[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?