For The Love Of Port

I have in the last couple of years run out of shelfspace in my cellar, and have used the cardboard boxes with spacers in them lying on the side for storage. Am I doing the wine harm?
The boxes are open to the room.

Remember that all wine should be stored in the dark, so if the boxes are open to the room, be sure the room is not regularly lit.

Aside from that, bear in mind that these cartons are not designed to be laid on their sides and will eventually crush down a little. Worse is that the open end will crush before the base, so is there is a real risk of the bottles eventually sliding out and falling to the floor..

Better to invest in some more wine racks - if you're short of space, double depth racks are very useful..

Tom Archer wrote:Remember that all wine should be stored in the dark, so if the boxes are open to the room, be sure the room is not regularly lit.

Aside from that, bear in mind that these cartons are not designed to be laid on their sides and will eventually crush down a little. Worse is that the open end will crush before the base, so is there is a real risk of the bottles eventually sliding out and falling to the floor..

Better to invest in some more wine racks - if you're short of space, double depth racks are very useful..

Thank you Tom Archer, that is helpful, but I have read somewhere that the cardboard in itself could taint the wine.
Is this correct?

but I have read somewhere that the cardboard in itself could taint the wine

Damp cardboard gets musty - smells in the atmosphere over extended periods might penetrate the bottle - possibly..

If the boxes are dry I wouldn't worry too much.

Room is dark, it's a wine cellar. Room is dry, it's a modern house. Boxes are sturdy, they are new packing boxes. All should be well.
Thank you Tom Archer.

When you leave your purchases in stock at the wine traders cellar, they lie down in there owb too, so why being anxious about it?
When the temperature is constant and the moist is good and the cellar is dark, it shouldn't be a big problem.
I keep almost all my VP, Bordeaux wines, etc in their own wooden box in my cellar, never had a problem. The only problem is when I want to get a bottle out of the lowest case... ;-(

One can store them upside down. The only resultant problem is the sediment collects on the cork side. You can eventually place them on their sides when bin space opens up.

Eric Ifune wrote:One can store them upside down. The only resultant problem is the sediment collects on the cork side. You can eventually place them on their sides when bin space opens up.

i thought exposing the cork to the Port isn't good because the alcohol will decay the cork, possibly allowing air in to spoil the wine?

I have stored some bottles of VP upside down for 4 or 5 years, before moving here to WA when I still lived in VA. None leaked, no adverse issues from corks failing. I don't think it would be good for long term cellaring; but you definitely do want wine contact with the cork, except it is not necessary for Madeira. Otherwise, for the health of the cork, (which ultimately IS the health of the wine) you want it to remain in direct contact. Bad things can and will happen when that is not the case, especially over an extended period of time.

I have a case of '80 Ferreira that was shipped and stored upright. The bottles vary from something that looks like 30 year tawny to brilliant bottles that fairly represent this great port.

It depends on what type of cardboard, IME. I prefer to use 6-pack cardboard for storage in my offsite. Both the small box style and the longer "layflat" (where all 6 bottles are lying side by side in a row). Not only are they easier to lift and move around, but they don't compress and fall apart when stacked like 12-pack cardboard boxes do. The two types of 6-packs are also are easier to put into various spaces in ones cellar to get the most out of your storage space.

So far, I've had no issues with the 6-pack types and would recommend those instead of 12-packs.

I'm with Andy. I've been slowly replacing all my off-site 12 bottle boxes with 6 bottle boxes simply to make better use of the space I have available. They're easier to move and it's easier to stack them so as to fill every little nook and cranny in your storage locker.