How to Store Wine

For those of us (the 99%) who don’t have a cellar at home, the question of how to store wine isn’t obvious.

I live in Phoenix, where temperatures can hit 120 degrees (gulp) in the summer, so for me, wine storage is a big concern. All wine, from Chateau Lafite to your two-buck Chuck, is a living thing, meaning that what’s in the bottle is affected by the environment. When it comes to wine, you need to control temperature, humidity, light, smells and the position of the bottle.

Temperature & Humidity

Wine likes to be in temperatures ranging from 45-58 degrees depending on the kind of wine it is. Whites and bubbles should be colder than your reds.

Your first thought might be to simply stick bottles in your fridge, but the average fridge is 34-38 degrees and less humid than wine likes. This can cause the cork to dry out quicker allowing air into the wine, and the cold might mute the flavors of the wine. If you’re going to drink the bottle within a few days, the refrigerator is perfectly acceptable to use, as it won’t have the time to damage the wine.

The ideal solution is a wine refrigerator. You can find them in all sizes. I originally had one that held 28 bottles, but I quickly ran out of space. I bought a second unit that holds 80 bottles and now I’m out of space there too. The nice thing about having two is that I have one for whites and one for reds, so I can keep each in their ideal temperatures. Many wine coolers have zones so you can store both in the same unit.

If you have a basement, depending on its temperature and humidity (ideally 50-80%) that could be an excellent, cheap place to store your collection. Depending on the climate where you live, you could also store the wine in a pantry.

Light & Smells

Wine is like quarterback Aaron Rodgers, it likes the dark. This is why wine is most often put in dark bottles. To protect your wine, you’ll want to keep it out of direct sunlight streaming into your house.

Wine breathes through its cork so if you store wine in a room with odors it can get into the wine and change the aromas and taste of the wine. This is very true if you smoke cigarettes or cigars near where you store your wine.

Position

While you might be tempted to store your bottles upright to display cool labels, the best position is to have the wine on its side. This helps keep the cork in contact with the wine so it doesn’t dry out.

Once you have the wine on a rack, keep movement to a minimum since vibrations can impact the molecular structure of the wine.

How to Store Wine After Opening

My husband doesn’t drink much wine, so when I open a bottle, I know there is going to be wine leftover. I use a Vacu Vin Wine Saver Pump. This allows you to pull the air out of the bottle, helping to preserve the integrity of your wine. For bubbles, I use a Champagne stopper, which preserves the fizz and flavor.