Maximum temp for wine storage

[Sammyk]

As per the title I am looking for the maximum temperature for aging/storing wine until it is drank.

I have a unique situation. While we have central air we do not use it. We don't mind the heat and have huge ceiling fans in every room

I have my wine in an upstairs bedroom. In the summer it can be 90 degrees in that room because it faces south. I will need to use a window air conditioner in that room.

So, what is the ideal storage temperature? Will 70 degrees work?

 

[Rocky]

Sammyk, keeping the temps around 70 degrees is okay but it is on the high side (the "ideal" temperature and humidity are supposed to be 55 degrees F with 75% RH). An important consideration is relatively constant temperature, so if you could keep it from fluctuation, that would be better. Also protect it from UV light and vibration.

 

[MrKevin]

Sammy

For Reds 70 would work thought not Ideal (ideal being 58+/-). The biggest problems is temperature fluctuations. I my opinion the upstairs is about the worst place to store wines. But if you can keep the room temp stable and as low as possible you can probably make it work. This will cause the wine to mature faster. I'm sure others will chime in and correct me if I'm incorrect.
Whites should be kept pretty cool about 55+/-, so find some place else or get a good wine fridge.

Kevin

 

[Sammyk]

Unfortunately there is no other place. Garage will get too warm. No basement. We tried them under the house in a crawl space and mold/mildew grew on the outside of the carboys.
I can close the blinds and keep the sun out.

We have about 300 bottles so a fridge is out.

 

[ibglowin]

70 is a whole lot better than 90! Just remember that 55 is the magic temp to age a red wine to perfection. Just because you don't have that temp doesn't mean your wines will be destroyed. It just means that they will age faster and go downhill quicker than if stored at 55. You will still get years of age time in which to drink them but not as much as if kept at ~55. Keeping the area as cool as possible (close to 55) in the Winter will help slow the overall aging process. Large daily temperature fluctuations are actually worse for a wine than a warmer but static temp. Keep it as cool as possible and keep the temp as stable as possible. Add insulation (12" attic blanket) to the area above where the wine will be stored. This will greatly dampen the temp swings year round. Use the window AC in the Summer for the "cellar".

 

[TonyP]

Sammy, 300 bottles is enough wine that I'd find the best location. And the best location is where it is coolest, given that somewhere close to 70F will probably be your best. My suggestion is to find that place and go with it. It may be under your room air conditioner.

 

[Sammyk]

Right now we have them in the walk in closet with the door closed and it is staying in the 60's. We have the register shut, the blinds closed and the main door closed. It is also winter. Because it is upstairs we are worried about the weight even though it is a good sized walk in closet.
There is no other place in our home to put the wine.
If the weight was not a problem (and we are not sure if the weight IS a problem) we would find an air conditioner to put in the closet but there is no window in the closet and I think you have to have a window for an air conditioner.

I never intended to get so far into wine making but YOU are all enablers! LOL!!

 

[Rocky]

Sammy, weight should not be a problem if the footprint of your wine rack is at least 4 square feet. I estimate that the wine and the bottles weigh between 650 and 700 pounds plus the rack. Even if the rack weighed 100 pounds, that would be a load of 200 lbs/sq. ft. Unless you have a very old house (pre 1900) you should be fine.

 

[dangerdave]

I've got your solution, Sammy! Start pulling up floor boards. Depending on the design of your house, you may be able to build some wooden box units inbetween your floor joists. Line the boxes with some form of vapor barrier to prevent moisture/mold from the crawl space. Use the priviously removed floor boards to create hinged hatches to access the space and voila!

Oh, and you are very welcome! Don't mention it!

 

[Thig]

We tried them under the house in a crawl space and mold/mildew grew on the outside of the carboys.

Sammy, not related to your question and probably even less my business but if you have mold growing under the house not only is the wine in danger but your house also. Mold is usually a sign of excess moisture and inadequate ventilation. If you fixed those problems you might be able to store the wine under there. Could be something as simple as putting down a moisture barrier (covering the ground with plastic sheeting) and opening up the foundation vents.

 

[NoSnob]

I'm not sure anyone actually addressed the issue of what the maximum temp is for wine storage. From what I read in the literature, research has shown that any temp above 82F results in substantialy degraded quality of wine. Since most heated/cooled homes are maintained at 68-78F, inside temps are acceptable though far from ideal. As noted, there are other variables including vibration and direct UV light which worsen the situation.

With several hundred bottles on hand and wanting it to age at closer to ideal temp, I bought a LeCache refrigerated wine cabinet. I keep it at 58F & it maintains RH of about 78. My big problem is that I drink the wine before it has a chance to show me how long it will keep!

If others have additional information on this I would like to hear it.

NS

 

[btom2004]

Agree Thig is correct. May also just have to place a vent fan below at well as the ground plastic shetting.

I was thinking after reading DangerDaves post. Sammy said it's a small closet. Instead of attempting to put an airconditioner in there, as they do drip water while in use and will damage the floors if not checked.

I've seen where other covert a refrigerator into a wine storage unit. I think he should get one of those mini friges, covert it with the coverter to the temp. he wants and then just take the door of while it's in the closed. This way he can keep the whole closet at a certain temp. I win the prize for best idea of the day.

 

[Sammyk]

It is not a small closet it is a large closet. We have 2 Sam's Club wine racks in there and there is room for maybe 10 more. More of a concern is the weight.
We have around 300 bottles on the 2 wine racks plus a bunch of 1-gallon carboys aging in the closet.
Living in NC the humidity is very high in the summer.
The mold or mildew was only on the outside of the bottles. Wiped right off with a rag in light bleach water.
Ripping up the floor is not an option as we hope to sell and move to a smaller home in about a year.

 

[Rocky]

Sammyk, that is a little different load problem. If you are using the Sam's Club wine racks and they are fully loaded (probably about 425 pounds), you have a load of about 100 or so pounds per square inch under the feet. A safer way to do it would be to get some 8' 2x6's, lay them on the floor and set the wine rack on them. That would distribute the weight more evenly.

 

[Sammyk]

Rocky we did talk about putting a sheet of ply wood under the rack to distribute the weight better. I did calculate the weight pretty close to your figures.
I thought I had the problem of storage in the crawl space until there was mold or mildew. We invested in large lidded totes that held 8 1-gallon carboys. I was concerned about rats/mice chewing on the bungs/airlocks.

Then when we checked the airlocks we saw the mold or mildew on the outside of the bottles.

It meant crawling on hands and knees to get in and out so that was a real pain in the rear. Temperature was pretty constant at around 55 degrees in the summer.
So we moved them back inside.

And we did not think about the heat until everything was upstairs and we had a couple of warm days last week.
Hindsight ......!

 

[DaveL]

What about a regular refridgerator? Turn it as high as possible. wouldn't 40 degrees be better than 70?

 

[terroirdejeroir]

I don't know if you have any budget available, but I bought a used chest freezer off craigslist for $50 and connected a Johnson Controls external thermostat. Mine keeps a maximum of 140 bottles at 57 degrees for about a $100 investment.

 

[Sammyk]

We have over 300 bottles aging plus many 1-gallon carboys.

 

[galen1]

It sounds like you care about all your work in making the wine. So you should care about proper storage. If there is no good place in your home to store your wines then get some sort of refrigeration unit as terroirdejeroir suggested and be done with it here at your present house and then you don't have to deal with this problem when you move.

 

[Julie]

Sammy, they do sell air conditioner units that do not need to be placed in a window, they are portable and need the water drained here and there. You can pick one up for around $300.