Best place to store wine

[ChrisTaylor]

I've just started a small wine collection--nothing terribly expensive, but a mix of things I enjoy. Mostly reds from Australia and France, with a few oddities thrown in. Anyway. There's a matter of storage. I don't have a cellar or basement. My house, however, is cool--it has to hit about 40*C outside before I feel the need to even glance in the direction of the air conditioner (of course, when it falls below 15*C outside the house is an ice box). Does it really matter where I set up a little wine rack? Would, say, the inside of a cupboard (i.e. away from light) be superior to the corner of my living room? Are the short-term variations in room temperature caused by heating/air con a problem?

[patrickamory]

Humidity / dryness can be issues too. Why not a small wine fridge?

[Lisa Shock]

The one thing to avoid is any area that gets vibrations from machinery, for example on top of a refrigerator. You also want to avoid freezing.

Inside a cupboard away from light is good, just remember to turn the bottles occasionally to keep the corks in good shape.

[lstrelau]

Consistent temperature is more important than absolute temperature. 13-15 would be great but that could be hard in your climate. I vote for a wine fridge. If your closet can be kept at a consistent temp you would be okay. Warmer temps the wine would age more quickly. Cooler would give you a longer window. But also depends on what wine you like and whether it would benefit from cellar aging or not.

If you are only waiting a few months then a rack in your living room would be fine.

[rotuts]

keep them where you dont see them often.

otherwise, when at 'their peak' you would have already drunk them

and thats not a joke: i used to collect modest zainfandels from CA eventually some made it to 20 + years

(ravenswood and ridge)

because i always had other wines ready to drink.

pic day-to-day range wines

weekend wines

holiday/sp occasion wines keep these out of site!