I am hoping someone can share with me and the rest of us "newbies" on the correct tempature for storing wines in a wine cooler. I read that Chards should be stored at 55f and and reds at 65f.

Is this information correct? Does anyone have a different opnion/experience.

hi tracey,

in my experience, people sweat the small stuff. and a few degrees in temperature is small stuff.

that said, 65 degrees seems a tad warm. your wines will all be bappy stored between 50-60 degrees, regardless of color.

cheers!
gloria

As a representative of the Sommelier Institute of New Jersey/ Sommelier Executive COuncil, I can tell you that for long-term storage, constant temperature of about 55°F. This is the temperature of storage we have been reccomending to our students in our class that has been running for over 30 years!

65 is way to warm for reds, has be at least European room temperature (60) if not basement temperature (54-57). If you planning on keeping wines for the long hall then your storing reds mostly and your temp should be 55. If cellar is for holding wines to drink and if you have a fair balance of red and white bring it to around 60. When drinking the whites, yank them out 15-20 minutes before and ice (50 percent ice, 50 percent water) in ice bucket. When drinking reds depending on age/variety/etc place in fridge or decant.
Aside from temp make sure cellar is not in line of direct sunlight nor placed near anything that vibrates often (washer/dryer dishwasher/fridge, etc). If storing for long hall you might also consider wine labels for neck of bottle so that you don’t need to disturb resting bottles to find the bottle you’re looking for.
While I am by no means a wine pro I am passionate about wine. Treating your wines right will only enhance the experience of drinking them in my opinion.

What impact will storing Reds at room temperature (75-77 constant) have on the wine? Does it age faster? slower? quality issues?

I keep them dark, quiet, humid, and vibration free. However, I have not made that big investment in a Eurocave yet to keep them at 57 degrees.

Very interested in any help.

Thank you so much everyone for your response to my "newbie" question.

I have loved wine for years and I can easily see my my love for wine growing and growing and growing. LOL. I h ave very small wine cellar on order!!!!

My cellar varies from 50-55 throughout the year and the humidity is fairly constant at 52%, is there anything I can do to increase the humidity without installing a humidifier (i.e. a bucket of water)

And is the temperature variation an issue?

A water fountain... otherwise fill an empty bottle of wine up and use a washcloth to plug the hole and tilt over a bucket. Secure the setup in place and water will slowly drip out. Any variation of this setup works (i.e., an intravenous setup.)

50-55 is not an issue per se. Unless it is 50 in the morning and 55 in the afternoon everyday.

WEc gives good advice. Temperature fluctuation in that range is not a problem as long as it is a very gradual thing. Fuggedabout the humidity issue. If you're in the 50's you'll be just fine. No one wants mold on their labels anyway...

PH