I've got a cellar with racks for about 400 bottles that I've been keeping wine in for about 15 years. There is one corner of the cellar that gets a bit damp during the summer, but never looks really "wet" or even leaves any pools in the corner. The room gets up to the high 60s during the summer, and about 80% humidity. In the winter it gets down to low 50s, and around 50% humidity.
In the last year or two, I've noticed a slow buildup of what looks like mold on the outside of some bottles of old port (1963, 1966), and more recently noticed that some other bottles in the cellar are getting little white spots of what looks like mold. I think one of the bottles of port started leaking a bit from the cap (very low amount, over long time, a few drips down onto the bottles below) before I started seeing the mold, maybe the sugar from that leakage helped the mold grow? Most of this mold activity is in the part closest to the damp corner, but now I'm seeing it on bottles that are further away. You can see some pictures of the cellar and the mold issues here.
Is this something I should be concerned about? Should I try to address the problem, and if so, how? I thought about trying to seal the concrete blocks in that area, but was hesitant because Richard M. Gold's in his "How and why to build a wine cellar" he recommends against such treatments as leaving a very strong odor, and potentially damaging the wine.
As for the affected bottles, should I simply wipe the bottles off with some paper towels or cloth? Or should I treat them with anything?
Thanks a lot,
Nick
In the last year or two, I've noticed a slow buildup of what looks like mold on the outside of some bottles of old port (1963, 1966), and more recently noticed that some other bottles in the cellar are getting little white spots of what looks like mold. I think one of the bottles of port started leaking a bit from the cap (very low amount, over long time, a few drips down onto the bottles below) before I started seeing the mold, maybe the sugar from that leakage helped the mold grow? Most of this mold activity is in the part closest to the damp corner, but now I'm seeing it on bottles that are further away. You can see some pictures of the cellar and the mold issues here.
Is this something I should be concerned about? Should I try to address the problem, and if so, how? I thought about trying to seal the concrete blocks in that area, but was hesitant because Richard M. Gold's in his "How and why to build a wine cellar" he recommends against such treatments as leaving a very strong odor, and potentially damaging the wine.
As for the affected bottles, should I simply wipe the bottles off with some paper towels or cloth? Or should I treat them with anything?
Thanks a lot,
Nick
