How to Store Vintage Champagne

Creating a Storage Location

Use a well-insulated area to keep a consistent temperature. Choose a room, closet, or another storage area that is insulated enough to prevent wild temperature fluctuations, which can spoil your vintage champagne. Look for a space that has insulated walls, ceilings, and floors. Basements that aren’t insulated are subject to drastic changes in temperature and shouldn’t be used to store vintage champagne. If you plan to create a new storage space for your vintage champagne, be sure to insulate it well. Place window insulation film over any windows in the space you plan to use.

Set the air-conditioning or cooling unit to 50 °F (10 °C). Install a portable cooling unit or use your air-conditioning system to keep the storage space nice and cool. Keep the room a consistent temperature and avoid wild temperature fluctuations. The ideal temperature range for storing vintage champagne is between 45–55 °F (7–13 °C). Avoid storing your vintage champagne in a garage, shed, or kitchen, where the internal temperature can fluctuate.

Keep the humidity at around 50%. If you live in a dry location, use a humidifier to increase the humidity levels in the space where you’re storing your vintage champagne. To lower the humidity levels, use a dehumidifier so the storage space doesn’t become too humid, which can prematurely age your vintage champagne. Many humidifiers and dehumidifiers have sensors that will tell them to turn on and off to keep the humidity levels consistent in your storage area.Tip: Buy or make your own hygrometer so you can monitor the humidity levels to keep them constant.

Make the space dark to reduce the champagne’s exposure to light. Close the blinds over any windows in the room to keep your vintage champagne protected from harmful UV rays. Use soft white bulbs, or LED bulbs designed for mood lighting, and keep them turned off when you aren’t in the storage room. Keep the area as dark as you can to extend the storage life of your vintage champagne. Soft white bulbs give off a more yellowish light and aren’t as bright as other bulbs. Direct exposure to bright lighting can also damage your vintage champagne.

Stacking the Vintage Champagne

Use a champagne rack or shelves to store your vintage champagne. Place a wine rack that’s specially designed to hold champagne bottles into your storage space away from any direct light. You can also use a sturdy, all-purpose shelving unit for a more cost-effective storage option. Look for champagne racks at wine shops, interior design stores, home improvement stores, and online. Make sure the slots will fit your vintage champagne bottles. If you plan to use shelves, make sure they’re sturdy enough to support the champagne bottles. Solid wood or metal shelves will do the trick.

Stack the bottles on their sides to keep the corks moist. Place your vintage champagne bottles on their sides in your rack or on your shelves so they’re stacked horizontally. The champagne inside of the bottles will keep the corks moist and prevent them from shrinking, which can cause the carbonation to leak out. Make sure the bottles don’t roll around while they’re in storage so the carbonation doesn’t build up inside of the bottle.Warning: Storing the vintage champagne standing up will cause the cork to dry out and crack, which will expose the champagne to the outside air and spoil it. It will also cause the cork to crumble when you try to open the bottle.

Store your vintage champagne for up to 10 years. Keep your vintage champagne in storage for several years to age it well and open up subtle flavor notes. Vintage champagnes are higher quality than other types of champagnes or sparkling wines, but they will eventually lose their fizz, so don’t store them longer than 10 years. Old vintage champagne will be flat and taste like dried fruit, so open it up and enjoy it before it goes bad!