A Note About Wine Cellaring Temperatures

While 55F is generally touted as the ideal temperature to store wine (both red, white and sparkling) please know that there is no consensus among the experts (winemakers, critics and/or oenological academics). It would be more accurate to say that an acceptable temperature range exists, largely informed by historical local customs. Excluding obvious outliers, that range would be between 55F to 60F.

As a trained Sommelier working with valuable wine collections all over the world, I have found that the actual temperature choice—provided it is held stable within the range listed above—is more a matter of personal.

I prefer storing my wine at 58F as I find wines—especially fine wines—coming out of a 55F cellar too cold to be enjoyed right away.

This is not such a big deal in a residential setting where you can simply wait 10 or 15 minutes for the wine to reach optimal serving temperature, but this is obviously less than ideal in a commercial establishment.

Also note that the colder the storage temperature, the longer it will take the wine to evolve. Certain estimates suggest wine to age 1.5 times faster if stored at 59F versus 55F. Given that wine will develop in a healthy and sustainable manner under both temperatures, the question then becomes: When do you want your wine to hit its peak drinking window?

The comments above apply equally to white wine and sparkling wine. In other words, white wine should be stored at the same temperature as red wine, and then brought down to serving temperature once it is ready to drink (e.g., using a bucket filled with ice water, etc.). While options exist to hold your wine cellar at white) “serving temperature” it is not advisable unless you turn your white inventory over every six months. Otherwise, keeping wine in a prolonged state of cooler temperatures (<45F) will negatively impact the wine’s aging potential.

Finally, please note that our wine cellars are designed to operate at a range of 55F to 58F provided that the ambient environment surrounding the wine cellar meets certain conditions (maximum 55F dew point).

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