Question on Wine storage 57

Joel,

The main considerations for wine storage are:

1. Light. Ultriaviolet light ages wine prematurely. Especially reds. That includes incandescent light bulbs. Keep it as dark as possible. Some wine storage rooms have florescent light without UV. 2. Temperature. The best temperature to store reds and whites togeter is 54 - 57 F. If the temperture gets lower, some precipitation can occur and form a sediment. not a bad sediment, but still...sediment. Temperatures higher than 57 aren't a sin, until it gets up around 68, especially for reds. then you have premature ageing. Temperatures that fluctuate up and down also prematurely age wine. Wine is a living thing. If it is always adjusting to rising a lowering temps it just gets tired and gives up. 3. Humidity. If your humidity is higher than 65% the corks can begin to get soft and labels will also get soggy and peal off. Also, mold is a big factor. If the humidity is lower than 50%, the opposite will happen, your corks will dry out and wine will seep, thus, oxidation. 4. Vibration. Keep your wine free of traffic areas, like under stairs or beside anything that makes noise or vibrates. Refrigerators etc. Wines stored in coolers usually have a vibration free unit.

Other than that, store your whites on the bottom and reds on the top. Store your longest ageing wines at the back and your early drinkers at the front (that's if your cellar is a walk in).

You probably know all the above, already, but that's the basics. If you're building a unit, you'll need insulation, of course, and if it's not a naturally stable temperature, you might need a cooling unit that exhausts warm air into another room, or to the outside.

Jeff