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How Should I Store Wine?
Storing wine is what we'll be looking at in this part of our wine 101 guide...
A simple method of wine storage is to keep your bottles sideways in a dark place away from heat or light. Doing so will minimize damage (mainly in terms of deterioration of taste and flavors) to the wine and allow you to store it for as long as you desire. However, knowing a bit more about wine storage will help you get the best out of your bottles.
When it comes to preserving wine, temperature is the thing that makes the most difference. Wine should normally be stored between 50-60F, although a range of 45-65F is considered OK. A temperature below the ideal range will prevent your wine from aging correctly. A higher temperature, on the other hand, can prematurely age your wine and cause it to go bad.
Fluctuating temperatures hurt wines the most. It's much better to keep your wine at a constant temperature, even if it is too high or too low, than to subject it to large fluctuations every day. The temperature should never fluctuate more than 5 degrees a day; this is especially important for red wines, which can be more damaged than whites from fluctuations.
Keeping track of humidity is also important in wine storage; if the air in the storage area is too dry, the corks of your bottles will dry out, and the air will come in contact with the wine and damage it. Keeping your humidity level at around 70 to 80 percent is ideal for wine storage, and you can track this with a hygrometer.
A wine cellar is the ideal place for storing wine because it maintains the optimal humidity and temperature; however, they aren't practical for most people because of their size and cost. However, you can mimic the conditions of a wine cellar in a basement or garage. Making some space in either and purchasing a wine rack and temperature / humidity gauge are highly recommended if you intend on storing more than a few bottles of wine at a time.
As for how long to store it for, this depends on the type of wine, the region the wine was made in, the technique used to make it, and the particular year the grapes were harvested in. In general though, you should drink whites quickly and age reds for five to 10 years. If you're starting out, aging charts (which are available free online) can help you see when a wine is typically best enjoyed.
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