A Few Wine Storage Basics

“Should I store my bottle of wine laying down?” I got that question from a very good friend of mine several months after a work trip that included a quick side trip to Lodi California. My friend, who self proclaimed as “not a wine person” bought a nice, relatively expensive bottle of wine for his wife that he would also enjoy. After the tasting at the winery he was actually pretty excited about his purchase. My advice on the wine that he had purchased was to give it at least one more year in the bottle to be at the peak of that wine’s potential. His response was “Sure thing.”Several months later he asked me that question, which led to a few more tips to ensure that his prized bottle of stored wine will be as good as possible when he uncorked it. So here are a few basic steps to store your wine in order of importance. First and foremost: DO NOT store your bottle of wine where it will get hit by any direct sun light! Even indirect sun light is bad. So find a dark space to place it in. Second would be temperature. Try to store it in a place that is relatively stable in temperature. No lower than 40 degrees F, and definitely not hotter than 80! Preferably 65-70 degrees for reds, 40-50 degrees for whites. Forgetting your bottle of wine in the back seat of your vehicle in summer will kill any wine. Third; should you lay it flat (horizontal) or upright (vertical)? It depends on two things. Is your wine bottle closed with a cork or screw cap, and how long are you going to keep it before drinking? If your wine is screw capped then store it upright. If it is corked (even if it is not real cork, just not screw capped), and you are going to drink your wine relatively soon then you can store it upright. Well, how long is relatively soon? It depends on your climate and your storage. Corked (with real cork) wines are stored flat (horizontal) because a wet cork expands and ensures that no air is getting in. If the cork dries out then air could potentially get to your wine, slowly turning it into vinegar. So if you live on the Gulf Coast, where it is mostly humid, and your storage is temperature stable, you could safely store your corked wine upright for a year or more. If you live in the desert of Nevada, maybe only a month. Going to keep that bottle for a few years? Well, you and I are in the vast minority and you should store and age your wine laying down (horizontal). A long story for a few basics. If you have questions about storing wine e-mail us. Cheers to that future glass of wine!