Newbie to wine here and had a question on wine storage. I have a small wine rack that I keep in my kitchen. It is out of direct light, but it does get hot in the house during the summer 80-90 range here in michigan. My main question is will the wine stored there for about a year still be good? I have a couple of somewhat expensive($50-$75)bottles of amarone and bordoux(sorry about the spelling).Just wondering if they may have been ruined due to high summer temps or not? I will be moving them downstairs soon. I like having them upstairs to show off though. Any other suggestions on wine storage definitly appreciated

quote:

Originally posted by abraham:
Any other suggestions on wine storage definitly appreciated

55-57°
Dark

80-90° for extended periods can kill your wine. If you haven't already hurt it, you will probably have shortened its lifespan significantly.

If you want to "show off" your prize bottles, take them from proper storage, show them off and put them back.

PH

quote:

Originally posted by abraham:
I like having them upstairs to show off though. Any other suggestions on wine storage definitly appreciated

abraham-

A wine cellar unit with a glass door sounds like what you might be looking for. There are MANY threads on this site discussing various ones available, depending on exactly what you're looking for.

Regarding temperatures, and their effect on your wine, PH is right on.

Welcome to the boards.

well I dont know that it was 80-90 inside, but outside it was. OUr house is usually at 70 for most of the year. The basement is a little cooler I guess. Should I hurry and try to drink these bottles or leave till ready and hope for the best? Oh and thanks for the advice, much appreciated. Happy good friday

70 is a whole lot different than 80-90. Your wines should be fine if there haven't been any radical temperature fluctuations. That being said, you should invest in temperature controlled storage if you plan on laying wines down for any length of time. For ready to drink wines or wine to be consumed in the short term, don't worry about it.

PH

Regarding your inside temps, you're probably fine, depending the wine. Your other nemesis, as PH pointed out, is light. It's preferable to store these out of light. Being in Michigan, your basement, if unclimatised, is a pretty good 'passive' cellar condition overall. Outside of extremely long storage periods (20 yr time frame) you're likely just fine. However this should, again, be dark, unheated and away from vibration, preferably.

I wouldn't worry much overall. Good reason to open one (to check out if it's o.k.). If one is, likely they all are.

Not sure why, but I see more and more people taking a small wine rack and placing it on top of the refrigerator. That's the very last place a bottle of wine should be.

Try moving it to a professional wine storage facility...rent a small locker (if your wines are worth the $20-35 per month fee)

quote:

Originally posted by cheryl11:
Try moving it to a professional wine storage facility...rent a small locker (if your wines are worth the $20-35 per month fee)

You said " Anyway, I'm out of here"

What happened?

I remember Mishy saying the same thing. I'm sure she's a woman of her word and probably just forgot.

I AM out of the Buying/Selling forum

quote:

Originally posted by cheryl11:
Try moving it to a professional wine storage facility...rent a small locker (if your wines are worth the $20-35 per month fee)

You've got to be kidding!!

He's got a small wine rack with a few bottles and he's got a basement in Michigan. I don't think professional wine storage facilities even exist in Michigan. And $20-35 per month?? You could almost buy a house around here for that (Ok, slight exaggeration, but the housing market here IS in the tank).

Abraham, just move your wines into a dark cool corner of your basement. If you keep them near the floor and next to a wall, and keep them covered, you'll probably be between 60 and 65 all year round. Before I built my wine cellar, I just had a home-made rack that I parked in a corner of my basement, and covered it with a plastic shower curtain. I had a thermometer inside and it proved to be a very stable and cool place. I bet your wines are probably fine. I've had many wines that sat in a wine shop for a year (or five) at room temp, and they were in great shape when I drank them.