How to Organise Your Wine Cellar

Although cellaring wine may sound simple, overtime your collection may get out of hand and you start to lose track of your most valuable bottles. If there’s one thing that makes us sad, it’s not being able to find our favourite wine. Having a well-organised cellar will help you quickly locate wine and avoid opening bottles too early or too late. Plus, it can just generally be a lot of fun! If you are feeling as though your cellar has lost its way, there’s no need to panic! Here are our top tips for organising your cellar and making sure you never lose track of your favourite bottles again.

1. Decide which you like best and cull the rest

Start by going through your collection and putting aside bottles you don’t enjoy. This will both clear space for new bottles and give you an opportunity to get to know your favourite bottles better. Remember, cellaring your wine should be a personalised experience, and ensuring that your cellar is stocked with only wines you know you’ll enjoy gives it that much more personality. If you come across some bottles that aren’t exactly your ideal match, share them around among friends and family; everyone’s palate is different, so someone will definitely appreciate them!

2. Choose how to organise.

There are a number of ways you can choose to organise your bottles, including by varietal, age, or region. Once again, how you choose to cellar your wine is personal and should suit your preferences. As long as you are able to sort your bottles in an organised fashion, it doesn’t necessarily matter how you choose to do it. Just pick what will suit you and your collection best.

3. Valuables at the back.

You probably have a wide range of wine types that are ready to go, some that don’t require ageing, and others that need time to mature. If you have a few bottles that need to be cellared longer than others or you don’t intend on drinking them for some time, be sure to place them at the back of your collection. This way you’ll not only have wines that are ready to drink conveniently located, but you’ll have the older, more valuable bottles tucked away out of the light. Plus, if you ever send someone else to grab a bottle, you can feel confident that they will pick something from the front that is less important.

4. Implement a system.

One of the best ways to keep your cellar organised is to develop a system. Having a system ensures that every bottle is recorded and helps you keep better track of what you have in your collection. There are several ways in which you can record your wines, including virtual cellars, apps, or wine bottle tags. The best system will allow you to record the name, winery, region, vintage, price, and recommended cellar time – and will be easy to use.

We recommend using cellartags when it comes to implementing a system (obviously). Cellartags can transform your wine storage space into a beautifully organised cellar in no time. They let you record everything you need to keep track of your wine, including your personal ratings and tasting notes. To make your collection uniquely yours, you can use the different colours to coordinate your cellar, like matching colours to varietals or your favourite colour to your favourite bottles. Cellartags is the perfect addition to any cellar.

Now it’s time to start organising your wine cellar! If you’re looking to implement a new system to help you keep track of your wine, make sure you get your hands on some cellartags to make the process so much easier! Shop them here.

P.S. Even if you are just starting out, it’s a good idea to get into the habit of organising your cellar. If you are new to cellaring and are not quite sure where to start, make sure you read our how-to cellar guide here. You can also visit our blog page for more wine tips, tricks, and pairing advice!