Storage conditions

Stability first. Repeated temperature cycling expands and contracts the wine and can work it past the cork over years. A steady warm cupboard beats a fluctuating cellar.

Temperature second. Around 10–15°C is ideal, with 12°C the conventional target. Warmer ages wine faster; colder simply slows it down and is not damaging.

Darkness third. Light strike is a documented photochemical fault, and clear and pale green bottles are most vulnerable.

Humidity only matters for cork, where roughly 60–80% stops corks drying out. Storing bottles on their side largely solves the problem anyway. Screwcaps do not care.

Vibration is the one WineHQ is sceptical about. The evidence that ordinary household vibration damages wine is much weaker than the wine-storage industry implies, though a compressor or a busy road is worth avoiding.