No Cellar…..Storage Options?

[Dave_W]

I do not have a cellar, they don’t work well in south Louisiana, unless you want to call it a swimming pool.

Do I really need to keep my bottled fruit wine in a dark place, or just keep it cool? I can put a rack in the house, away from direct sun through a window. Will this be enough? Will it be sufficient if I start grape wines?

 

[BarrelMonkey]

I would protect from light if at all possible; there is a phenomenon called 'light strike' which can damage wine. Can you maybe just drape a cloth/tarp over your wine?

 

[ChuckD]

Dark is very important. Cool is best for long term storage (think several years). Having a stable temperature is also important. If you keep the wine dark and at room temperature it will be fine for a few years… generally reds age better than whites.

 

[Dave_W]

I would protect from light if at all possible; there is a phenomenon called 'light strike' which can damage wine. Can you maybe just drape a cloth/tarp over your wine?

I could do some sort of cover, was hoping to leave them on “display”.

 

[Ohio Bob]

Here’s an idea...

https://www.amazon.com/Erivess-Free...justable/dp/B0C46WNZ9J/ref=asc_df_B0C46WNZ9J/

Maybe turn the temperature up so it’s in the mid-50’s, not cold beer temperature.

 

[Dave_W]

Dark is very important. Cool is best for long term storage (think several years). Having a stable temperature is also important. If you keep the wine dark and at room temperature it will be fine for a few years… generally reds age better than whites.

Thanks. My backup plan is to put them in storage containers under the beds.

 

[Raptor99]

I think that it is mainly UV that is the problem. Would the lights in a room harm wine if there was no sunlight reaching it?

I would protect it from direct sun as well as reflected sun, just to be safe.

 

[winemaker81]

Very few of us have ideal storage conditions. Do as much as you can do, and don't sweat it.

I've read advice that says to age wine for 2 to 3 years before touching it.

DO NOT do this. It's poor advice, as every wine is different. Longevity differs greatly, even within the same grape/fruit.

Taste your wines every 2 to 4 months after bottling. Record your impressions and put them away. After 12 months in the bottle, read your notes first to last. You'll be surprised at the what you learn from your own experience.

 

[back2it]

I don't have that much experience but I have two locations.

Under the stairs in a cupboard which is around 21°C (70°f) and a fridge similar to the one that Ohio Bob linked to running at 12°c(54°f) I placed a UV screen on the glass portion to keep out most of the light.

I'm not sure of the outcome yet as I follow winemaker81's advice and occasionally "test" them and put my wine notes away. My wines have yet to survive to an age where I can actually say that I have "aged them".

Oooo, maybe winemaker81 means that I should put the wine away, not the notes. Hmmm...

Ray...

 

[winemaker81]

Oooo, maybe winemaker81 means that I should put the wine away, not the notes. Hmmm...

You might try doing both ...

Or just make more wine. All jokes aside, to age wine you have to make more than you drink.

 

[Rocky]

I do not have a cellar, they don’t work well in south Louisiana, unless you want to call it a swimming pool.

Do I really need to keep my bottled fruit wine in a dark place, or just keep it cool? I can put a rack in the house, away from direct sun through a window. Will this be enough? Will it be sufficient if I start grape wines?

Is your home on a slab or a crawl space?

 

[Dave_W]

Is your home on a slab or a crawl space?

Slab

 

[winemaker81]

Slab

Do it yourself cellar?

 

[Dave_W]

Do it yourself cellar?

It would become a swimming pool

 

[winemaker81]

It would become a swimming pool

you win either way!!!!

 

[Rocky]

Slab

Good! The concrete should stay at about 55 degrees from the ground temperature without sunlight, heat, etc. You might try to find a closet near the center of your house, take anything off of the floor such as carpet, tile or wood so that the bare concrete shows. In addition, I suggest adding insulation (4" Styrofoam for example) to the walls, ceiling and door. Leave the concrete uninsulated. You may be able to get the temp to a constant mid 50's.

 

[Ohio Bob]

You might try to find a closet near the center of your house

When we built our house, we included in the design a basement wine cellar. The research we did suggested to put it near the north east corner. You get the cooler morning sun, instead of the blazing evening sun. Our cellar goes from upper 50’s to mid 60’s over the course of a year (as measured on the wall, not cement floor) It might be optimistic to think Louisiana can get what my Ohio basement gets.

 

[mainshipfred]

Do it yourself cellar?

Took me a while but good one

 

[Dave_W]

Good! The concrete should stay at about 55 degrees from the ground temperature without sunlight, heat, etc. You might try to find a closet near the center of your house, take anything off of the floor such as carpet, tile or wood so that the bare concrete shows. In addition, I suggest adding insulation (4" Styrofoam for example) to the walls, ceiling and door. Leave the concrete uninsulated. You may be able to get the temp to a constant mid 50's.

Not arguing, just asking. I’m in southwest Louisiana, we don’t see temps below 80 degrees at this time of year, I’m not sure the concrete will be that cool, do you? I’ve never checked it.

 

[Rice_Guy]

Not arguing, just asking. I’m in southwest Louisiana, we don’t see temps below 80 degrees at this time of year, I’m not sure the concrete will be that cool, do you? I’ve never checked it.

A point of view after a few decades in Houston;
* A non controlled area sitting on a concrete slab will be close to ambient, for me to get 60F I put up a foam wall shed with window AC. Do not expect 50F on the ground.
* I use my under the stairs for storage. I like the spot but for conditioned space insulating will be more work. A refrigerator has about 1.5 inch foam in place, this is good enough. Yes my sample shed was 4” but it sat outside on a slab.
* your number one need is to moderate temperature swings, a constant 75F will be better than swings from 70 at night to 90 in the day. You could reduce the effect with a tight, low mg oxygen per year bottle seal. ie Off the shelf, natural corks breath creating oxidation.
* with green or brown glass bottles one can mostly ignore light. With clear glass the UV from grocery store lights will have tasteable effects over a year.
* Your local AC vendor will have good ideas. They may not have done wine but temperature is an issue on a lot of food products.

My question is how important is this hobby? Are you willing to give up a room? In the ideal you would also run a controlled temp fermentation area. At the minimum size up only long term storage cases with something looking like a fridge.
Part of a wine cellar is display. This means 3’ aisles.

Oxidation will happen even in a freezer. Looking at how to use antioxidants like tannins and free SO2 is a good use of energy. Also head space, oxygen exposure in racking, ,,, “total package oxygen “.