Americans consume 90% of their wines within 1-2 weeks, according to research. Most wine ages fine with time if stored properly in a cellar. There’s a difference between the optimal maturity of wine and its release date. Therefore, many wine collectors invest in storage solutions such as custom wine rooms and cellars.

If you’re an enthusiastic wine collector who wants to show off their opulent wine collection, learn the dos and don’ts of wine storage before you build a cellar.

Dos of Wine Storage

Here’s what you can and should do to keep your wine safe:

1. Stack Bottles Down

If you’re planning to store the bottles for more than a few weeks, make sure you stack them right. The key is to ensure that corks retain their moisture because dried-out corks can crack and allow air inside the bottles. This ultimately causes the wine to oxidize prematurely. The best way to prevent this problem is to keep the cork in contact with the wine to maintain the moisture level. You can do that by laying the bottles down.

Another thing to keep in mind is that molecules fall out and collect sediment in the bottle as it ages. You can prevent that by laying the bottles down but making sure that the label is facing up. This makes your wine collection display-worthy and keeps the sediment buildup at the back.

2. Control Humidity and Temperature

If you know your wine, you also know that it’s prone to climate change. However, you may not know the optimum humidity and temperature level for long-term, safe storage. The leading wine storage professionals recommend 65% humidity and 57^oF (13.89^oC). Humidity is important to sustain the moisture level of the cork and avoid molds from growing on the labels because it’ll damage the market value of your wine collection.

3. Keep Provenance and Inventory Record

If you ever want to recoup your wine collection value in the market, you’ll need the records of inventory and provenance. A buyer would want assurance that your wine has been stored safely and never been transported because vibration is the enemy of fine wine. Remember to keep all the purchase records with you.

4. Keep The Wine Cool

Any fluctuations in temperature or heat aren’t ideal for wine storage. You should store your wine where it doesn’t heat up. The basement is the best spot to store wine. Alternatively, you can build wine storage under your staircase. Check out this custom wine room by Shower Doors of Austin. It’s just the perfect place to store your wine collection and keep it cool.

5. Turn The Lights Off

Light and exposure to sunlight hurt wine quality. UV rays make wine age prematurely. That’s one of the reasons wine bottles are colored because dark glass protects the wine from light exposure.

You can keep your bottles safe by storing them in a dark room away from sun exposure. Turn the lights off at all times unless you need to grab a bottle. You can use LED lights and avoid using fluorescent lightbulbs because they can also emit UV radiation, although a small amount.

4. Buy A Cooler

If you don’t have enough space in your home to build a wine room or a room that doesn’t meet all requirements, you can still keep your wine safe. A wine cooler is a suitable option if your collection is small.

A cooling unit keeps the temperature consistent. Some wine coolers have UV blocking features, multiple temperature zones, and humidity control properties. 

Don’ts of Wine Storage

Make sure to avoid the following things:

1. Don’t Place It Far Above or At Floor Level

Water damage is a common problem with wine collection. If you’re storing wine in a basement where plumbing issues may arise, eliminate that risk by placing wine well above the floor level. Similarly, your bottles may fall or break if you place them out of reach. Make sure you’re keeping the bottles to your reach.

2. Don’t Put The Bottles in Refrigerator

A refrigerator is not an appropriate place for wine storage. You can put white wine in the refrigerator an hour or so before you want to enjoy it. Otherwise, please don’t put the bottles in the refrigerator because it’s too cold for the wine. The cold temperature causes the cork to shrink, allowing air inside the bottle, eventually damaging the wine’s quality.

If you keep your wine bottle in the refrigerator for too long, it freezes, causing the bottle to break or push out the cork.

3. Don’t Shake-Up

Vibrations speed up chemical reactions, according to experts. Vibrations can damage wine because they stir up sediment leaving a gritty, undesirable texture. Avoid any disturbance, including transportation, if you want to retain the quality of your wine. Don’t shake up bottles unless you want to use them.

4. Don’t Place Them on Appliances

Many people make the mistake of placing their wine bottles on top of appliances such as refrigerators. It seems like a logical option, but it’s the worst place to keep your wine. This does more harm because these appliances emit heat that influences the temperature of the wine.

Your refrigerator and water dispenser also emit vibrations in the form of a compressor cycle. Similarly, many appliances are close to the light, such as light bulbs, which will cause your wine to age prematurely.

Build Custom Wine Room in Austin

You can avoid all these problems by building a custom wine room with Shower Doors of Austin. As a glass expert company, they’ve built several wine rooms in Austin and other parts of Texas. Shower Doors of Austin also fabricates and installs custom shower doors. You can request a free in-home consultation today. A field technician will visit your home and offer you a cost estimate.