In general - Wine Storage is a very broad topic covering everything from what happens in the vineyard to what to do at home. In this section, we are going to address the major topics and bit by bit endeavor to provide you with a comprehensive amount of discussion material on the topic. One of the important factors to remember with all wine storage is 'temperature control'. This one factor makes a huge different in what you taste and it does not matter whether it is a red or a white. Having said this, you might feel that have never really taste much of a different with wine no matter what you did when it came to wine storage. Well, it probably comes down to also taking into account the quality of the wine in the first place, the intensity of flavor of the food that you are eating with it and even the sensitivity of your pallet and taste buds. We can assure that that it does not matter what wine it is, it can spoil and temperature control within the wine storage environment is a big factor. Red wine is best kept at a steady 50-55°F (10-16°C) while whites wines are more tolerant of cold and are happy at 45°F (7°C)

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Commercial - When we refer to commercial wine storage, we are talking about those organizations that make a business out of storing nothing but large quantities of bottled and packaged wine. If you haven't taking a tour - guided or otherwise - through a wine district, you may well be wondering what on earth we are talking about. Well, you see, wine storage can be a very expensive proposition. The capital cost may well be more than a winemaker or winery can justify. To satisfy the need of those who have found themselves in this predicament, businesses have evolved who offer nothing but wine storage.

Wine storage commercial enterprises are more often than not found in the winery districts and will often also provide freight forwarding services too. In some areas, the facility is a cooperative owned by a collective group of wineries. This commercial wine storage system has proven very satisfactory and is employed in many areas around the world. It provides for enormous capacity in a fully temperature controlled environment with security and as we said freight forwarding facilities too in many cases. This system works for the small boutique vineyard/winery and the very large producer too. The good news for us is that the wine is being stored in the best manner possible ensuring us that the quality product that left the vineyard and winery, also left the their wine storage facility.

Retail - Wine storage in the world of retailing is where we see most of the issues. Retailing, unfortunately, looks for the biggest return it can achieve for every square foot of floor space in their premises. You probably can't blame them. After all, they are paying huge rents per square foot per year and so this becomes the measuring stick for their profit also. Building proper racking and laying bottles down for the greater majority of wine retailers throughout the world is just not cost effective. The end result is that they construct large amounts of shelving and fill the shelves with bottles of wine, all standing upright. On top of that, it is a store and has to be kept at a temperature that is either comfortable for the staff or the customer. The result is that it is usually too hot for the wine.

Have I painted a gloomy enough picture yet? Then let me take it one step further, wine is also best if it is not thrown around like a football. These days we have large quantities of all qualities of wines available in supermarkets. Supermarkets are the ultimate enterprise looking to secure high returns per square foot and their shelves are more often stocked by budding football heroes. The good news is they can catch, but they can also juggle!?!!?

It would be remise of us not to mention that there are definitely some very good retail outlets from which you can obtain your wines. But you will have to do your research, ask difficult questions and sift through the answers. Then when you find such a place, don't tell your friends because this will cause that business to grow and before you know it, they will be huge and doing things just like the others. So there you have it when it comes to wine storage in the general retail environment.

If you can, buy your good wines direct from the winery, a winery co-operative (even an online one) or small boutique wine connoisseur's store. Only buy your every day mood enhancer, dare I say it, the cheap stuff, from the shelf of the local supermarket or liquor store.

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Within the Home - The majority of us like to keep a few bottles of wine on hand for that special occasion or for when friends drop by unexpectedly. There are many thoughts on the best wine storage method to employ so as to store this wine and be able to be able to present it at its best. Few would disagree that this will usually involve laying the wine down. Let's not get carried away with this idea. Remember that we lay wines down to enhance them over time gaining the full potential from it. If the wine that you choose to keep on hand is one of those bottled for mass distribution and sold at a price point, then, frankly, you can store it pretty much however you like. These are not cellar wines and will generally taste the same no matter what.

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As stated above, red wine is best kept at a steady 50-55°F (10-16°C) while whites wines are more tolerant of cold and are happy at 45°F (7°C). High temperature (65°F/18°C+) will, during wine storage, will cause the wine to age too quickly and thus loose its balance and flavor while chilling a wine too much will cause the wine to loose its flavor and aroma. Unfortunately, there have been many instances of fine wine collections being ruined by bad wine storage. Sunlight is excellent for the grapevine but devastating on the wine in storage. Similarly, direct exposure to heat such as from a fireplace or oven will have the same effect.

Moisture in the storage area is also a factor. Good wine storage also calls for a fairly well controlled humidity level. Mold is no more the friend of wine than it is of ours. At the other end of the spectrum, if the air is too dry, then the cork is going to dry out, maybe crack and allor air to leak into the bottle. The ideal humidity level is just about the same as that which works best for us and our skin at around 60-75%. lot of people will also talk about damage to the label. Frankly, this is really only a concern if you are cellaring your wine for very long periods with the thought of a selling at some stage and again a very good return on the investment. If this is the case, your wine storage is probably going to be in the form of a temperature controlled cellar or similar facility.

Temperature controlled Facilities & Collector's Centers - Wine storage of this type is a relatively recent innovation. Considering that wine storage has been a factor of life for hundreds of years, it is acceptable to refer to the past 30-40 years as relatively recent. What are we referring to? We are referring to wine storage facilities that are similar to the ideas outlined in commercial storage above but are designed for the wine investor, wine collector or discriminating consumer who does not have the ability to provide a temperature controlled environment within their home. Such facilities are designed to cope with collections or holdings of all different sizes, maintaining the perfectly constant optimal temperature and offering security as well. You might look upon this form of wine storage as 'the wine cellar when you don't have a wine cellar'. Just as with any commercial storage option. there is a cost but these facilities may also often you additional services such as receiving of shipments for you. Temperature controlled Facilities & Collector's Centers are definitely not a replacement for having your own wine cellar but they do give the serious wine enthusiast an alternative.

If you are serious about your wine, invest in a wine cooler, wine cellar or seek out a temperature controlled facilities or Collector's Center for your wine storage solution.