Chad Marsh wrote:
Hello, All:

I'm relatively new to the world of wine, and have only begun collecting over
the last ten months. I've been slow in building my collection, in part,
because I live in an apartment and do not have access to good storage
facilities. Currently, I'm storing my collectibles in a small wine cooler
which is not humidity controlled. Typically, the humidity in the cooler
ranges between 30% and 50%. Since I would like to hold on to some of the
wine I currently have for 20 years or longer, I know that I do not want to
store them over the long term in this environment. I'm wondering, though,
if there is an effective way to increase the humidity in a wine cooler. One
wine merchant suggested that I wrap my bottles in a wet cloth. Since I
don't want to ruin the labels on the bottles, this doesn't seem like a good
idea to me, but I have considered wrapping just the tops of the bottles in
order to protect the corks from drying. Does this sound like an effective
way to counteract the effects of a low-humidity environment? Also, if this
is effective, I still have other concerns with the environment inside the
wine cooler. Namely, I'm wondering if the vibration from the cooler's
motor, slight as it may be, might damage the wine over time. Any thoughts
would be apprecciated.

Chad,
The vibrations are unlikely to be a problem. The humidity problem
is a bit moe thorny. You can put more moisture in the air by placing a
dish of water in the cooler, preferably with a wick such as a washcloth
or towel to accelerate the evaporation of the water. The problem is
that your cooler's refrigeration unit is also functioning as a
dehumidification unit (as it cools the air, moisture condenses out as
water and is collected) so it's basically a footrace between your
ability to evaporate water and the compressor's ability to draw it off.
OTOH, you don't need some ideal humidity of 70% (or whatever) to store
wine long term. If you can keep a constant 45% you'll probably not see
cork shrinkage, though the fill levels of your bottles will decline.

HTH
Mark Lipton