Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I store wine in a temperature controlled facility?

Whether you buy wine as a collector, investor, or enthusiast, you need to keep it under the proper environmental conditions (unless you only buy wines for immediate consumption).  Temperature, humidity, light and vibration all affect wine, so to avoid spoilage you need to control the environment where you keep your collection.

The best wines increase in value—and retail price—as they get older, so it’s economically prudent to buy collectible wines when they are released and store them until they are ready to drink.  This is especially true for fans of Bordeaux, as more than 300 chateaux participate in en primeur sales where they sell wines before they are bottled at significantly lower prices than on release.   If you buy en primeur, you can arrange to have your wines shipped directly to Classic Wine Storage where it will rest quietly and safely until you are ready to pop the cork.

What are the pros and cons of storing at a facility like Classic Wine Storage vs. building a home wine cellar?

If money is no object and you have extra space in your home, sometimes building a home wine cellar is a good way to go.  A refrain that we often hear from our clients, however, is that they underestimated the eventual size of their collection and ran out of space.  At CWS you can add locker space as you need it, and never need to worry about getting cramped.  Other issues you may run into with home storage are power outages and equipment failures.  A power outage or condenser failure during the summer in Texas could have disastrous consequences.  CWS is equipped with redundant cooling systems and a backup generator to ensure your wine remains stable year round.

Finally, you can’t take a custom-built wine cellar with you if you move residences.

A solution that works for many of our clients is to store most of their wine at CWS—either in case storage or racks—and then purchase a home unit that holds 50-100 bottles for near-term drinking wine.  You can transfer wine from CWS to your home as needed; just give us a call and we will deliver a vinous care package to your front door whenever you need it.

Why is it important to control temperature and humidity?

The optimum conditions for wine is 50-60° F temperature and 50-70% humidity.  The most important factor is consistency in temperature, as even small swings (5-10°) either up or down can harm your wines.  Low humidity can dry out corks which will allow air into the wine, giving you an expensive bottle of vinegar.

If you buy wines that you are going to drink within a few months, then don’t worry as long as you keep them away from direct heat, vibration and strong light.  If you collect wine for future drinking or as an investment, however, temperature and humidity control is critical.  Click here for more information on temperature and wine.

Can I store wine in my refrigerator?

You can keep your near-term drinking white wines in the fridge, but avoid storing red or white wines there for any length of time.  First, the temperature is too low (usually around 41° F) but more importantly the humidity is intentionally kept very low and will dry out the corks and let air in the bottle (kaput!).

What are the proper temperatures to serve red and white wines?  How about sparking wine?

A common pitfall—even at restaurants, where they should know better—is to serve red wines too warm and white wines too cold.  That said, you need to let red wines warm up for an hour or so after removing them from storage, and you may want to put white still and sparkling wines in the fridge for an hour before serving.  You don’t want to serve rich white Burgundies or Sauternes too cold, as the cold tends to mute aromas and flavors. Red wine served too warm tends to accentuate alcohol and produce an unpleasant bite on the palate.    Click here for Wine Serving Temperature Guidelines

If my wine is packed in non-standard case sizes, how do I know how many will fit in one of CWS’s lockers?

Give us a call or email us with the number and types of containers you have.  We will get back to you with the recommended size locker.  It’s usually better to rent a locker that will accommodate additional wine as you expand your collection.  But no worry, it’s easy to step up to the next size locker as your collection grows.  Remember you can rent case storage and rack storage at CWS, which gives you maximum flexibility and easy access to your wines.

Other than me, who has access to my wine at CWS?

Only you, unless you ask CWS to pull wine from your locker either for you to pick up or for us to deliver.  Our facility has layered security systems and is monitored 24 hours, so you can have peace of mind that your wine is both safe and secure.

Can I have wine shipped direct to CWS?  How do I get it into my locker?

One of the complaints we often hear is that UPS, FedEx, or a local retailer tries to deliver wine shipments to homes when no one is there, with the result that the wine sometimes goes back to a stifling warehouse where it can get ruined by the heat.  You can direct shipments to CWS, where we will either hold it in our temperature controlled receiving area or, if you give us access to your locker, we will place the wine in your locker as soon as we receive it and notify you by email that your wine has arrived.

Click on our Wine Links tab where we keep a growing archive of educational links covering everything from the effect of temperature on wine to a video demonstrating “sabrage”, or how to open a bottle of champagne with a saber (!)