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How to Pack Wine Glasses to Move or Store

Glasses of any kind are sure to be a packing concern, but the unique shape and pressure points of wine glasses make them particularly at risk for damage. Pack your wine glasses to protect them from unforeseen damage with the tips below. Invest in Specialty Wine Boxes It is well known that packing wine glasses can be a challenge. However, specialty boxes designed for the average wine glass can help. Looking down on these boxes, they resemble checkerboards—with each square made to hold one of your glasses. Ask your self-storage facility or moving supply store if they carry these specialty boxes. If not, they should be able to tell you where to purchase in your area. Protect the Stem The stem of the glass is an incredibly fragile part. Too much weight on this breaking point and damage is certain. Add extra support to the stem by wrapping it in bubble wrap, followed by tissue paper. Fill Glasses with Packing Paper Breaks, scratches and snaps happen when items are loose or light enough to move around in your boxes. Avoid clinks and clangs by filling glasses with packing paper to add weight and decrease the likelihood of breaking glass. Surround with Extra Support In addition, protect items from shifting during the move by using packing peanuts to fill empty spaces within boxes. Proper support will help lock items in place without adding additional weight that will strain your back when lifting. Label So Others Move with Caution Once boxes are full, seal the top with packing tape and mark the sides with “FRAGILE: Wine Glasses!” This will alert your moving team to handle with care. How will you protect your wine glasses as you pack? Share any additional tips in the comment section below. ...

Norm Kotoch
June 22nd, 2022

How to Properly Display and Store Wine Glasses

Wine Storage

Wine Storage Great wine is the perfect pairing for a favorite meal or social gathering. However, the right glass size and shape are required to bring out the best notes from varietals. To maintain optimal tasting temperature, larger mouth glasses are typically recommended for reds, whereas smaller mouth glasses are better for whites. With the need for different glasses, social wine connoisseurs can rack up a collection of stemware. What should you do with it all? We offer a few tips to stay organized. Group by Glass Type Red wine glasses, white wine glasses, champagne flutes, and more—as previously mentioned, your collection will most likely contain a variety of glass types, particularly if you like to mix up your drink options. Keep stemware together based on commonalities. First, group like with like, with identical glass types together. Then, consider grouping glasses by the wine type they’re paired with for quick recognition and reference when you’re ready to pour. Hang Them Upside Down Store your glasses upside down. Why? To keep dust out of your glass while it sits. A variety of wine glass rack options are available to meet all style and décor preferences. If you can’t find one you like, get creative and crafty! Make Glasses Part of the Overall Display To avoid a cluttered appearance, think of your glass arrangement in terms of how it fits with your entire wine display, including stemware, wine bottles, stoppers, charms for stem bases, and bottle openers. Find a way to organize and group all in a logical manner that makes sense to you. Keep needed items within quick reach of each other for speedy process and presentation. Need to Store? A Few Packing Tips to Keep Stemware Safe Should you wish or need to store your stemware, a ...

Norm Kotoch
September 2nd, 2021

5 Basic Wine Storage Tips for Beginner Collectors

Wine Storage

Specialty Storage, Wine Storage In 2018, the U.S. consumed 966 million gallons of wine. With more people drinking wine than ever before, there is an increasing interest in becoming an educated wine collector. While it may seem like a simple (and fun) hobby, there are critical factors to consider before jumping into wine collecting. By learning the basic facts and best practices first, you can then begin to collect, organize and properly store your wine so that your investment remains secure. Start with these five general tips when starting your collection: 1. Buy what interests you. Some people assume that the higher the price tag, the better the wine. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best or right bottle for you. There are many factors to consider, such as the wine’s age, the vintage, the vineyard, reviewers’ comments and who might have owned the bottle in the past (source). 2. Don’t go overboard. Start small, and your purchases will accumulate. It takes time to build up a collection. Be sure to think about what kinds of bottles will add monetary value, and what kinds of wine are personally valuable to you. Do you prefer wine from a specific region or country, or would you rather collect bottles based the stories behind them? It’s up to you. 3. Remember bottles can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Don’t let unique bottles turn you off because you’re not sure how or where to store them; they can add something different to your collection. There are many different accommodating storage options for wide, tall, long-neck and champagne bottle styles. 4. Document your collection. This means you should not only save records of your initial purchase (including receipts, auction cards, etc.) so you have proof of value, but also organize your wines properly and create a catalog. The bigger your collection gets, the more you’ll appreciate having an organized reference guide of inventory for easy access. 5. Protect with proper storage. Wine is sensitive to a number of ...

Norm Kotoch
December 27th, 2019

Wine Storage: How to Organize Your Collection

Wine Storage

You’ve taken the first step in proper wine storage by deciding to invest in a home wine cellar, or store your wine at an offsite self-storage facility. Once you have the infrastructure in place and set the right temperature and humidity, you should arrange your collection in a manner that enables easy access to the right wines, at the right time. Below we provide a few tips to keep your wine cellar organized. 1. Establish a Logical Organization System There is no right or wrong method for categorizing your wine; however, some options might be more logical for you than others. Some options to consider, include: Brand – If you prefer purchasing your wine in bulk, storing by brand is particularly useful. This will allow you to break down each brand by varietal, vintage, etc. for easier categorization. Varietal – Consider storing your Cabs together, your Chardonnays together, and so on. When you’re looking for the perfect food pairing, you’ll know exactly where to find the wine you need. Price – Typically, price point can signify how long a wine should be aged. Wines in similar price ranges can often be stored together. This will make it easier for you to keep track of when each segment of your collection should be consumed. Region – Because region can greatly influence the taste of wine, storing wines from similar parts of the world together can make it easy to select a bottle for the specific meal or occasion. Color – Organizing by color is a good option for beginner collectors, who may only require a simple method to keep track of their wines 2. Consider Wine Bottle Tags Wine bottle tags are hung on the neck of the wine bottle, and can help you locate the specific bottle you’re looking for quickly. Simply label the tag by region, brand, vintage or varietal to quickly locate the bottle you need. Most wine bottle tags are reusable and can be re-labeled with a dry erase marker. Color-coded tags are also available, which can help you better categorize. 3. Position Everyday Wines in Accessible Areas As mentioned above, price point can often help to determine ...

Norm Kotoch
October 26th, 2017

How to Store Wine Bottles of Different Sizes

Wine Storage

As a wine collector or enthusiast, it can be fun to expand your collection, and include many different bottle types. But what happens if you don’t have enough room for your collection’s storage? Don’t hesitate when buying unique bottle shapes because of lack of storage knowledge or space. There are a number of at-home accommodations and off-site storage solutions to help your collection age properly. Keep these tips in mind the next time you make a unique bottle purchase. Standard Bottles When you think of a “standard” wine bottle, you’re likely to picture typical reds and whites like Bordeaux and Merlot, or Sauvignon Blanc. These types of bottles are high-shouldered, with straight sides. They’re mainly uniform in shape and size from bottle to bottle—about 3” in diameter—and fit most wine racks. Storage Tip: Standard bottles store well in a wine rack or in a wine refrigerator, depending on if it's a red or white variety. If you plan to use an off-site storage facility with wine accommodations, think about storing these bottles along with your other bottles for convenience. Wide Bottles Wider bottles are also common for everyday wines, and are usually used for burgundy wines. These include varieties, such as Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. Wide-bodied bottles have sloped shoulders compared to the standard bottle, and are much wider at the bottle’s bottom. Depending on the region of France a particular wine comes from, the bottle can be not quite as sloped, or more severely sloped. They’re usually 3.5” in diameter. Storage Tip: Typical wine racks are made for storing standard bottles. Try a custom rack made to hold any size bottle, a specialized wine cooler or off-site wine storage. Champagne Bottles With about a 3.5” diameter, champagne wine bottles are similar to wide-bodied bottles, but they are thicker, heavier and under much more pressure. Because of their size and weight, it’s difficult to store champagne bottles on your regular, everyday wine rack. Storage Tip: The contained pressure makes proper storage crucial for these types of bottles. To accommodate and chill bottles of this proportion, you’d have to rearrange the racks in your wine cooler or ...

Norm Kotoch
October 13th, 2016

Wine Storage: Pros and Cons of Alternative Bottle Closures

Wine Storage

In our first post on wine storage, we touched on the importance of proper storage conditions. Humidity is especially important to ensure that wine corks stay moist and maintain the airtight seal and prevent oxygen from damaging the wine. Wine drinkers are typically most familiar with traditional, natural corks; however, modern wine making has introduced alternative wine closure systems, including synthetic corks and even twist-off caps without using a cork. So, how can different types of bottle closures affect the storage of your wine? Here is a rundown of common wine bottle seals, and what to keep in mind when storing your wine collection: Natural Corks Natural corks are the most common way to seal wine bottles, accounting for 60 percent of wine bottle closures every year. Derived from the Quercus suber, or Cork Oak tree, the material is impenetrable, and expands once inside the wine bottle, regardless of the shape of the neck of the bottle, to create an airtight seal. The cork also expands and contracts with changes in any environmental fluctuations. In addition, many wine aficionados correlate natural corks with sophistication and high-end wines. A common flaw of traditional wine corks is the cracking that occurs naturally in the bark. This can result in oxidation due to excessive oxygen exposure. Natural corks can also become brittle when too dry, resulting in the cork breaking while opening, or causing pieces of cork to break off and float in the wine. Another top concern is cork taint, caused by the presence of trichloroanisole (TCA). TCA is most commonly produced from naturally occurring fungi in the cork. Cork taint can cause wine to have a moldy smell and “corky” taste. According to Vintage Cellars, cork taint affects 3 to 15 percent of wine bottles, and can occur regardless of the type or price point of the wine. Synthetic Corks To protect against cork taint and achieve greater quality control, many wine makers have started using synthetic (or plastic) corks in lieu of natural corks. Synthetic corks function just like a natural cork, but are resistant to the fungal contamination found frequently ...

Norm Kotoch
March 19th, 2012