wine storage

Wine storage is a lot like dog training. Consistency is the key. Wine needs to be kept at a constant temperature, away from the light. Experts will tell you that the best temperature for wine storage is 55 degrees, but most wines will tolerate temps up to 15 degrees warmer as long as the temperature remains fairly constant. Some fine wines may not develop to their full potential if kept at too high a temperature, but chances are, if you’re collecting fine vintages, you are probably also investing in a temperature-controlled space.


Keeping the temperature and humidity of a wine storage space maintained at optimum levels is a lot easier in a wine cellar or wine locker, but if those options aren’t available, it’s fine to store wine at home in a closet or out of the way corner of your living room. Keeping wine at home is called “cellaring” and it can be done successfully with a little pre-planning.

Buy yourself a wine rack so that you can store your wines horizontally. Wine needs to be on its side so that the cork doesn’t dry out. When corks get dry, oxygen gets into the bottle and turns your wine into really expensive vinegar.

Be careful setting up a wine storage space too near the kitchen (which tends to get hot) or the bathroom (which tends to get too humid). Basements are good, IF you have a place that’s far enough away from the furnace that it won’t get hot.

Your storage space needs to be dark. Light will destroy a wine’s delicate properties faster than excess heat. The worst thing you can do to wine is store it upright in the refrigerator. The environment is much too cool and dry for the wine, and storing a bottle upright allows the wine’s cork to dry out.

storing leftover wine

We tend to think that having leftover wine is not one of life’s biggest problems. It’s not like getting stuck with a pound of fruitcake after the holidays, or a container full of sweet and sour eggplant that no one wanted to eat but you don’t want to throw away.

Of course, there are those who say that once you’ve opened a wine bottle, it’s done. Oxygen’s come in and ruined the wine. And for really expensive bottles, those people are probably right. But a little air is not going to hurt your average table wine. If you find yourself with a half-bottle of bubbly or a glass or two of undrunk red wine, this is one time when it is permissible to store the wine in the fridge.

For sparkling wines, you should cap the bottle with a wine stopper, available in any kitchen supply store and many upscale supermarkets. White and red wine will keep best if you pour your leftovers into a smaller bottle before popping it into the refrigerator.

If you’re really hard-core about maintaining the character of the leftover wine, there are a couple of devices that help prevent oxidation. One is a small vacuum pump that removes oxygen from the wine and will keep it fresh for 2-3 days. You can also buy cans of inert gas that you squirt into your bottle before recorking. This leaves a protective layer of gas between the wine and the oxygen.

Another interesting trick is to save your glass bottles of soda that have the twist off caps. Wash them thoroughly to make sure there is no remaining soda in the bottle. Upon opening the wine, immediately pour the portion that you don’t think you will drink into the glass bottle and place the cap tightly on the bottle. This will buy you several days to enjoy the wine.

No matter what measures you take, you should drink up your leftovers within a day or two, before the wine deteriorates completely.