Wine cellar Humidity

I recently upgraded my wine room. It is doing fine at 56 degrees plus or minus 1 degree. I have a SensorPush remote monitor which gives me direct reading on my temperature and humidity. My humidity is running about 65 percent. Should I worry about low humidity?? How can I increase humidity without spending a fortune


John T. Parker

Hi John -

I don’t think anyone is going to see your post in this forum. You should move it to the Wine Talk forum. And if you can’t move it, just start a new thread there. Along those lines, go to the Wine Talk forum and can search for the word “humidity” which should be of help.

I have heard that a low tech solution is to get a pan of gravel and wet it down. The gravel will release the water when the humidity level is too low, and soak it in when the level is too high.

Cheers,
Patrick

Thanks I am new and still do not know how posting works. I thought I would try the site out before I spend any money. Their is just too many pop up ads for me
John Parker

http://www.cellarprocoolingsystems.com/s.nl/ctype.KB/it.I/id.79236/KB.639385/.f

that humidity is great. Much higher and say goodbye to labels. The gravel thing is a myth. You want it higher? Bucket of water with a towel hanging partway out.

I agree with Alan, your humidity is just fine.

Haven been hearing humidity issues since the first day of storing wines at my passive cellar at basement. I live in the Prairies in Canada with very dry weather most of the year. Relative humidity runs in 65% range in summer (which is perfect according to the norm) but it goes way down to 30-40% during winter (note that we have long winter here). For the past 25 years I never have any bottle being ruined directly due to dried cork. The oldest bottle that I opened was a 1987 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial Rioja that I kept since 1998 and the cork was fine given its age. It also drank beautifully.

try the towel hanging out of the bucket in winter.

John, not knowing where you live - or what are the other conditions - home or apartment and so on, I am in no position of training or scientific knowledge to be giving advice. I would like to share my personal experiences of what I have experienced in so many caves around France.
hopefully to re-assure you - when I started making professional visits to wineries in France in the 1980s and on until the current times, I was reassured when i realized how each Chateau was comfortable with the conditions from nature in Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne the Rhones and so on, how these families with wonderful wines had use of the existing and natural caves.
You will find caves that were part of the Monk’s use in 1132, the mid ages, and word was people were fine with the temperature and humidity.
Caves as far back 1116 that Saint Bernard, having come from Cîteaux Abbey near Clos Vougeot, reorganises the vineyard. From Burgundy he imports the wine sense and in 1152 has several cellars built, one of which, in Urville, is an annex - anyone who has visited Clos Vougeot and the Abbey connected will tell you stories of cellars that are hundreds of years old.
I’ve walked through the underground cellars below the entire town of Gevrey Chambertin, which is quite a Disney world of the absurd - with barrels and bottles.

Some these properties are attached to the great Clairvaux Abbey founded by Saint Bernard before they had temp. and humidity control.
And working with whatever nature provided for the seasonable temperature changes and humidity they were quite comfortable to take the grapes through all of the steps including racking, and aging - (in some situations these are wines that are quite old, 50, 60 years old, and being quite comfortable with the conditions that nature provided.

I’m a former serious classical musician who cared for a delicate musical instrument - so I wondered, how Bernard, cared for his piano, a full grand piano that he lowered down into the bottom or end of the cave at Dom. Gros Frere et Soeur - he is right the acoustics are marvelous… How the conditions did not damage the strings or keys.
My point is, I think the French trust nature and know that each cave however different will be fine.
What does this have to do with your cellar? Depends upon where you live.
I’ve visited some importers and distributors around the U.S. who are respected for their care of wines, and because they are close to water on the docks only concern themselves with maintaining proper temperature.

I have had a passive cellar with low (less than 40% on average) for over 25 years and have never observed any ill effects.

My wine caves are at about 40% right now. Don’t ever get much higher than 45%. But then again, my cheap hydrometer could be telling me lies.

This. You’re fine. I had a cellar at 50-55% for 30 years and had no dried out corks. Once you get to 70% your risk of mold increases. Not a problem for the wine but as Alan says it’ll mess up your labels. If it spreads beyond the cellar it could be a resale problem.

The towel trick works great. I used it in winter when humidity dropped to the 40s. I don’t know how much higher it would get it if you’re already at 65%.