How Important is Temperature for Storage? What happens if you store wine at 60-70 F?

[windsorcavintner]

We made some really good wine last year and we just bottled it. We have about 100 bottles from our small hobby vineyard. It tastes great now. Some of the best wine we've ever tasted. My question is whether or now we should invest in a thermo eletric wine cooler for our wine or whether or not we can store the wine at 60-70 degrees for the next few months while we drink it and gift it out. How much of a risk are we taking by storing it above 59 degrees?

 

[Machine]

As long as the wine is not exposed to excessive temperature fluctuations or ultraviolet light, I don't think that sitting at those temperatures over a period of a few months will do anything more than perhaps age the wine a little faster (and perhaps slightly differently) than storing at the more standard 55 or 57 F.

 

[wineforfun]

I store mine in the basement and it stays 64 - 68 year round. I have had some wine that is 9 months olds that tastes great.

 

[Craiger]

I don't use sulfites in my wine, and I've stored wine at well above 70 degrees and have yet to have a problem. I'm not suggesting it, I'm just relaying my experience. Also, I rarely keep my wine stored for more than 2 years.

 

[Putterrr]

My wine storage is not ideal either. I'm on a slab and the room goes from 50-low 70's. I have a few bottles of each batch reaching 2 years with no issues that i can see/taste. Last night we had a bottle of RJS RQ Toro that was excellent at 30 months. Sadly it was the last one. I do use a dehumidifier during the summer.

cheers

 

[FTC Wines]

We made 50 bottles of Apple Wine in 2008. Stored it in our No. Ga. Basement for almost 4 yrs at 62-68*, then moved it to Fl & stored it at 78* for 10 months. Now in the Winery Room being stored at 68* had a bottle 3 days ago & it's still awesome. Sooo temps may not be as important as some think. Having said that all my wines (550+ bottles) are now in the new wine room at 68* Roy

 

[DoctorCAD]

Think about the tens of thousands of gallons of wines sitting on store shelves every day. Very few ever see 59 degrees for storage, heck most of it sat in a rail car or truck in the heat of Death Valley while it was coming from Napa to the rest of the country. Its like anything else in winemaking, moderation.

 

[MrKevin]

Storing wine at 55 is for those who have a collection and plan on keeping wine for many years before drinking. For short time wine storage (under 10 years) I don't thing the temp is as important as the temp fluctuation. Higher temps will age wine quicker, which for those who don't collect wine, may be beneficial.