You Might Be Storing Your Wine Wrong

After birthdays, holidays, and other gift-giving occasions, we’re sometimes left with several bottles of wine that we might not drink immediately. “Just tuck it away for later” and stick it in a cabinet, right? Unless you want to start a vinegar-making hobby, storing your wine upright is a surefire way to eventually ruin your wine. We’ll dive into how to tell what kinds of bottles are meant for storing and the best ways to keep them, so you can drink to your heart’s delight down the road.

Most of us aren’t about to start collecting wine and creating a thousands-of-bottles-deep cellar. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take care of the things we invest in. Wine is an investment, no matter the price point, as you’re putting your money into something you’ll only get to use once. Whether you’re buying wine to enjoy later that night, or putting away bottles to enjoy later, storing your wine “correctly” will make sure that it doesn’t spoil and that your purchase won’t get wasted.

There are plenty of things that can go wrong before a wine is bottled, but once it’s sealed, a wine’s biggest enemy is the environment. Light, heat, and oxygen all are trying to spoil a wine. If you want to store wine correctly, you need to keep it away from direct sunlight, keep it in a cool area, and make sure oxygen doesn’t get into the wine.  

First, if your wine has a cork, it should be stored sideways. When a cork-sealed bottle is upright, the cork will slowly dry out over time, allowing oxygen into the bottle and spoiling the wine. We’ve had friends lose bottles to vinegar from not realizing this key fact. If your wine has a Stelvin closure (aka a screw cap), your wine actually is safe to store upright, since you don’t need the wine touching the closure.

Secondly, keep your wine away from heat, ideally in a cool (but not cold!) place. If where you’re storing your wine is too warm, the wine will develop a “cooked” aroma, becoming flabby and losing its aromatic quality. This same idea applies if you buy wine for dinner later and throw it in the hot trunk of your car. If it’s an average-quality wine, it might be fine for a while, but we wouldn’t recommend it! At the same time, don’t store bottles of wine in the refrigerator for any longer than you need to properly chill the wine. An extreme change in heat can change the flavor of the wine and alter the pressure in the bottle, which can break the seal from the cork (maybe allowing air in). Just like other food in a smelly fridge, your wine can absorb funky “fridge” flavors over time. The best temperature is between 55°F (for fine wines) to 70°F (for more everyday wines).

Last but not least, keep your wine away from direct sunlight. Not all wine is meant to be kept for a long time. Like we mentioned, light is one of the big three enemies of storing wine. Look for dark-colored glass if you want a bottle to put away on a shelf. If the glass is clear or lightly tinted, light can easily get through and start to change the wine. This doesn’t mean the wine is “cheap,” it just means that this wine is meant to be drunk now. We know not everyone has a basement or dark closet they can dedicate to wine storage. But stashed in the back corner of a closet (guilty!) or even tucked in a cabinet will do wonders for keeping your wine safe.

To summarize: to store your wine correctly, look for one of those sideways bottle holders. Tuck it into a cool (consistently under 70°F) spot in your home, away from direct sunlight. You’re now ready to keep wine for however long you’d like!

Now that you’re an expert on storing wine, you’re ready to start your collection. Stop by our stores to sample some of our favorites, or order online to explore new producers and regions.