Professional Wine Storage
Ideal Wine Storage Conditions
The 47 Wine Storage understands the importance of proper wine storage for any size private collection or commercial inventory.
Temperature, light and humidity are critical factors to store wine properly and ensure correct aging.
Equally important to any collector or business owner is security for the collection or inventory.
The 47 Wine Storage provides an ideal light, temperature and humidity controlled environment and diverse and flexible wine storage solutions with several redundant layers of security and surveillance systems.
Temperature
The 47 Wine Storage is insulated with 6” of rock wool insulation and provides a constant 55 degree Fahrenheit temperature.
Wine is a complicated and tenuous balance of amino acids, phenols, carbohydrates and other chemical compounds. Aging wine is a sequence of various chemical reactions between these compounds and infinitesimal quantities of oxygen in the bottle from when it was corked, plus minuscule amounts of oxygen allowed to enter through the cork over time. Temperature, in particular, can easily affect these reactions.
Additionally, proper wine storage must provide an environment where temperature is constant and stable. Fluctuations in temperature allow more oxygen into the wine. As the environment warms up, the wine in the bottle warms up and expands.
This results in either the cork moving out slightly or some of the air or wine seeping past the cork. As the air cools, the contents of the bottle contract, pulling more air into the bottle. With many temperature fluctuation cycles, outside air will replace the evaporating wine. A low fill level or ullage seen in older wines can develop. This may also lead to an oxidized flavor.
Humidity
The 47 Wine Storage maintains a relative interior humidity between 60% to 65%.
Some humidity is necessary to keep wines with corks from drying out. Even when wine bottles are stored horizontally, one side of the cork is still exposed to air. If the cork begins to dry out, air can penetrate into the bottle, filling the ullage space and possibly causing the wine to spoil or oxidize.
Too much humidity can also damage wine labels, which may result in a decreased resale value. It is hard for wine experts to pinpoint an ideal humidity as there is little definitive research.
Light
The 47 Wine Storage is completely below ground and does not have any windows. All interior lights are on timers and enabled only through proximity sensor.
Wine should not be exposed to excessive amounts of light. Ultraviolet rays, especially the short wavelengths, destroy the complicated molecules that create some of the unique and extraordinary flavors in properly aged wine. Wine is usually well protected in glass bottles that virtually absorb all ultraviolet rays; however, direct sunlight can be an issue.
Security and Surveillance
The 47 Wine Storage utilizes several layers of security.
Entry into the wine storage facility is controlled and monitored with card key access. The facility is safely located completely below grade with no windows and only one entrance. Once inside the wine storage facility, all lockers are individually partitioned and each client’s access is limited by card key to the row in which his or her locker is located.
The alarm system is monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Further, there is 24 hour camera surveillance. Finally, the perimeter of the building is also checked by security patrols afterhours.
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