Wine Storage?

[jyl]

Can I see pictures of your wine storage? Or descriptions?

I am tired of having wine randomly stacked in dusty boxes in a dim corner of the basement. I'd like to build something more organized and attractive. But I am having a hard time coming up with interesting ideas. The DIY wine rack plans I've found are boring.

Its not a ton of wine at this point. I think there are about 7 cases' worth of wine here, in total.

The basement stays pretty cool, so I don't think I "need" refrigerated storage. But I'm not averse to a cooler if that is better than an open rack.

[HardDrive]

I store my wine in a glass. Its a short term solution, but it offers a more delicate method of ingesting the wine as opposed to swigging it from the bottle, a practice my wife frowns upon.

[svandamme]

i store it in mah belly

[imcarthur]

I am sure that you know the basic 'rules' of wine storage. Cool, constant temperature. No light. No odors. No vibration.

I keep mine in a lightly-heated 4 ft crawl space under the front half of our house. I have utilitarian racks in a corner on a protected north wall. In the summer, I use hard insulation to keep the cool in which I remove in the winter to keep it above freezing. Not pretty, but functional. It appears to work well. I have sampled wines that I have stored for 8 years & they have been perfect.



The left rack is Burgundies & Bordeaux. The right is spillover French, Italian, Spanish with Sauternes stored unceremoniously in the middle.

Whatever rack you use, document your purchases. I use an Excel spreadsheet with label pic, details, price, purchase date & a map of the racks.





Ian

[red-beard]

I used 2 wine fridges. One has a problem with keeping the wine too cold, and that is designated for whites and cheaper wines. It will hold 40-50 bottles, when stacked properly.

The other is a 25 bottle fridge and it is well designed and keeps the wine a nice 55F. This one gets the "good stuff", that is typically opened once or twice a year.

The nice thing about the "crappy" fridge, is that when my main unit went out, I cleaned out the wine, turned down the temp and had a frig while we fixed the regular one.

[BeyGon]

I just have to drink it, the "Two Buck Chuck" goes bad to quick

[jyl]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

I am sure that you know the basic 'rules' of wine storage. Cool, constant temperature. No light. No odors. No vibration.

I keep mine in a lightly-heated 4 ft crawl space under the front half of our house. I have utilitarian racks in a corner on a protected north wall. In the summer, I use hard insulation to keep the cool in which I remove in the winter to keep it above freezing. Not pretty, but functional. It appears to work well. I have sampled wines that I have stored for 8 years & they have been perfect.

The left rack is Burgundies & Bordeaux. The right is spillover French, Italian, Spanish with Sauternes stored unceremoniously in the middle.

Whatever rack you use, document your purchases. I use an Excel spreadsheet with label pic, details, price, purchase date & a map of the racks.

Ian

I am unclear about the temperature requirement. My basement stays in the 62-68F range year-round. So the temp is fairly constant but not particularly cool. Is that good enough or should I plan on insulation or even a cooler?

[RWebb]

John, that Tair is fine.

My problem with the coolers is that the wine bottles are always getting some vibration as the unit runs. Besides, they cost money.

What wines are your planning to store & for how long?
or. Pinot ofr 5 years is way different from 1st Growth Bordeaux for 50...

[imcarthur]

10 to 13 degrees C (50 - 55 F) is the usual figure with moderate to damp humidity. I put the racks against a block outside wall & insulate them from the room. That is probably your best option - short of actual cooling. This uses the cool ground temperature to keep it stable. You don't want to have a swing of more than 3 - 4 degrees in the different seasons. Mine is stable around 55 - 57 degrees.

Aging is a matter of taste. The trend in NA has been for bold wines. Bold versus subtlety, that is . . . and subtlety requires age in many grape varietals. I tend to be very conservative & I follow Decanter's aging suggestions vs Parker's.

Ian

[red-beard]

The trend in NA has been for bold wines. Bold versus subtlety, that is . . .

Well, that really explains a lot, politically as well!

[on2wheels52]

Some storage solutions are more elaborate than ours (we do have a bottle rack also).



Jim

[jyl]

I have modest ambitions. Every now and again, I buy a case of local wine that I like. Almost all reds. Not expensive wine - usually $25-30 a bottle stuff -but worth storing adequately.

I don't drink wine that often, so the last bottles of each case might be drunk in 5 or 10 years. I still have some 1999 bottles around here. So, I'm looking for a practical sort of storage solution, to keep things organized and be attractive, as much as to "age" the wine. To be honest, I am not enough of a wine enthusiast to select and improve wine by aging it. I simply would like my stashed wine to not deteriorate.

There are some good deals on good wines out there. Restaurant business is down, so demand for wine is down.

John, that Tair is fine.



My problem with the coolers is that the wine bottles are always getting some vibration as the unit runs. Besides, they cost money.



What wines are your planning to store & for how long?

or. Pinot ofr 5 years is way different from 1st Growth Bordeaux for 50...

[dzls rok]

can someone please explain the effects of vibration on the wine during storage?

[imcarthur]

I collect wine rather than stock up. I tend to buy $40-50 per & usually never more than 3 of any bottle. I started to cellar in 2001 because I wanted to drink older wines than I could find. I always buy a little faster than I drink so the quantity grows very slowly. My current stock is 180 bottles.

I buy a small quantity of Decanter-recommended Bordeaux futures - 2 x 3 bottle lots - and have for every year since '99. For Burgundy, I buy as available from the better negotiants - but good years only. Similar in Italy, but usually only Brunellos, Barbarescos & Barolos tempt me although the odd Toscano IGT creeps in. I also love Riojas - probably the best bang for the buck out there. I have never really researched American wines heavily & they tend to be silly prices here anyway.

I love a good mature wine.

Ian

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by dzls rok

can someone please explain the effects of vibration on the wine during storage?

From what I have heard/read/know, any change in the environment - temp, light or vibration - will speed the maturation in an unnatural way. You want slow maturation for the best results. And the cork must remain 'wet' to prevent it from drying out which would let air/bacteria in.

I have found that a wine I bring back from Europe needs a rest period before it recovers. This might be in my head, or it might be the altitude but wine seems to go into shock with lots of movement. After a rest of several months, it recovers.

But then, I just might be an obsessed wino.

Ian

[RWebb]

that's right

in technical jargon "it messes with the yeast in the reaction flask"

and that's what a wine bottle really is, a reaction flask for a little ecosystem of micro-organisms...

for 10 years out, don't worry at all about getting into the 50 oF range

sounds like what you really need is some sort of shelving to organize your wine. I just use the cardboard boxes... some day I might build my own shelves - a LOT cheaper than buying that over-priced crap they sell...

if you need storage space, I am certain that "Mustang Paul" would be glad to oblige. He also cellars a selection of fine cheeses...


Here is my own Wine Storage System:

[jyl]

Yup, that looks exactly like my "system".

If I don't need to worry about temperature, then this will become quite simple. I'm thinking I will build a wood rack for 30-ish bottles, into a small alcove off the kitchen where wine tends to accumulate anyway. And then some bigger wood racks for 200-ish bottles, down in the coolest corner of the basement.

Now to figure out a design that looks attractive done in dark wood and placed in a traditional house, and is easy to build.

For short-term storage, I suggest:

http://www.baronbob.com/winerack-winegaggift.htm

[jyl]

Some idea pics I found.

"Slats". This looks kind of tedious to build, and not very space efficient, but can accomodate unusual sizes.


"Cutouts". This looks very easy and quick to build, not very space efficient, can accomodate unusual sizes. Looks nice.


"Ridges". This looks tedious but easy to build, very space efficient, can only hold a standard size bottle. Kind of utilitarian looking.


"Cubbies". This looks the hardest to build, only moderately space efficient, only holds standard bottles, a pain to dust, but I do like the looks. Sort of old school.


"Diagonals". This seems easy enough to build, very space wasteful, doesn't hold individual bottles separate.


"Display". This is very space wasteful and holds bottles at the wrong angle.

[imcarthur]

I bought my racks from a local 'hdwe' store. 72 bottle rack for around $70. Very simple - certainly not elegant. I lagged them into the wall . . .



It looks like it might be from: Bordex Bordex

Ian

[Don Plumley]

For our home wines, I have a EuroCave constant temp unit with sliding shelves. Holds about 225 bottles IIRC, problem with rack spacing is these fat NA Burg bottles are too big in diameter for single sliding shelves. But what I like about it is it is a constant temp unit, not a fridge. So when it gets cold in the winter, it works as a heat pump and keeps the temp steady.

Unless you are doing decade+ aging, I wouldn't worry about the diff between 55 or 60. Above 65 is not ideal, but not a crime. Rapid temp changes and low humidity are bad.

We have a quasi-basement since our home is built on a hillside - it stays very cool and constant temperature, I store a few cases down there just stacked in boxes.

Best storage racks depend if you have lots of similar/same bottles or lots of individual bottles that are different. Go to www.wineenthusiast.com for some ideas. I think simple is best unless you are building a trophy room. I think this style of cube with an "X" in the middle (sorry, can't post the flash picture) is very flexible, space efficient and economical. Would be very easy to make yourself.