Wine Storage Tips
If you drink your wines within a week or two of buying them, you don’t need to worry about home wine storage options but if you plan to buy and hold wines, you’ll need a home wine storage solution that ensures a climate-controlled environment for your wines, namely a separate room or a cabinet plus cooling unit. Otherwise, once the temperature goes much above 18C (65F), the wine will start to deteriorate. The optimum temperature setting for the wines is between 13C (55F) and 18C (65F).
Optimal storage conditions consist of an environment that is free from fluctuations in temperature, has some humidity to prevent the cork from drying out, some air circulation, and is free from vibration, light, and odours. The wine bottle should be sloping slightly downwards so that the cork is always moist otherwise it will dry up and let oxygen in.
Incidentally, it is not a good idea to store wine in a fridge. The constant vibration will have a negative effect on its flavour, the lack of moisture will eventually dry out the cork and lead to air getting in, and because of the low temperature (average is 7C or 45F), a good wine will not evolve.
Wine Cabinet & Racking Acquisition Options
A good practical storage solution for many is a freestanding wine cabinet, which comes with a cooling unit to regulate the temperature. Capacities range from 20 bottles to 500. If you have limited space and a kitchen renovation pending, some of the smaller units can be built in. However, if expense is no object, you can have a custom built cellar designed with modular climate control and racking systems. If you end up with a substantial collection, it is a good idea to obtain a certified valuation of your collection and build it into your insurance policy.
Visit the following companies to do some comparison-shopping:
Rosehill Wine Cellars is located at 1686 Mattawa Ave, Mississauga. They have a variety of wine cabinets, wine cooling units and wine racks. They also design and build custom cellars and in addition, provide a design service for people who want to build their own cellar but purchase the equipment and materials from them. As well, they have wine accessories, crystal, decanters, and wine cellar management software to help you better manage your collection.
Wine Cave Inc
is located at 250 Don Park Road, Unit 14, Markham. They have a variety of wine cabinets, wine cooling units, wine racks and wine accessories.
Yonge Street Winery is located at 14,834 Yonge St, Aurora. They have a variety of wine cabinets and offer cellar design and do-it-yourself cellar options. They also sell decanters, aerators and glasses, particularly Riedel and Spiegelau.
Papro Consulting specialize in custom designed cellars. Their roots are in the construction industry and they have since expanded into wine cellars. Their showroom (appointment only) is located at 1131A Leslie Street, Toronto.
Wine Cellar Creations is a manufacturer of pine and mahogany wine racking systems since 1997. All of their wine racks are hand made by skilled craftsmen. They also build custom wine cellars and carry wine cabinets, cooling units, and accessories.
Outsourcing
If you have limited space or have some other reason for preferring to outsource, refer to Offsite Wine Storage for your options.