Storing Wine - Tips
Discussion
I'm not PH enough to have my own wine cellar.... 
But I have through sheer enthusiasm amassed quite nice collection of wines (mainly Bordeaux) and I'm beginning to think about putting a few cases down for a while.
Has anyone come up with any neat solutions to keeping decent wine stored safely where one has no cellar? I have a concrete floored breeze block garage, would that be ok?
But I have through sheer enthusiasm amassed quite nice collection of wines (mainly Bordeaux) and I'm beginning to think about putting a few cases down for a while.
Has anyone come up with any neat solutions to keeping decent wine stored safely where one has no cellar? I have a concrete floored breeze block garage, would that be ok?
It depends on the quality of the wine and the time you want to keep it for. If you store in a garage rather than a cellar there will be more temperature and humidity variation which will age the wine more quickly rather than ruin it (unless it gets extreme).
Any Grand Cru Classe Bordeaux, assuming it's a 1st vintage could happily last 10 years in perfect conditions, but would happily sit for 5 in a garage I would have thought. Anything much less quality than that shouldn't be laid down anyway, as it probably isn't worth it.
If you've got really silly and bought 1st Growths e.g. Lafite, Latour etc then pay to have it professionally stored as it isn't worth the risk - plus your household insurance probably wouldn't cover it
Any Grand Cru Classe Bordeaux, assuming it's a 1st vintage could happily last 10 years in perfect conditions, but would happily sit for 5 in a garage I would have thought. Anything much less quality than that shouldn't be laid down anyway, as it probably isn't worth it.
If you've got really silly and bought 1st Growths e.g. Lafite, Latour etc then pay to have it professionally stored as it isn't worth the risk - plus your household insurance probably wouldn't cover it
JRM said:
If you've got really silly and bought 1st Growths e.g. Lafite, Latour etc then pay to have it professionally stored as it isn't worth the risk
Sadly this is right. Homes and garages just aren't equipped to keep wine at a consistent "cellar" temperature. You can buy electrically powered cupboards to do the job but why? If you've got wine for drinking it will keep in the house long enough to get around to it.If its for laying down - a warehouse is best!Cheers fellas, great advice!
I hate to disappoint but we're not talking £1000+ bottles of Pomerol here!...
But I'm a bit addicted to buying the stuff and I have a wine merchant who seems to know exactly when to drop me an email, the upshot being I've ended up with well over 150 bottles of respectable (£50-£100 per bottle) wines stacked up in the kitchen, hallway, utility etc It's starting to attract comments from the other half.
From what you've said I basically needn't worry too much and can stick them in the garage as they aren't top flight.
I hate to disappoint but we're not talking £1000+ bottles of Pomerol here!...
But I'm a bit addicted to buying the stuff and I have a wine merchant who seems to know exactly when to drop me an email, the upshot being I've ended up with well over 150 bottles of respectable (£50-£100 per bottle) wines stacked up in the kitchen, hallway, utility etc It's starting to attract comments from the other half.
From what you've said I basically needn't worry too much and can stick them in the garage as they aren't top flight.
Just thinking out loud! Is storing in your loft a possibility?
You could construct an insulated box store up there that protects from the summer heat, but in the UK, the ambient temperature is likely to be fairly low anyway, assuming you have good ceiling insulation. Inevitably there will be much less light than in your garage, where the space is much handier for things you need day-to-day.
You could construct an insulated box store up there that protects from the summer heat, but in the UK, the ambient temperature is likely to be fairly low anyway, assuming you have good ceiling insulation. Inevitably there will be much less light than in your garage, where the space is much handier for things you need day-to-day.
Humidity makes the labels on the bottles look bad which is no good if you are looking to resell, but it has no effect on taste.
I store my decent wines in the cellar of a friend's 17thC house which is as damp as heck in winter, but the wine stays fine at a pretty constant 12deg C.
Not being immediately to hand the hard part is remembering to recover them for consumption.
I store my decent wines in the cellar of a friend's 17thC house which is as damp as heck in winter, but the wine stays fine at a pretty constant 12deg C.
Not being immediately to hand the hard part is remembering to recover them for consumption.
rdjohn said:
Just thinking out loud! Is storing in your loft a possibility?
You could construct an insulated box store up there that protects from the summer heat, but in the UK, the ambient temperature is likely to be fairly low anyway, assuming you have good ceiling insulation. Inevitably there will be much less light than in your garage, where the space is much handier for things you need day-to-day.
I had thought of that but assumed the temp fluctuations would be too great. Can get pretty hot in a loft during summer...You could construct an insulated box store up there that protects from the summer heat, but in the UK, the ambient temperature is likely to be fairly low anyway, assuming you have good ceiling insulation. Inevitably there will be much less light than in your garage, where the space is much handier for things you need day-to-day.
DoubleSix said:
Cheers fellas, great advice!
I hate to disappoint but we're not talking £1000+ bottles of Pomerol here!...
But I'm a bit addicted to buying the stuff and I have a wine merchant who seems to know exactly when to drop me an email, the upshot being I've ended up with well over 150 bottles of respectable (£50-£100 per bottle) wines stacked up in the kitchen, hallway, utility etc It's starting to attract comments from the other half.
From what you've said I basically needn't worry too much and can stick them in the garage as they aren't top flight.
I wouldn't go that far - I'd be pretty hacked off to find that a case of £50-100 bottles had been turned into cooking wine through poor storage. I hate to disappoint but we're not talking £1000+ bottles of Pomerol here!...
But I'm a bit addicted to buying the stuff and I have a wine merchant who seems to know exactly when to drop me an email, the upshot being I've ended up with well over 150 bottles of respectable (£50-£100 per bottle) wines stacked up in the kitchen, hallway, utility etc It's starting to attract comments from the other half.
From what you've said I basically needn't worry too much and can stick them in the garage as they aren't top flight.
Take a look at a Eurocave. Does what it says on the tin.
Dear DS,
Obvious things first: Store 'em lying down not vertically.
Loft or garage?
No. Temperature swing too large. Loft too hot in summer and garage too cold in winter.
Do you have an understairs cupboard?
Best.
Otherwise in your spare bedroom on racks against an internal wall.
(You do have a spare bedroom, dont' you? This is PH!)
I store mine this way,
regards,
Jet
Obvious things first: Store 'em lying down not vertically.
Loft or garage?
No. Temperature swing too large. Loft too hot in summer and garage too cold in winter.
Do you have an understairs cupboard?
Best.
Otherwise in your spare bedroom on racks against an internal wall.
(You do have a spare bedroom, dont' you? This is PH!)
I store mine this way,
regards,
Jet
I think my house is trying to be awkward...
My garage is away from the main house and without power, so can't stick a wine fridge in there.
My spare room has the boiler in so gets rather warm.
Under stairs seems potential best option so far but surely hallway radiator will create undesirable fluctuations - still probably best option I guess :/
My garage is away from the main house and without power, so can't stick a wine fridge in there.
My spare room has the boiler in so gets rather warm.
Under stairs seems potential best option so far but surely hallway radiator will create undesirable fluctuations - still probably best option I guess :/
DoubleSix said:
My garage is away from the main house and without power, so can't stick a wine fridge in there.
Poor excuse! A electrician can run a supply out to a garage easily. (You realise that what you've said, plus "main house" now has produced an image of a sprawling country estate with outbuildings, stables, lakes...)
Definitely not in the attic, opt to keep them in a cold environment rather than a warm one if you have a choice.
Regarding the humidity comment, that is just so the corks don't dry out and then let air into the bottle, but that takes a while to happen. The labels will be fine!!
As I said, decent wine will be perfectly ok in original boxes, horizontal and in the garage for a couple of years - just get drinking so that it doesn't get wasted!
Regarding the humidity comment, that is just so the corks don't dry out and then let air into the bottle, but that takes a while to happen. The labels will be fine!!
As I said, decent wine will be perfectly ok in original boxes, horizontal and in the garage for a couple of years - just get drinking so that it doesn't get wasted!
DoubleSix said:
I had thought of that but assumed the temp fluctuations would be too great. Can get pretty hot in a loft during summer...
That is why you would need to insulate it well. With no air circulating and the mass of the 100 bottles the temperature would remain relatively stable between the short hot peaks a few days each year and the cooler nights.
rdjohn said:
DoubleSix said:
I had thought of that but assumed the temp fluctuations would be too great. Can get pretty hot in a loft during summer...
That is why you would need to insulate it well. With no air circulating and the mass of the 100 bottles the temperature would remain relatively stable between the short hot peaks a few days each year and the cooler nights.
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