a key step, no matter when you want to drink the wine.
If you want to consume the wine soon after purchase, temperature and light are the most important factors. However, if you want to age the wine in your cellar – or the closest thing you have to a cellar - read on for advice on how to do it properly. This will make bottle ageing worth the effort and you’ll be rewarded with a great tasting wine once you open it.
Tips on how to store wine
Storing wine involves controlling each of the following parameters:
Temperature:
It is important to avoid temperature variations and keep the wine’s temperature as cool and stable as possible.
Humidity:
Low humidity can cause the cork to dry out, while very high humidity can affect the label integrity.
Light:
Wine is sensitive to light and it can develop off flavours, even with short exposure to it. Pay special attention to wines with transparent bottles.
Movement:
It’s best if you don’t move the wine around. This will prevent interference to the ageing process and will keep the wine clear from any sediments.
Time:
The timing of ageing depends on the wine type. Ageing wine for too long will make it lose its vibrance and become less enjoyable.
Temperature
Keeping a constant temperature is very important, no matter what wine you age and for how long. Rise and fall in wine temperature can be worse for the wine than storing at an incorrect temperature. When temperature changes, wine volume changes too.
Low temperatures can cause pressure decrease in a bottle, which is equilibrated by air coming through the cork, causing the aging process to happen at a faster, and harder to monitor, pace. Very high temperatures lead to pressure building up in a bottle and might push out the cork, especially for sparkling wines.
Slight temperature fluctuations are not a huge problem but they should not be more than 1.6°C a day. If the wine needs to be moved, causing a change in temperature, then try to increase or decrease the temperature very gradually in preparation for this.
The ideal storage temperature of a wine is different from the ideal consumption temperature: 12 – 19°C are good storing temperatures for all wines. Avoid storing wine at a temperature higher than 21°C.
Humidity
Humidity is important in keeping the cork in a good state. Very low humidity can cause the cork to dry out and lose its elasticity, leading to more oxygen to come through and can ruin the wine fairly quickly. Extremely high humidity, on the other hand, causes wine labels to peel off from the bottles. If keeping the labels intact is important to you, then cover them with a gelatine film to block humidity from reaching them.
When storing wine try to keep the humidity higher than 65%. You can’t go wrong with higher humidity, but don’t go lower than that. If the wine is bottled with a screw cap, then humidity won’t influence its ageing as much as bottles with cork closures.
Light
Wine should be kept away from direct sunlight and fluorescent light. Storing wine in the dark is the best way to prevent damage to your precious supplies. If you do not have a dark space to store wine, try wrapping the bottles in cloth or putting them into a closed box.
UV rays reaching the wine can cause them to take on an unpleasant smell, and turn the wine taste into a much duller version of its original version. This process is known as the wine being ‘light struck’. Unfortunately, it can all happen very quickly.
Transparent bottles are more sensitive to light strike. Whilst dark bottles do a better job at protecting their content, they won’t completely prevent light from entering the bottle, so do pay attention to this aspect when storing your expensive wines.
Movement
Wine bottles with corks should be kept horizontally (on their sides), as the wine will keep the cork moist. This will prevent it from drying out and allowing air into your precious wine. You will also be able to see if any sediment has collected.
However, if humidity is very high in your storage space, keeping the bottle upright shouldn’t affect its quality negatively. Bottles with screw caps are versatile since they can be kept either horizontally or vertically.
Try to keep the wine as still as possible. Vibrations and shaking can alter the natural way the wine is ageing, speeding up the whole aging process. Once you decide on a storage spot for a bottle of wine, try to keep it there until you decide to drink it. This also helps create a compact sediment film on the bottom, making decanting easier.
Time
Not all wines can be stored for a long period of time. Ready to drink wines, in particular, should be stored only for a few months and usually come with an expiry date, so do make sure to check the label. Fine wines, on the other hand, can be stored for years.
When you buy a wine, store it as carefully as if you were to store it for many decades. This will result in the best wine experience you can get. Most white wines should be drunk within 2 to 3 years, the same applies for rosé. Red wine ageing will depend on the specific wine. As a general rule, a heavier wine with more tannins can be stored
How to store opened wine
Storing an opened bottle of wine is equally important. Follow the below steps in order to get the best out of your open bottle of wine:
Replace the closure, ensuring a tight fit. If it’s a cork, try to fit the side that was touching the wine before in the bottle, as the other side might be dirty.
With white wines and rosé, put them in the fridge. It’s better to keep them at a cool temperature to prevent oxidation reactions from taking place. Open bottles will last two to five days, before their flavours go off and the wine becomes flat.
As for reds, store open bottles below room temperature and out of light. Even for red wine, consider putting the bottle in the fridge. You should be able to keep an opened red wine for up to a week.
Store open bottles vertically. With a horizontal position, you’re not only risking spillage but also an increase in the surface area that gets in contact with oxygen.
Want to read more about how to properly store opened wine? Head over to our dedicated article!
Methods of storing wine bottles
Wine cellar
Building a wine cellar is truly the best way to store wine at home. Wine racks in an underground space will make it easy to control the temperature and humidity of the wine. If you plan on making an underground cellar, try monitoring the temperature before deciding if temperature and humidity will need adjusting. You could also repurpose a spare room of your house by equipping it with good insulation, a humidifier and air-conditioner.
If you do build a wine cellar, you may need to develop a storage system, so that you don’t spend more time looking for bottles instead of enjoying them! You can organise the bottles by producer, variety, vintage or ageing potential. Decide based on what wines you have in your collection. For example, if you have many Italian wines, try to separate Barolo from Chianti, and within these put them in chronological order.
Try not to move the wine around in your cellar. Once you decide on the position let the wine sit there undisturbed until you decide to drink it.
What is an ideal cellar?The ideal wine cellar is dark and has constant temperature through the day, and preferably through the year. Underground cellars work great since they naturally have higher humidity than other rooms of the house. However, most underground cellars without temperature control will experience some temperature variation from winter to summer. Try to install an air-conditioner to prevent such fluctuations from becoming too big.
Wine cooler
This is a specially designed refrigerator that will store wine at the ideal temperature and humidity. You can find simple models, where you choose only one temperature for all the bottles within, or more complicated ones with two temperature zones to store whites and reds.
Wine coolers store wine on the side and create a dark space that protects it from light. They come in many different sizes, from ones that store one or two cases, to others that can hold up to 200 bottles.
Best places to store wine at home
You should choose the place you store wine at home carefully. Find a space that feels the coldest in your house. That’s the best place to store wine. It might be on the corridor outside the bathroom, the north-facing side of the house or your basement.
Avoid storing wine in the kitchen cabinets, as cooking creates big temperature changes in the kitchen. Bathrooms are also not a good idea, since they can get too hot for a short time after a shower.
FAQs
What is the best temperature to store red and white wine at?
Wine storing temperature is different from wine drinking temperature. Suggested storage temperatures are the following:
Knowing how to store your wine is important. Improper storage can ruin the taste of the wine, regardless of how expensive it may be. Unless you are fortunate to own a personal wine cellar, you should know how best to store your wine.
Why do you store wine bottles on their side or upside down?
Wine bottles are stored on their side to prevent the cork from drying out. They should not be stored upside down, as sediments will collect on the cork.
How long is an unopened bottle of wine good for? / How long can I store wine for?
This will depend on the specific wine. A tannic red wine could last more than 10 years, but a light white wine might need to be consumed within a year of purchase. Some wines may have an expiry date on the label, otherwise research suggested timelines for the wine of choice.
How do you save opened wine?
Replace the cork or cap, and store the wine at a stable temperature. Make sure that you store it upright. Both red and white wines can be placed in the fridge after opening.
Can you get sick from drinking old wine?
No, since alcohol is a preservative. However, don’t drink it if it’s unpleasant for you. It might be past its prime or have developed some off flavours possible due to bad storage conditions.
How long can I store wine after opening?
You can store most white wines for two to three days after opening and most reds for a week. Fortified wines should taste the same for a couple of months after opening the bottle.
Can you store wine in the fridge?
Yes, you can store wine in the fridge if you intend to drink it within a month of purchase. If you keep it for longer the cork may dry out and this can cause the wine to spoil.
How does one store wine without a cellar or cooler?
You can store wine without a wine cellar or wine fridge by storing it at the coldest spot of your house. Avoid the kitchen and bathroom due to temperature fluctuations.
Can I store my wines in the kitchen?
It’s better to avoid storing wines in the kitchen since the temperature generated from the stove heats up the space and will also heat up the wines.
