Question for you guys… I’ve exceeded my home storage by approximately 50 bottles and I’m debating whether to move to off-site storage or simply hold the excess inventory in boxes in my office. My internal home temperature typically runs around 75-78 degrees.
So my question is this…how long would you be comfortable keeping that wine outside of cold storage before you would start to worry about any degradation in the wine?
If you have to do it, only take out your Port and Sauternes, everyone talks about how much tougher they are.
Thanks Craig, but unfortunately, I have neither of these wines of my collection!
Do you already have offsite? If so, I’d move any longer term bottles there, whether from your office or other home storage. That’d free up some room.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t worry too much about anything to be consumed within the next year or so. If you’ve got “near term” consumables in cold storage, and longer term bottles in boxes in your office, you could always do a bit of rearranging.
Another thing that’s probably obvious. If you don’t have offsite storage now, and you’re going to have 4 cases of wine in your office, what do you project your acquisition vs consumption rates to be for 2014 and beyond. Will those 4 cases become a permanent fixture in your office? Or will they go away? Or will they become 20 cases?
Cheers,
Jim
That’s all exactly correct. Be honest with yourself, that 4 cases is only the current stop on the road to many more surplus cases. So, you might as well plan for the reality a year or two from now, rather than pretending the current quantity is the most you’re going to have.
But no, it isn’t going to hurt your wines to spend the next year or two in your office at those temperatures. I assume you’ll put your better wines and the ones that you’re going to age longer into proper storage, and you can keep near-term drinkers, QPRs, etc. in your office.
If you can keep some bottles in your office, and that stays in the low 70s around the clock, I personally wouldn’t worry about bottles you plan to drink in the next few years, over a span of several years. Maybe worry less about reds than whites, but that’s about it. Wine is pretty hardy, I only really get concerned when things get into the upper 70s and above. The usual caveat that the aging process will run a little faster, but that’s usually no harm at all for near and mid-term drinkers. I know a lot of people get much more concerned than I do, just relating my own thoughts.
Don’t you have a basement to put them in?
For $100 you can buy a 50 bottle cooler on craiglist or other classifieds. Peace of mind.
Those temperatures aren’t unreasonably high, so long as the house temperature is steady. Temperature fluctuation and humidity levels are bigger concerns. Assuming you keep a relatively constant temperature and at least moderate humidity, they’ll be fine for a couple of years. Just stick them in a box away from the light and don’t worry about it. If it’s very dry, then keep an eye on the corks to make sure they aren’t drying out. In my early days of wine collecting I had some trouble with low humidity levels in my home, and the corks on a few bottles failed.
Any newer releases you are planning drinking within a year or so- maybe even 2, Temp below 80 won’t make a massive difference IMO.
However I wouldn’t do that with anything you are hopeful to get some age and secondary character on- or anything that already has decent age on it.
No, I don’t. The nearest off-site storage that I have available to me is about a 30 minute drive, so I’m trying to avoid it at all possible costs.
Chris, you’re one of my favorite posters and a voice of “wine reason” on this board, but you of all people should know there’s no “being honest” with one’s self when it comes to collecting fine wine!
Yes, that’s what I was thinking. No different than my local wine store storing it on their shelves for goodness knows how long.
We don’t (typically) do basements down here in Texas!
I know that all too well, but that’s why I’m trying to do it for you, my friend! You can’t be expected to be honest with yourself about it, but I can be honest with you.
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Alan is correct. Many years ago, before I decided to take the hobby seriously, I noted that bottles that I didn’t drink quickly and kept for several months in a cabinet above my fridge would be toast. Fortunately, these were of the $15-$20 variety. My house is about 76-77, same as yours.
A cabinet above a fridge is a hot spot and may be quite a bit warmer than the rest of the house. The kitchen is a warm place much of the day and more importantly can be subject to large daily fluctuations in temperature. The heat thrown off a working fridge can also be a factor.
Is the AC on in your office overnight and on weekends? In some buildings it isn’t.
I once thought about asking our company’s IT manager if I could store some wine in the 24/7 AC’ed server room. 
Scott - even though there are closer options, I keep a locker about an hour’s drive away from home (about 35 min from work), b/c the price is so cheap versus local. I’ve found that I only make the trip about 3 to 4 times a year - waiting until I have a few cases ready that need a long nap. The set-up isn’t that bad, and a storage co. is better for the wines - little or no temp fluctuation, no vibration from a cooling unit turning on and off, etc. Plus, most storage co’s give you the option to upgrade capacity at any time - versus selling the old fridge and then buying a larger one.
Very true. What wine I do keep in my house to drink stays on the floor, in the coolest part of the house. Even on warm summer days, where my indoor/outdoor thermometer shows temps into the 80s or even 90s, a bottle on the floor probably never gets above 75 (it’s actually pretty amazing to use a little IR thermometer, and see the temperature gradient between the base of the bottle standing up and the top, can be 6-8 degrees).