Hi friends…so I’m faced with a bit of a dillema. I have searched the boards and haven’t found any questions similar, so thought I’d reach out to the group.
I have several wooden crates of some of my favorite and most valuable wine. A couple of 3 packs of Promontory, Penultimate, VHR, and Matriarch, with some more on the way. I currently have a Eurocave that will fit all my bottles, but not the actual wood crates for aging the wine.
My question is, am I better off leaving the wines in the wooden crates at room temperature (kept between 70-72 degrees), or removing the wines from their boxes and placing individually in the Eurocave. At this point, I’m not really planning on selling any of my collection at this point, but want to keep it in it’s best condition for sale should I ever have to. I just hate to move them out of the boxes and put that tissue paper and label at risk. I’ve looked into renting a locker, but at this point my collection doesn’t seem to be large enough to warrant it, and can fit entirely in the Eurocave if it’s necessary.
Thank so much for any input or suggestions. It’s greatly appreciated.
My 2 cents, better to take them out of the crates and keep them in the Eurocave. That way they are at a more proper storage temperature - I think the 70-72 although limited variation is too warm and they may evolve faster than desired. However, there are lots of opinions on this topic on both sides. Good luck with your choice.
Which wines would you purchase at auction? Which one can claim “pristine storage & provenance?”
Five year old wine stored in the OWC’s at room temp in a non-temp controlled, non-humidity controlled environment?
Five year old wine stored the entire time in a temp & humidity controlled cellar/eurocave?
The answer is a no-brainer. I wouldn’t even consider buying the wines in #1 at auction.
FWIW- having the OWC is worth a very minor amount at auction; but opening that OWC & moving bottles in and out of it isn’t a detriment to value for the wines you mentioned. I’ve read stories about unopened 12-bottle crates of 30 year old Bordeaux getting a premium at auction, but those were also cellared properly.
Be careful of the labels in the euro cave, maybe put them at a lower level than you don’t access. I have scratched a couple labels by pulling out the shelf. But yea euro cave is the way to go.
I don’t know. I think the lignified environment will provide all the protection you need, and that tissue paper will remain intact to prevent scratches. It’s a holistic approach to storage and the spacing and resonance of the enclosure has been optimized for long term storage.
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