CHAPTER 2
Having made a start and perhaps spent some serious money on purchasing a few things that will need time to mature, you now need to consider some more robust and large-scale storage solutions. A number of factors should be considered, and some are perhaps a little more unusual than you might think. A common mistake is to only consider a solution for what you already own, as opposed to what you might actually want or need to buy in the short to medium term. Believe me when I say it is much better to look at your space and see that it is only a quarter full, than it is to realise that you haven’t got room for the case of Chianti that has just arrived. Eventually you are likely to outgrow whatever space you have chosen and then it will be time to upgrade, or possibly rationalise your collection by selling some of it – but more on that later.
Whilst it may look good, storing wines like this for any period of time can be actively bad for them.
STORAGE SOLUTIONS
It is extremely common for people to overrate the quality of the wines they own (at least in terms of value) and the quality of the storage they need to keep it in, the theory being that if you have expensive wine you therefore need to invest more in your storage solution than if you have more modest buying habits. This, like so many things wine-related, is a myth, but one that is both correct and incorrect at the same time. If you have the right conditions within your house to store low-quality wine, those same conditions will be just as good for storing finer wines. Equally, the more you invest in your wine storage solution, the better the conditions will be for all your wines, not just the better examples. Of course, if you are only buying specific wines for short-term drinking then storage need not be too much of a concern; however, it still needs to go somewhere, and unless you are buying ‘on the day’ then you may as well make sure it is all kept in the best conditions available.
A classic ‘starter’ storage solution: the polystyrene inners from wine boxes provide both access and insulation.
The Understairs Cupboard
Leaving aside those living in flats for now, most people will have some sort of understairs cupboard or storage area. Often the home of the household cleaning appliances, this area can make a very good starting point for keeping a growing collection. Careful use of the space by employing a simple wine rack on one side and then perhaps cases on the other can yield a surprising amount of storage. However, this will only work if you have a proper degree of insulation, and there are no hot water pipes running through.
As we have seen, the maintenance of a stable temperature (preferably a relatively low one) is the key to successful maturation of your bottles. The fluctuations in temperature caused by the presence of hot water pipes, or prolonged exposure to heat, will be injurious to the wines, so if the space is subject to either of these then it must be avoided. A simple week-long test of the temperature will tell you all you need to know, and this is best done with the heating on in the house so as to create the worst possible conditions for storing wine.
Even mo
