Ageing at room temperature.

[John Pichnic]

Hi all, I am ageing my wine in a spare room that stays at 72-75 F. My question is, am I wasting my time making wine without a cold storage area, or will I have to drink it sooner? I have read that the higher temp of 72 increases ageing reactions, but I want to get the opinion of winemakers.
What temp are you storing/ageing wine at?
What is the max time you expect it to be good at that temp?
If you are storing/ageing at a higher temp (above 60) have you had any turn bad?


Thanks in advance.

 

[Johnd]

Lots of questions, I’ll share what I can. The “ideals” for wine aging are 55F and 65% - 75% humidity. I have a cellar with a refrigeration system that maintains that temp and humidity year round.

It’s not the end of the world if you can’t do that, just make sure your temps are stable. Lots of folks store wine at room temps with no issues. I doubt you’ll lose any wine that way, but I wouldn’t suggest that you store expensive, collectors wines that way.

Lots of our members build little rooms with thru wall a/c units and store at 60 - ish with very little investment.

 

[robert81650]

That's what I have. Keeps temp around 64 degrees, never had problem. Don't make up too many wines up in short time. May little room holds about 500 bottles of wine total when full.

 

[Brian55]

Consistent temps are more important than ideal temps. Drastic fluctuations in temp is far from optimal, whereas keeping it at 72 is just fine so long as you're not trying to age long term (5 years+)

 

[Rice_Guy]

72F is not a magic temp, 72 is a practical temp. —- The general reactions for ageing double their rate every 10C (18F) so we don’t want to push the temp too high. Many of us live and work and operate warehouses at 20C/ 72F so it is the reference point. If 10C/ 50F were easy, like I had a cave i’d Use it.
There are other factors that are as important as - - exposure to light, level of sulphite, level of tannin (type of grape), oxidation done to the wine getting to the bottle, is it in glass or a box, the type of cap and as Brian noted swings of temperature.
You should look at shelf life as a finite wallet and your choice is where do you want to spend it. A tannic red will give a larger wallet to spend than a strawberry or blueberry.

Some of the joy of wine making is to pick up tricks as “that mead had a better flavor at 18 months than it did at 1 month, , now that it is 10 years old , , , I wish I had more than 2 bottles left”

 

[NorCal]

Think about all the wine on the shelves in wine stores. Certainly some bottles stay there for years. I’ve read the UCD papers on the influence of temperature on aging. If you are going to keep your wines for 5 years, a consistent 70 is safe. Fluctuations in temps and high peak temps are the death knell of wine.

 

[bstnh1]

I make and store my wine in my basement with no temperature control. I do run a dehumidifier to keep it at 60% year round. The temperature fluctuates from a low of about 48° during the coldest part of winter to a high of 69° on the hottest days of summer. That's a 21° seasonal fluctuation which is supposed to be a no-no. But ..... I've stored wine under those conditions in the bottle for as long as 5 1/2 years with no problems at all.

 

[Scooter68]

My wine ages and is stored in a basement that gradually varies in temp from summer to winter. In summer it may reach 70-75 and in winter it drops as low as 55. The changes are gradual and there's really nothing economically feasible to be done to change that - So that's just something I deal with as part of the limits to my wine making/storing.

 

[pillswoj]

My cellar has no heat control, it varies from 68 in the summer to ~ 48 in the winter, the important part is during the seasonal change it only changes a degree or 2 a week.