Storing Your Wine ~ Tips for proper wine storage
How you store your wine depends on the length of time you will be storing it, how much you have to store and the type of wine. Wine storage units are varied and it is important to understand which is most appropriate for your wine-drinking preferences.
Follow this basic guideline for storing your wines ~
Storing Wines for Immediate Enjoyment
When you have purchased your wines for a special occasion happening within a week or two, you will be concerned with keeping your wine out of extreme heat or cold. The many styles of wine racks including tabletop, wall and floor wine racks are ideal for storing wine bottles for immediate consumption. Your wine can be stored in any position.
Storing Wines for Short Term
If you will not be enjoying your wine for a few weeks or even a couple of months, you will be also be concerned about extreme temperatures, and you should store your wine on its side in order to keep the cork from drying out. The cork will allow air to get ino the bottle if it dries out and shrinks. Even the slightest shrinkage can let enough air into the bottle to spoil the wine. Again, any style of home wine rack which supports the wine bottles on their sides will be fine. Depending on how much wine you like to keep on hand, perhaps the a variety of wines for different food pairings, you may consider an under-counter wine cooler that has a temperature control feature.
Storing Wines for Long Term
If you are a real wine enthusiast and are creating your own collection of interesting wines, you will want to learn about the wine storage solutions for a large number of wine bottles. Wine racks intended for short-term storage will not typically storemore than 100-150 bottles, and in addition, you will need to consider the heat and light conditions when storing a significant volume of wine for long periods of time.
Long-term storage solutions include wine coolers or mini-cellars, expandable wine rack storage units and room-size custom wine cellars. Wine coolers are really small refrigerators with the ability to adjust the cooling temperature. Some wine coolers have dual temperature controls which allow you to store different types of wines at their proper temperatures. A three case wine cooler is about three-quarters of the size of a dishwasher and will conveniently fit under any counter or into the end of a center island. You will also find models that are the size of a standard refrigerator or refrigerator/freezer combo which can store in the hundred-bottle range.
Expandable wine storage units are ideal for a wine collection that will grow over time, or if you are not sure how big your collection will get. These units are designed in modules in variety of styles for you to mix and match to suit the layout of the room. Typically these larger storage units are placed in a room with temperature and light controls.
Wine cellars are specially designed rooms dedicated to the storage of wine for long periods of time. All features and conditions of these rooms are focussed on keeping wines in the best condition possible and aiding the maturing process when required. For the serious wine collector, a wine cellar is a must.
Suppliers of custom wine storage units and wine cellars will work with you to design your wine racks to fit your room layout, size and types of wines you will be storing. Having an expert work with you is a great advantage and will ensure that you have the optimum conditions and features for your wine collection.
