Everybody who has a bottle of wine in their possession should have a way to keep it so it doesn’t go bad. After all, the beautiful thing about wine is that it gets better over time so there is motivation to store it somewhere. It doesn’t even need to be a bottle of expensive wine. One that you plan to drink at some point in the future that you want to know is going to be good when it does get opened.
Wine storage isn’t rocket science but it does take a few tweaks and planning to whatever system you have now. In this article, we will go over how to store your wines from the most expensive bottle of French bubbly to a moderately priced Moroccan Dune wine.
1 – Use a fridge
A wine fridge is an ideal way to store wine. However, it isn’t 100% necessary especially if you only have one or two wines you are looking to store. Putting wine in your fridge is an option but you need to be aware of a couple of things.
A refrigerator is usually considered too cold for wine storage so don’t use it for a wine that needs to be aged and is going to be consumed in a few years. Instead, keep a couple of wines in the fridge to have something ready to drink within a few weeks or a month.
When you are ready to drink it, take it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you plan to drink it so it won’t be too cold. The ideal temperature to drink white wine is around 55°F and a typical fridge keeps things cool at 45°F. Of course, a bottle of champagne should be taken out right when you plan to open it since it should be consumed cold.
The key is to not have wine out that is going to be at a temperature over 70°F since that will cause it to spoil if left there for too long.
2 – Keep it steady
If you plan to keep wine for a while and don’t have a wine fridge it is important to keep it at a steady temperature. Fluctuations can ruin a wine if it goes from very cold to very hot. The ideal temperature is under 60°F so a cellar that maintains a steady temperature is the perfect location. If not a cellar then anyplace in your house or garage that doesn’t have wild fluctuations in temperature should be the spot you keep it.
3 – Wine fridge
When you have some special wines that need to age for a few years or you are holding onto for a special occasion in the future, then a wine fridge is a savvy investment. A wine fridge is going to keep the temperature steady that isn’t too cold as a regular refrigerator and also keeps the humidity low.
They can cost a fortune or as little as $100, so there is certainly one that fits your budget and is worth it.
