A good red wine storage solution help needed

Jizzer28 · 25-04-2011 08:20PM #1

Hi to all, Im planning to start a little wine collection, nothing too fancy just like a nice red wine and would be interested in exploring it,

Ive heard about eurocaves and the like which are out of my price range, but if anyone knows a way to store a few bottles safely to preserve them properly any help would be appreciated

ps ive got a large wooden shed which is drylined and insulated and pretty dark it doesnt get much light at all wonder if this would do? is there a way to protect bottles with a cover or somesuch?

forgive my newbness

the beer revolu · 26-04-2011 10:56AM

Basically wine needs to be stored on its side (or upsidedown) in a place with a cool and, more importantly, consistent temperature with little or no light and no vibrations (some people say this is rubbish).

Your insulated shed may well be fine provided its day time and night time temps are similar and its Summer and Winter temps are somewhat similar. If the temperature is pretty stable, then a cover to exclude light would be fine. Also, wooden boxes help reduce temperature fluctuations.

I keep my wine under my stairs which stays at a pretty constant temperature and is fairly dark. Anything I'm keeping for long periods is in either wooden cases or is double cardboard boxed.

Lady Chatterton · 05-05-2011 08:45PM

the beer revolu wrote: »

Basically wine needs to be stored on its side (or upsidedown) in a place with a cool and, more importantly, consistent temperature with little or no light and no vibrations (some people say this is rubbish).

Your insulated shed may well be fine provided its day time and night time temps are similar and its Summer and Winter temps are somewhat similar. If the temperature is pretty stable, then a cover to exclude light would be fine. Also, wooden boxes help reduce temperature fluctuations.

I keep my wine under my stairs which stays at a pretty constant temperature and is fairly dark. Anything I'm keeping for long periods is in either wooden cases or is double cardboard boxed.

This is good advice, too many people destory good wine by leaving it in wine racks in the kitchen. The kitchen is one of the worst places to store wine because of the temperature variations.

DaveJ7 · 10-05-2011 02:21PM

I have most of my wine stored with a well known UK wine merchant. For wines that I have picked up along the way I store them in cheap wine racks purchased from IKEA, for about €7. They can hold 9 wines horizontally each and racks can be joined 3 high. I would avoid your shed if your serious about longer term storage. Temperature is main issue, light, dampness and vibrations play roles too. Under stairs is idea, unless you have a water heater or similar. Even a dark corner in your living room would be okay, not great. Best of luck with your collection.

huskerdu · 12-05-2011 08:42AM

The correct temperature for storing wine is around 11-13C but as consistency is more important.

You can buy a wine cellar thermometer which would be useful.

you can leave it under your stairs or in your shed for a few days and it will register the max and min temp during that time. If it varies too much, it is not a good wine storage area.

I bought a wine fridge that can be set to 12 degrees and holds 12 bottles.
It cost less than €200, so that might be in your budget.

I notice quite a few being sold second hand on gumtree and donedeal at the moment.

A good red wine storage solution help needed

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