Ask any wine collector and they will tell you the ideal temperature for storing and aging wine is 55 degrees (which is why it’s the temperature of our wine warehouse). What happens if you store your wine at higher temperatures? Alexander J. Pandell, Ph.D. authored the most scientific analysis on this topic that I’ve found titled “How temperature affects the aging of wine.” You can find it along with some other material on his site called The Alchemist’s Wine Perspective. The article is worth reading in full but I will try to distill the key conclusions which are:
- Higher temperatures accelerate the aging process dramatically (e.g., storing wine at 59 degrees ages it 50% faster than 55 degrees)
- Faster aging increases the rate of undesirable chemical reactions which can produce “compounds with foul odors and off tastes.”
How much faster does wine age at higher temperatures?
Pandell argues that many chemical changes (reactions) taking place over a period of time create the benefits of aging fine wine. Of the variety of reactions which can occur (both desired and undesired), each different type occurs at different speeds based on temperature. The results shown below in the charts illustrate his best estimate on the relative rate of aging wine caused by raising storage temperatures above 55 degrees. One chart mirrors his three data points and the other attempts to extrapolate the same data to a scale for any storage temperature.
For example, 3 months of aging at 91 degrees is equivalent to 14 years of aging at 55 degrees. Three months of aging 73 degrees is equivalent to 2 years of aging at 55 degrees.
Bad tastes created by higher temperatures are the real killer
In case you think you’ve discovered an easy way to avoid cellaring your wines for years or decades at 55 degrees, there’s a catch. To quote Pandell: “…higher temperatures will result in undesirable chemical reactions taking place that were either too slow or non-existent at the lower temperatures…higher storage temperatures make available many new pathways for desirable AND UNDESIRABLE reactions.” Apparently, the rate of “bad” reactions increases with temperature much faster than the rate of “good” reactions.
Bottom line: Store your wine at 55 degrees (or as close to it as you can get), whether you build a wine cellar in your home, buy a wine storage unit, or use a professional wine storage facility. Note that many professional wine storage facilities can be at 58-59 degrees (to lower their energy bills) so make sure you ask what their facility’s temperature is.
