Ideal Wine Storage Conditions

First things first, have you read our how to build a wine cellar webpage? It’s a great place to learn about what’s involved in building a wine cellar. Give it a look!

Properly Storing Wine

Once you’ve decided to build a wine cellar, do you know what you need to do to properly store wine so it ages to perfection? Here’s some key information on how to store your precious wine collection.

The ideal wine environment

A temperature of 55° Fahrenheit and a Relative Humidity of 60-65% are ideal for long-term wine storage. The cool temperature slows the aging process, while the high humidity prevents moisture inside the wine bottle from moving into the cork and eventually evaporating into the air. Ultraviolet light exposure should be kept to a minimum. While some basements in northern climates may naturally provide these conditions. It is more likely that you will need to actively condition your wine cellar using a wine cellar cooling unit.

Actively conditioned wine cellars

The basements of most modern homes are too warm and dry to passively provide the ideal conditions for wine storage. Wine cellars installed above ground will require active conditioning to achieve the ideal environment. Should you choose to actively cool your wine cellar using a wine cooling system, you need to follow the proper wine cellar construction guidelines for building a wine cellar. Failure to properly follow these guidelines may result in cooling system failure and moisture damage to areas surrounding the wine cellar.