Wine Question

[Packman]

I live in Phoenix and do some traveling in the summer months. I recently came upon a very good wine sale and bought quite a few bottles. When we leave in June, I turn the house A/C up to 86 degrees. We don't have a wine fridge. Can I put all of the wine in the regular fridge until we return and then take it back out and allow it to come up to regular room temperature? Will doing that hurt the taste of either the whites or the reds? Last year we were gone about 3 weeks and some of our wine got a little yucky - I assume from the temps in the house.

 

[grasshopper]

Cooling wine can lead to tartrate crystal formation doesn't hurt the wine.

https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/what...signal-that-something-is-wrong-with-the-wine/

 

[Meadbh]

I live in Phoenix and do some traveling in the summer months. I recently came upon a very good wine sale and bought quite a few bottles. When we leave in June, I turn the house A/C up to 86 degrees. We don't have a wine fridge. Can I put all of the wine in the regular fridge until we return and then take it back out and allow it to come up to regular room temperature? Will doing that hurt the taste of either the whites or the reds? Last year we were gone about 3 weeks and some of our wine got a little yucky - I assume from the temps in the house.

I'm not a wine expert, but I do live in a wine region, and most people here who have a lot of wine in the house keep it in a wine refrigerator. If you don't have one of those, I think a regular refrigerator should work just fine, as long as there is no food in there to make the wine smell, and the temperature is set correctly. I would definitely not leave your wine in a hot house for weeks on end!

Here is a guide that may be useful:

https://www.wineware.co.uk/wine-preservation/winewares-wine-storage-temperature-guide

 

[COcheesehead]

Keeping wine cool or cold is a whole lot better than heat. At 80 degrees or more wine begins to "cook" and that is what ruins wine.

 

[NookWine-n-Tinker]

Take it from @RetiredWino. Keep wine cool and away from direct sunlight. Store bottles on their side to keep the cork wet. A typical wine fridge will be about 45 to 50 degrees. This is not as cold as your typical refrigerator, about 38 degrees. If The Who,e house heats up to the mid 80s, that can be the death of wine. If you have an interior closet that stays cooler, store the wine down near the floor. But whatever you do, drink it and enjoy it! Cheers![emoji485]

 

[CoolChange]

Vibration might be something to consider for wine storage. Some studies have suggested that the vibration of a standard refrigerator will degrade wine, especially fine reds, over time. Vibration is usually one consideration in wine cellar and wine specific refrigerator construction.

Personally, I assume that cool (even with vibration) is much better than hot. But, I do not have many fine reds; and, I do not age them myself for years.

 

[NookWine-n-Tinker]

CoolChange is correct! Vibration can be harmful to wine as well.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

I live in Phoenix and do some traveling in the summer months. I recently came upon a very good wine sale and bought quite a few bottles. When we leave in June, I turn the house A/C up to 86 degrees. We don't have a wine fridge. Can I put all of the wine in the regular fridge until we return and then take it back out and allow it to come up to regular room temperature? Will doing that hurt the taste of either the whites or the reds? Last year we were gone about 3 weeks and some of our wine got a little yucky - I assume from the temps in the house.

You have a neighbor that will let you put it in their house?

 

[pj.mask]

If you drink wine a lot sams and Costco have ~33 bottle wine fridges for about $200? Get one with a compressor (over thermoelectric). First one lasted 3 years. I tend to buy several $10-20 Bordeaux from Costco and usually drink from the oldest to newest. Typically drinking stuff stored 6-12 months.

 

[Winemaker]

For the most part, most wines are made to be drunk right away. When you get into the $$$ models and some of upper $$, these can be made to lay down to enjoy later, if properly stored. I'm sorry I didn't see this thread back in April.

High temperatures hasten the aging process as well as light and vibration,and wide swings in temperature. Custom cellars allow for for no more than 3-4 degrees range. If you enjoy those models and wish to protect your "investment", a storage cellar would be suggested. These tabernacle style units keep your units 50-60 degrees with a 57% humidity so your corks don't dry out or mold. (Nothing like having a dry or moldy old cork, so I'm told.)

The above mentioned wine fridges are nice, but those are really just "temporary" temp controlled boxes and not for years of storage. But going to the next level poses other caveats. Unless you purchased the wine directly from the winery, in your hands to your cellar, you have absolutely no idea if your wine sat on the dock in the warehouse for 6 hours, or was kept in a controlled environment. You don't know if was hauled in a reefer from California, or a trailer with plastic or canvas sides. Your Bordeaux got here by plane or boat, how much vibration did it suffer through? Are you trained/talented enough to even tell the difference? How would you know if your wine was abused before you put it in your cellar?

So, keep your storage area cool, away from direct, bright and florescent lights. If the winemaker did not cold stabilize his wines, as grasshopper mentioned, tartrate crystals will drop out of the if the wine was stored in a fridge. They are harmless, but it will change the acidity of the wine and its crispness.

As much as I hate to say it, though, it is only wine. I have about 1500 bottles of wine in my cellar, about 1400 bottles that I made over the past 8 years.Stored in my cellar, they see temps 55-63 degrees. The others, I know how they traveled. They are not priceless, but very good products that DW and I enjoy with friends and family.

Prepare for the next bargain you might stumble upon. You might try monitoring a summer cooler placed in a basement closet with some blankets or insulation around it. You can put a thermometer with a long probe.

 

[pj.mask]

I had read the wine you buy in the store shouldn't be stored for more than 5 years. Is that what you mean by a long time? I bought some 2015 Bordeaux for $8/btl, I believe 8 months has improved it. I agree you probably shouldn't be storing this for 5 to 10 more years.

I don't know about transportation issues but since I buy mostly from Costco or one nice wine store - I assume that either manage their distribution or pay attention to it. I haven't noticed any issues so I suppose it doesn't matter.

I do believe wine can go bad quickly at warm temperatures and I like to have some around in case my family drops by - I found one of those small wine fridges are ideal for storing wine for about a year with improved quality. mostly it allows me to buy five bottles at Costco when they have something I'm interested for sale and have a few different options if I want to drink something.

 

[Winemaker]

Yes, that is correct pj, most wine in a store is meant for immediate/soon consumption. If you were to go to Napa,or Sonoma, Paso, or any premium winery in a great AVA, the tasting staff will give you recommendations about storage life. Wines that are meant to age have been made to age. Wines that have a greater acidity, more tannins, more alcohol, or a combination of the three, will age better. They will have tasting notes printed up, extolling the chemistry of that particular fermented grape juice. But the big BUT is, whether you are able to taste/notice it.

As a side note, a little fun can be had with wine tasting with friends. Take 1-2 bottles of dry red wine depending on # of folks participating. Divide a 750ml bottle 3 ways, 250ml each. Pour a sample #1 into a glass. 2) Take sample #2 and pour it between 2 containers several times (15 would be good) and serve that in a separate glass. Take the #3 third sample and put it in a blender, or a cocktail mixer and mix it profusely. Serve that sample in a different glass. You will have a different tasting experience for each sample, like three different wines.
You can do it with the participants watching the aeration, or you can do it as a blindfold test. Regardless, there will be shock, dismay and a lot of interesting conversation. You may even have some converts to drinking dry red wine.

 

[brett]

I buy red. Usually by the case. If there is a good sale and I am not familar with the wine I will buy a bottle. IF I like it I will go back for a case or two. At most I would have 2-3 cases at any one time. Not so much lately because we had been shopping for a new home for the past few years. Now that we are in it the stock is increasing!

We store it in the basement in a rack. It is in a cool, dark place. Wine rack slants down a little in order to keep the cork moist. A few bottles of white go down there too, but they are mostly kept in the crisper of our fridge.

 

[RetireAge50]

We keep our wine stored at Costco. We buy it and drink it and repeat frequently.

 

[pj.mask]

That's the trouble. Costco gets small lots of $10 Bordeaux regularly - some are good and others I'm not a big fan of. $10-20 is my typical price point. If they have something new I'll take a bottle home to taste and if favorable buy several on the next trip. Usually out of stock in a couple weeks.

Big fan of French wines, especially Bordeaux - have trouble drinking the $7-9 grocery store grape juice brands.

Also keep sweet bubbly nearby for the ladies and a nice bottle or two for celebrations (chateau neuf de pape is moms fav).

But I have always been a fan of being stocked up/organized.

 

[zinger1457]

I buy my wine in box and keep it in the frig, have one glass most nights, it's usually gone in a couple weeks. Last glass taste as good as the first.

 

[Souschef]

I buy my wine in box and keep it in the frig, have one glass most nights, it's usually gone in a couple weeks. Last glass taste as good as the first.

Over the years I have tasted all kinds of wines, Including great Bordeaux's.
My DW cannot handle red wines, and we have determined the Vella box Chardonnay is acceptable. For more festive occasions, we have some nice bottled white wine.
The Vella has some great advantages- we can pack the 5 liter box in a suitcase and take it with us on vacation and not worry about breakage. Also, on a cruise, when they X-Ray the luggage, they are looking for bottles

 

[FIREd]

I think that keeping the wine at a fairly constant temperature is important as well, so I don't know if it is a good idea to refrigerate it and then bring it back up to room temp. Wine is usually stored in underground cellars because they offer cool, stable temperatures year round.

 

[Meadbh]

I live in a wine region and I have learnt that the best wines never make it as far as the stores. I usually buy wine at a winery after tasting it. I'm also a member of a wine club at a very good local winery. The most I have on hand at any one time is 12 bottles. I store them in a cooler.

 

[brett]

Most of the wine we buy comes from Chile and/or Argentina. Working on a case of red from Spain now and enjoying it very much. Plus the occasional few bottles from South Africa. The whites we buy tend to be from New Zealand, Italy, or Chile.

 

[ronin]

The last year or so we've been delving into really old vine zins from various areas in CA. One of our current favorites is from a small plot of vines planted in the 1800's in Contra Costa Co. Amazing that these vineyards still exist. Excavations on nearby lots have show the roots from these vines down below 60'. The fruit and the wine made from it is pretty special. You won't find it easily if at all and we count ourselves lucky to get a case or 2 with each release. Check out the wines from Amador Co. if you are looking to experiment with a zin or petite syrah. If you like interesting road trips and wine, look at the Shenandoah Valley outside of Plymouth. There are some really old vineyards in those hills.

https://www.historicvineyardsociety.org/registry/ava.jsp?catid=141

 

[Sunset]

I buy red. Usually by the case. If there is a good sale and I am not familar with the wine I will buy a bottle. IF I like it I will go back for a case or two. At most I would have 2-3 cases at any one time. Not so much lately because we had been shopping for a new home for the past few years. Now that we are in it the stock is increasing!

We store it in the basement in a rack. It is in a cool, dark place. Wine rack slants down a little in order to keep the cork moist. A few bottles of white go down there too, but they are mostly kept in the crisper of our fridge.

When I find a close out sale at Binny's, I'll buy boxes once I know it's good.
I keep it in the basement in the boxes on their sides.

I've had friends totally amazed at the quality and taste of the wine when I bring it to a party, they remark how great it is. These friends drink a lot, so they have lots of experience for comparison.
They are shocked when I tell them I bought it for $3

 

[Chuckanut]

Speaking of wine, can anybody recommend a white whine that is somewhat sweeter than normal? Not a dessert wine that is very sweet.

 

[Sunset]

Speaking of wine, can anybody recommend a white whine that is somewhat sweeter than normal? Not a dessert wine that is very sweet.

I find Riesling (german) often to be sweet.

One way to tell for nearly any wine is look for alcohol content no higher than 11% , as the yeast turns sugar into alcohol, so a lower alcohol content means the yeast were stopped before finishing the job, leaving sweetness in the wine.

Myself I like dry wine, so I rarely buy wine with less than 12% alcohol content.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

I buy my wine in box and keep it in the frig, have one glass most nights, it's usually gone in a couple weeks. Last glass taste as good as the first.

Hahahhaah