Wine storage is a factor that wine fanatics should be aware of because of the simple fact that most wines today are meant to be served within a few years after release.
As a result, ideal wine storage temperature must adhere to the latter if one must preserve the worth of the first sip.
Storing wine at the optimal temperature is necessary to ensure that the flavor and balance of your wine don’t change.
If you don’t want your wine to age prematurely or get spoilt due to poor storage conditions, learning about the right temperatures to store different types of wine is essential.
In today’s post, we’re going to learn about the optimal temperature to store different types of wine. At the end of this article, you’ll avoid extreme fluctuations in temperature, which may damage your wine. Read through to learn the secret to wine storage temperature.
Contents
Wine Storage Temperatures Summary Chart
For a summary of the wine storage temperatures, refer to the table below:
Full-bodied reds
| Type of wine | Temperature °F | Temperature °C |
| Shiraz, Grand Cru, Bordeaux, Zinfandel, Carmenere and Ribera del Duer | 64 | 18 |
| Vintage Port, Madeira and Banyulus | 66 | 19 |
| Red Burgundy, Cabernet Sauvignon, Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello, Malbec and Recioto | 63 | 17 |
Light-to-Medium Reds
| Type of wine | Temperature °F | Temperature °C |
| Beaujolais | 54 | 12 |
| Portuguese wines and Young Spanish | 55 | 13 |
| Sherry, Tawny Port and Chinon. | 57 | 14 |
| Light Zinfandels or Chianti | 59 | 15 |
| Young Bordeaux, Merlot, Rioja and Pinot Noir | 61 | 16 |
Dry Whites
| Type of wine | Temperature °F | Temperature °C |
| Italian Whites, Alsace Riesling, Gruner Veltliner, Pinot Gris, Pouilly Fuissé and Pouilly Fume | 46 | 8 |
| Bordeaux Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc | 48 | 9 |
| White Burgundy and Condrieu | 52 | 11 |
Sweet wines
| Type of wine | Temperature °F | Temperature °C |
| Auslese, Sweet Vouvray, Tavel, Tokaji, White Zinfandel, Sake, Trockenbeerenauslese, Beerenauslese, Icewine and Barsac | 45 | 7 |
| Cava and Asti Spumante | 41 | 5 |
| Vintage Champagne, Sparkling Wine, Muscat’s and New World Riesling | 46 | 8 |
| Non-vintage champagne | 43 | 6 |
Wine Storage Options
Before looking at the right temperatures to store your wine, we must understand the different options people have for storing their wines. This helps to know whether you can achieve the right temperatures for specific wines using your available storage options.
Below are the 3 main wine storage options widely used for their safety and security.
Wine Cellar
A wine cellar is a popular and ideal way of storing your wine bottle with the option of controlling the temperature and humidity. Therefore, it is a cost-effective option bespoke from one facility or home to another.
Wine cellars provide flexibility in terms of the arrangement of your wine bottles depending on the region it comes from. For instance, French wine can be organized as wine from Alsace, Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Loire, or Rhone, among other French regions.
You can also organize your wine in the wine cellar according to vintage. If you collect particular wines, you can arrange them vertically in numerical order. You can use wine bottle tags to record crucial information about that wine.
Makeshift Closet
A makeshift wine cellar closet is an ideal storage option for many wine lovers. It is a simplistic and quick way of storing and retrieving your wine in small or large sizes.
There are many ideas online on how to arrange your wine in a closet cellar.
If you’re an everyday wine drinker, a wine closet cellar is perfect for you. However, since the makeshift wine closet does not have temperature control, it is not ideal for long-term storage.
A Wine Refrigerator
A cabinet or wine refrigerator is a reliable storage option that can be used to maintain the temperature of your wine. They’re especially ideal for wine sellers. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, suitable for any collection of wine.
Optimal Temperature for Wine Storage
There are temperature recommendations for storing wine in general, but this is not pure science and does not apply to all types of wines.
The optimal temperature depends on several factors, including but not limited to the tannin contained in the wine, the percentage of alcohol, and the fruit in the wine.
Generally, wine should be stored at temperatures of between 49°F to 57°F or 8-11°C. However, as a rule of thumb, you should never let your wine storage temperatures exceed 24°C. Such high temperatures will result in the wine oxidizing, which negatively affects its quality.
Here are the specific temperatures for the storage of different types of wine.
Full-Bodied Reds
The first category of full-bodied wines includes Red Burgundy, Cabernet Sauvignon, Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello, Malbec, and Recioto. These wines should be stored at a temperature of 63°F (17°C).
The other group of full-bodied red wines includes Shiraz, Grand Cru, Bordeaux, Zinfandel, Carmenere, and Ribera del Duero. If you’re a fan, consider storing them at a temperature of 64°F (18°C).
Vintage Port, Madeira, and Banyulus red wines are stored at 66°F (19°C).
Light-to-Medium-Bodied Reds
Other red wines are categorized as light to medium-bodied. They include the Beaujolais and its likes. These should be stored at cooler temperatures of 54°F (12°C).
The Portuguese wines and Young Spanish variety of light to medium red wines its recommended should be stored at 55°F (13°C).
There are other types of light to medium red wines: Sherry, Tawny Port, and Chinon. Wine storage experts recommend storing these varieties at 57°F (14°C). You can go a bit warmer with the Light Zinfandels or Chianti’s and store them at 59°F (15°C).
The likes of Young Bordeaux, Merlot, Rioja, and Pinot Noir light-to-medium red wines should be stored at a temperature of 61°F (16°C).
Dry Whites
There are those of us who are real dry whites’ enthusiasts. Dry whites come in wide varieties, and depending on your region, you’ll be more familiar with some more than others.
Either way, we’ll share with you the best storage temperature for your specific type of white wine.
Let’s begin with the common dry whites such as Italian Whites, Alsace Riesling, Gruner Veltliner, Pinot Gris, Pouilly Fuissé, and Pouilly Fume. If you’re buying these, consider storing them in a refrigerator at a temperature of 46°F (8°C).
For lovers of Bordeaux Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, and their likes note that the optimal temperature to store them should be 48°F (9°C).
Increasing this by just 1° Celsius might be damaging to the quality of your wine, but it might be perfect for storing other wines such as Chardonnay. However, full-bodied Chardonnay requires a storage temperature of 12°C or 54°F. The same goes for Graves.
There are rare whites that people always tend to overlook when storing. These include White Burgundy and Condrieu, which must be stored at a temperature of 52°F (11°C).
Sweet Wines
Sweet wines are a darling to many looking for wines with very low alcohol content. The largest category of these sweet wines can be stored at 45°F or 7°C.
These include Auslese, Sweet Vouvray, Tavel, Tokaji, White Zinfandel, Sake, Trockenbeerenauslese, Beerenauslese, Icewine and Barsac.
Wines that can also be stored at considerably low temperatures of 41°F (5°C) include Cava and Asti Spumante.
For storage of vintage Champagne, it is recommended to set your wine cellar at 46°F (8°C) and 43°F (6°C) for the non-vintage Champagne. Sparkling Wine, Muscat’s, and New World Riesling can store at the same temperature as vintage Champagne in the cellar.
These are the optimal storage temperatures for the different types of red, white, and sweet wines. It is advisable to keep these storage temperatures constant to avoid fluctuations that severely damage your wine quality.
In addition, constant storage temperatures will ensure that your wine matures properly throughout the year.
Ideal Wine Storage Conditions
If you’re going to preserve the quality of your wine during storage, getting the temperature right is the most important but not the only aspect. It is one of several storage conditions that ought to be gotten right.
Along with the correct temperature, wine should be stored in a dark place with humidity below 70%.
If you cannot get rid of light from entering the storage facility, wrap the wine bottles with a piece of cloth or store them inside a box. High humidity will encourage the growth of mold in addition to deteriorating the wine labels.
Additionally, your wine cellar or cabinet should be free of strong potent smells. Such smells can taint the wine and the cork. It is thus encouraged to ensure that your storage option gets proper ventilation to get rid of musty odors.
Your wine storage facility should experience minimal or null vibrations at all times. Moving your stored wine can result in quality depreciation.
You should consider installing a thermohygrometer to monitor the humidity and a dehumidifier to control the humidity in the storage facility.
Bonus Tips
At this point, you should be well braced to store any type and quantity of wine without compromising its quality. However, keeping the optimal temperature in mind, here are a few extra tips to consider when storing your bottle of wine.
- Not all wines get better with time which is why you need to store your wine for the right amount of time.
For example, red wines can be stored for up to 10 years. But depending on the tannin, acid, and sugar in the wine, fine wines can be stored for as long as 100 years.
On the other hand, white wines should not be stored for more than 3 years, except for a few Chardonnays that can go for 20 years in storage.
- Arrange your bottles of wine horizontally to avoid the cork drying and eventually shrink as this may result in air entering and damaging the wine.
- Use cellar sleeves or plastic to protect the labels of your wine bottle.
Here are more tips about wine storage:
In conclusion, optimal wine storage temperature is critical when you intend to keep your wine from getting ‘cooked.’ Remember that wine storage temperature differs from serving temperature.
Therefore, you must adjust the temperature of your wine from storage to allow it to rise or fall to the right temperature before serving.
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