Your want to store and age your wines in the ideal environment: right humidity, stable temperature, and of course dust, critter, and mold-free. Use our tips to get and maintain a clean wine cellar with ease.

Dusting

We don’t really need to tell you how to do this chore. Just a remove a bottle from the rack and wipe it down with a rag. If you dust with damp rag, wipe off excess moisture before replacing the bottle on the rack.

You’ll also need to dust your wine rack. To save time, you might want to dust areas of the wine rack as you go through dusting your bottles. If your storage extends beyond your reach, place a stool or ladder on a flat even surface to help you get the top of the rack.

Polishing

Now, if you have a wine cellar, you obviously love wine. You appreciate nice things and recognize that small details set apart the exceptional from the ordinary. So you shouldn’t casually store your exceptional collection. Display it in style, even if it’s for your eyes only. Show your care and attention to detail by adding to your clean wine cellar polished wooden wine racks.

You’ll first have to remove all the bottles from storage and have a clean dust-free wooden surface. Apply a small amount of wood polisher to a clean cloth or rag and rub it into the wood surface in a circular motion. Let the wood air dry before replacing the bottles.

About Mold

Your wine cellar is a dark and humid place, or at least it should be. (70% humidity is recommended by many as ideal for preventing corks from drying out.) Darkness, warmth, and moisture often means mold.

If there is mold growing on your glass bottles, wipe it off with a soft cloth and a mold-killing solution (a mixture of equal parts water and vinegar will work). If the mold is growing on your bottle label, there’s not much you can do that won’t affect the look of the label.

Check your wine cellar for mold periodically. If your cellar is too humid, install a dehumidifier.

Wine Glasses

Maybe your cellar doubles as a tasting room! If so, you’ll need clean wine glasses.

Hold your glasses by the stem while cleaning. The top of the glass is far more delicate. Rinse the glasses with warm running water. Apply a small amount of soap to a sponge and scrub the glass inside and out. A long-handled sponge might be more convenient as you should avoid putting your hand inside the glass. Too much pressure will break your glass. Once you’ve scrubbed, rinse and dry.

Clean Wine Cellar, Delicious Wine

These chores and other basics like sweeping or knocking down cobwebs will keep your cellar immaculate and your wine protected. We recommend lightly cleaning your wine cellar with these tips about once a month.