Wine Storage: A Place for Your Pinot

Wine's popularity seems to grow every year. Whether you're a noir novice or a seasoned sauvignon savant, a wine enthusiast needs a place to store bottles. Options range from countertop wine storage racks to cellars chocked full of various vintages. How you decide to store your stock will depend on a few different factors.

Wine Storage Racks: Dollar and Space Savers
White, red, and port fans that are on a budget or live in a very small space might do well with a simple wine storage rack. They are inexpensive to purchase, and the DIY will find that most designs are easy to replicate. Racks are especially suited for those new to the game who don't usually have more than ten bottles around at a time.

Since they are only for storage and provide no temperature control whatsoever, the style of rack you have is not nearly as important as its placement in your home. Displaying wine in the kitchen might look nice, but is murder on the product. Kitchens get hotter than any other room in the house, which sends mixed messages to the chemicals naturally present in the bottle. This causes them to age prematurely, and worst case scenario, to turn to vinegar. A basement is best, but if it's not an option, put your rack in a dark closet that doesn't receive much heat. Your wine will keep a lot longer in this environment.

Wine Storage Units
Those who have passed the point of dabbling should consider an under the counter storage unit. Successful wine storage is largely dependent on temperature; these units will keep your bottles out of the light and at an ideal temperature. There are many units available from many different companies that will do the same job with varying degrees of precision and price. Look for a unit that holds more than you usually have around. Wine collecting, like any other hobby, tends to grow upon itself. Small units (that hold less than 50) can be found for a few hundred dollars, while a larger one (that holds over 100) will cost closer to a thousand or more.

Wine Cellars
The cellar is the ultimate step in wine storage. They are large, costly, and are unmatched in keeping wine in its optimal state. The ideal wine cellar mimics the conditions of caves where wine was originally stored. They often have separate sections to keep different bottles at different temperatures, and frequently include a large table for guests to sit and taste. Depending on the space you are working with, wine cellars can hold upwards of 3,000 bottles. This option is really on the level of installing a walk-in freezer or in-ground swimming pool in your basement, and should be considered an investment in your property.

Wine enthusiasts who don't have the means to build a cellar of their own, but wish to keep bottles for an extended period might opt to rent space in a commercial wine cellar. Renting from a commercial cellar (just like renting anything else), can get expensive in the long run. This is a great option, though, for collectors who own a few prize bottles, but don't have the means to store them in house.