How do you store your wine [+ Fridge/Cabinet recommendations]

[Rnwillia]

Mine is a 1M wide x 5M long x 2M deep pit in my garage fitted with 2 off 5M x 2M pieces of reo mesh that have spaces just the size of a champagne bottle diameter. The reo is spaced 3/4 of a bottle height and it holds 600 bottles. The pit/cellar is covered with 50mm thick timber slats. Currently there are only about 500 bottles of shiraz but all have a cellaring potential of 7-10 years and most are from McLaren Vale in SA.

 

[redbigot]

so the 10% that aren't screwcapped are sparkling?
i think that you edited your original post that mentioned 3000 bottles in 10yrs, which means you drink/open almost a bottle each day (or one day off per week)?
if you don't buy cork-sealed wines other than sparkling, then does that mean that you don't drink them either?

I still buy some wines sealed with Diam corks, I've have very few issues with them, from as early as 2002 vintage.
I do occasionally buy cork sealed wine, Standish and a couple of others, not many imports, mostly Farnese Edizione Cinque Autoctoni a long time favourite and most batches are sealed with Diam, I check before buying as the last natural cork-sealed 6-pack yielded one with TCA and one with overt musty cork flavours.

300 bottles or so a year sounds about right, that's 65 AFD, sounds a few too many. But as I said, I provide wines from my cellar for back-vintage tastings and wine group dinners, that's close to another 100 a year. We do drink wine most nights, sometime a whole bottle sometimes a half bottle and I do have Coravin now to try single glasses from on or more bottles.

 

[jrod]

If you are serious about cellaring your wine, Aircon doesn’t keep it at a low enough temperature. It also can dry out the corks. You should be using a refrigeration system. That way you have better control over the temperature and humidity. Obviously this cost dollars, but so does any decent wine storage facility

I run a panasonic AC in mine and it goes down to 16 degrees, but the temp gauge shows 15 degrees most of the year. The walls are insulated with 25mm thick graphite-infused polystyrene.
Strangely the AC doesn't strip the humidity and it stays around 75% most of the time. If it gets a bit low, I'll leave a little container of water near the vent.

 

[redbigot]

How it started...

How it's going...

 

[Daver6]

Apart from the poor corks from the 70s in particular that's usually just poor storage conditions. I've opened 50 year old wines with perfect corks that come out perfectly and 10 year old wines that fall apart. This is how I expect a 10 year old cork to look.

Were these wines purchased from Rudy Kurniawan

 

[skittle]

Hard to say without context within full layout and northerly aspect but on face value seems reasonable if you don't expect much temp variation between night and day and preferably at least under 20 deg year round, ideal would be 16-18

North is up. Under the house and with a slab on top of most of it. Not very big, more storage than man cave regrettably.

 

[kevviek]

If your cellar gets too big there's some storage and retrieval tips here....fascinating to see in practice! Your First Look Inside Amazon’s Robot Warehouse of Tomorrow

 

[ste667]

Can anybody remember the thread on the Winefront that had all the information about wine storage? There was a very interesting post from someone about using styrofoam boxes to store stuff under his house. As usual, it had randomly erupted in one of the wine review threads, and I can't seem to find it again..

 

[TheRealTMA]

If your cellar gets too big there's some storage and retrieval tips here....fascinating to see in practice! Your First Look Inside Amazon’s Robot Warehouse of Tomorrow

Wouldn't a butler be cheaper?

 

[kevviek]

I like the topic of cellars, at the risk of being non conformant to the thread rules, this is what I have. Most is under the stairs.

Plus I ended up getting 2 of these, $360 each at JB which was a good buy at the time but they seem to be on sale at the moment. I previously had a storage cabinet that used fans only, but it died after ~10 years. HISENSE 30 BOTTLE WINE COOLER HR6WC30 - Master Buy

 

[Buzzard]

Plus I ended up getting 2 of these, $360 each at JB which was a good buy at the time but they seem to be on sale at the moment. I previously had a storage cabinet that used fans only, but it died after ~10 years. HISENSE 30 BOTTLE WINE COOLER HR6WC30 - Master Buy

Do you remember the brand of the storage cabinet?

 

[kevviek]

Do you remember the brand of the storage cabinet?

I think it was Dome, but no longer available as of a few years ago.

 

[penegal]

Were these wines purchased from Rudy Kurniawan

He was released and deported to Indonesia somewhat recently... Maybe he would try his luck here

 

[qaz]

Can anybody remember the thread on the Winefront that had all the information about wine storage? There was a very interesting post from someone about using styrofoam boxes to store stuff under his house. As usual, it had randomly erupted in one of the wine review threads, and I can't seem to find it again..

Cellar Boxes?

Aging With Grace | Home

Wine aging is, at first sight, decently easy with big rewards. Buy a bottle, forget about it for a year or five, and get a completely new wine to drink. Some cheapish bottles can turn into memorable sensory experiences with age and the great wines require it to reach their full potential. Some...

www.vintecclub.com

What Elements Really Changed in Wine-aging? – TerroirSense Wine Review

terroirsense.com

Blue Poles Vineyard - April 2021 Newsletter - Mark Gifford
If you are to cellar some wines, I feel you should set yourself some ground rules:

1. Only buy what you can afford. Do not max out a credit card on a couple of wines that seem vitally important – forget about it – wait 2-4-6 months and it is likely just as awesome wines will be on offer.
2. Get yourself a wine cellar. Be that a wine fridge if you do not have access to a cellar/ storage. Just makes sense to take care of a product that goes to custard in the heat (and also the cold!)
3. Buy multiples – 3 if you are not sure (but excited), 6 if you are confident or the price is stretching you, and 12 for the full experience. Trust me, when you buy a dozen of a wine the first time you think “I’m bonkers” – but you are not, you are a dead set genius.
4. Remember to drink them. This is the biggest failing of nearly everyone who owns a cellar – you just avoid enjoying the product you actually bought to consume.

The Collector

Do you have too much wine? The answer to that question will probably depend on how much disposable income you have and whether you have the space to keep it, or to pay someone else to do so. I’m ex…

wideworldofwine.co

Why (Almost) Everybody Loves Wine

Wine or grapes are the most complex agricultural product on earth. The variety of flavours based on chemical compounds is not matched by an...

australianwinereviews.blogspot.com

 

[WhatTheEgg]

Anyone have much experience with Triomph fridges? They seem to be around 30%+ cheaper than Vintec and still have really solid reviews.

 

[Cmjritchie]

For a more budget conscious option and without having to build or design a cellar - has anyone had much luck with utilising esky’s to stabilize temp fluctuation and store wine safely?
I’ve got a small vintec but as it only holds 40 bottles it is constantly full and with the recent 12-18 months of exceptional deals I’m bursting at the seams.

I picked up a quality 120L esky for about $300, reckon I’ve got 50+ bottles in there. I have also inserted a (cheap) digital thermometer (with a cord to sit inside the esky). During the most recent winter it got down to 13 degrees and when I got it at the start of the year I saw it up-to about 18 degrees. That Temp swing I guess is a concern, however it is over the course of months and months not fluctuating or spiking daily.

the proof will be over years to come and how the wine holds up, but I’d love to know if anyone else has had success? Or if I’m wasting my time and money on the wine?

 

[Daver6]

For a more budget conscious option and without having to build or design a cellar - has anyone had much luck with utilising esky’s to stabilize temp fluctuation and store wine safely?
I’ve got a small vintec but as it only holds 40 bottles it is constantly full and with the recent 12-18 months of exceptional deals I’m bursting at the seams.

I picked up a quality 120L esky for about $300, reckon I’ve got 50+ bottles in there. I have also inserted a (cheap) digital thermometer (with a cord to sit inside the esky). During the most recent winter it got down to 13 degrees and when I got it at the start of the year I saw it up-to about 18 degrees. That Temp swing I guess is a concern, however it is over the course of months and months not fluctuating or spiking daily.

the proof will be over years to come and how the wine holds up, but I’d love to know if anyone else has had success? Or if I’m wasting my time and money on the wine?

I wouldn't be concerned about that seasonal swing, especially if the wine is under screw cap. If there is no daily fluctuation then should be fine. 18C in the summer months isn't going to harm the wine. Might just age slightly quicker.

 

[Mynameismynameis]

Anyone built a wine room in their home?

I'm building, and I'm thinking where I have WIP I may extend 2-4m and just create a room with wine racks. I could spend money to insulate the room well but I'm unsure what temp it would create. I dont like the idea of running an air con unit 24/7 for half a year, currently at my parents home they have a 4 room cellar which can hold thousands of bottles. I will build with Hebel too, I think it's 2.6 rating alone, plus extra I would do around the room itself separately than the house.

I did find a website which explained, what would be ideal for a room but i can't find it.

Otherwise I just keep everything at my parents, which is under 5 minutes away.

 

[Daver6]

Anyone built a wine room in their home?

I'm building, and I'm thinking where I have WIP I may extend 2-4m and just create a room with wine racks. I could spend money to insulate the room well but I'm unsure what temp it would create. I dont like the idea of running an air con unit 24/7 for half a year, currently at my parents home they have a 4 room cellar which can hold thousands of bottles. I will build with Hebel too, I think it's 2.6 rating alone, plus extra I would do around the room itself separately than the house.

I did find a website which explained, what would be ideal for a room but i can't find it.

Otherwise I just keep everything at my parents, which is under 5 minutes away.

I turned a storeroom off my laundry into a cellar. Involved insulation, racking and cooling. If you're looking to cellar wine medium to long term in Australia, you're going to need cooling. If you're going to that expense insulation is only going to save you money in the long run.

 

[tgh]

Looking for comments on Grand Cru Wine fridges.
A huge range and the 5 year warranty is very attractive.