Ensure proper temperature: When storing your wine collection, make sure to keep the wine at a consistent temperature. Anything between 45-65 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal.
Store wine on its side: Wine can be stored in a basement cellar or in a wine storage refrigeration unit if there is a stable shelving unit to keep the cork moist and sealed. Keeping wine on its side ensures the sediment in older wines will settle in a uniform way, making the wine easier to decant when the time comes to drink.
Keep bottles away from light: UV light can lead to spoiling the wine.
Avoid “Bottle Shock:” This phenomenon happens when a bottle encounters movement or vibration, because it is bad for the wine both in terms of throwing the flavors off in the immediate future, as well as for the ultimate aging of the wine. This often happens right after bottling and/or shipping.
Catalog your cellar: Keeping a running inventory can help you remember what there is, avoid accidentally drinking the last of something, and assist future purchasing decisions. This is also helpful in the event of submitting an insurance claim.
Attend auctions and build relationships with auction and consignment houses: Live wine auctions give you a feel for the market, and they sometimes have retail where you can buy wine any time. Consignment houses have rotating inventory that they may be able to sell to the public and having a personal relationship with them will give you an advantage to being sold that inventory.
Minimize your risk to keep value high: Buying directly from a winery is the lowest form of risk when building or expanding a wine collection because it minimizes fraud and bad bottles. Most of the major auction houses will know the provenance of any major wines purchased, who owned it, how it was stored, what condition it is in and how it got to you.
Consult with experts: For some building a wine cellar, finding the inventory, organizing and cataloging the contents is part of the enjoyment. For others, consider hiring an expert to manage your cellar or parts of the process. We can recommend specialists to assist with these tasks.
