Wine Storage Advice

[dan_smee]

Hey all,

Just had a quick question about home wine storage:

Have a few good bottles at home, but no space, even for a 40 bottle wine fridge and wanted to ask if my conditions were suitable for medium-term cellaring?

I have a cupboard in the kitchen I have been monitoring with a hygrometer. In the middle of the day, at it's hottest and dryest it is 15.8 C and 53% humidity.

It does fluctuate in that it gets much colder overnight. My understanding is fluctuations are very bad, but most of the reasons I can find are that it is to do with corks expanding and contracting, but surely corks won't expand and contract appreciably in those conditions?

[ticklenow1]

Try polystyrene boxes. They will help with the temperature fluctuations. Short of a wine fridge or something underground, they are your best bet (and quite cheap). Double wrap in newspaper and fill the box as much as you can.

Cheers
Ian

[Craig(NZ)]

Or move to New Zealand, its colder there and the wine is better

Who's that walking on my bridge

[winenovice]

Hey all,

Just had a quick question about home wine storage:

Have a few good bottles at home, but no space, even for a 40 bottle wine fridge and wanted to ask if my conditions were suitable for medium-term cellaring?

I have a cupboard in the kitchen I have been monitoring with a hygrometer. In the middle of the day, at it's hottest and dryest it is 15.8 C and 53% humidity.

It does fluctuate in that it gets much colder overnight. My understanding is fluctuations are very bad, but most of the reasons I can find are that it is to do with corks expanding and contracting, but surely corks won't expand and contract appreciably in those conditions?

If it's 15.8 in winter, I shudder to think what it will be like during summer. Then again if heating is used (which I am assuming it is), then 15.8 is actually quite good.