Proper Storage
Written By: Brian Freedman on Thu, Jul 9th 2009
Aside from choosing the right bottle of wine, storing it in the appropriate conditions is the single most important aspect of your wine life between the time you buy the bottle and when you drink it. Of course, this is only really an issue if (a) you live in an environment with wild swings in temperature or temperature extremes, or (b) if you plan on holding onto your bottles for any sort of extended time.
The keys to storing wine properly are a constant temperature of 55 to 56 degrees Fahrenheit, no vibrations, no exposure to direct sunlight, and a humidity level above 50 percent.
The best way to achieve this, unless you live in a chateau somewhere with wine caves already excavated, is to purchase a wine-cellaring unit, which essentially mimics the conditions you'd find in a natural underground cellar. The best ones are not cheap, but they're the best way to protect your investment and ensure that your wines will continue to evolve as they're supposed to for years to come. The industry leader is a French company called Eurocave, though there are a number of other excellent ones, too.
And finally, a word about the physical positioning of the bottle in the cellar. Much has been made of the fact that, with synthetic or Stelvin-sealed bottles, it is unnececessary to lay the bottle on its side (there's nothing to keep moist, after all), but the fact remains that the vast majority of cellars are designed to hold bottles in a prone position. Don't fight it: If your cellar is like nearly all the other ones available, then don't fret about how to store your screw-top wines: Just lay them down like all the others and rest easy. A good wine-cellaring unit will do all the hard work of protecting your bottles for you.