🏪 Wine storage and trade
Cellars, wine fridges, shops, auctions and taxes on wine.
Wine storage and trade cover everything that happens to wine after bottling: where the bottles rest, how they are sold, and which rules and taxes apply. How wine is stored decides what state it will be in when it reaches the glass.
A Wine cellar is kept at 10–16 °C, classically around 13 °C, with swings of no more than ±1–1.5 °C. Above 24 °C wine ages in an atypical way, and 30 °C does harm even briefly. Bottles sealed with cork lie on their side, away from ultraviolet light; the Light strike page explains why. At home, a Wine refrigerator does the same job.
Poor storage anywhere along the supply chain is the most common reason wine loses quality. That is why conditions matter at every stage: in transit and wherever wine is sold, whether a Wine shop or an Enoteca.
Fine wines are often sold before they are even bottled: En primeur means selling wine that is still ageing. Every spring Bordeaux holds a primeurs week: in April 2025 more than 5,000 professionals from around 50 countries tasted 132 grands crus of the 2024 vintage. A Wine auction can set records too: in 2018 in New York a bottle of Romanée-Conti 1945 sold for $558,000.
Bulk wine, shipped in containers over 10 litres, made up 34% of world exports by volume in 2025 but only 7.3% by value, averaging €0.75 per litre against €4.53 for bottled wine. EU law sets the minimum level of Excise on wine at 0 ECU per hectolitre, compared with 550 ECU for spirits. Sector data are gathered by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine: 51 member states covering 88% of world wine production.
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Frequently asked questions
What temperature should wine be stored at?
Ideally 10–16 °C, with about 13 °C as the classic benchmark and swings of no more than ±1–1.5 °C. Above 16 °C wine matures faster, above 24 °C it ages atypically, and 30 °C or more does damage even briefly. Keep cork-sealed bottles lying down and away from ultraviolet light.
Is it true that wine always gets better with age?
No. According to Purdue University Extension, typical white table wines kept properly hold their quality for about 3 years after bottling, and reds for 3–10 years depending on style. Some wines are made to be drunk in their first year; others age beautifully for decades.
What does en primeur mean?
Selling wine that is still ageing in the cellar and has not yet been bottled. Each spring the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux presents the new vintage to the trade; in April 2025 more than 5,000 professionals attended. Export revenue of Bordeaux grands crus topped €1.2 billion in 2024, and the en primeur tasting is described as a key sales driver.
How is bulk wine different from bottled wine?
Bulk wine travels in large lots, in containers over 10 litres, and costs less: in 2025 it was 34% of world exports by volume but just 7.3% by value, about €0.75 per litre. Bottles of up to 2 litres made up 51.1% of volume and 66.4% of value, at an average of €4.53 per litre.
Similar
🍷 Wine taste and composition · 👩🌾 Wine professions · 🥃 Grape products · 🍾 Wine containers, glassware and serving · 🏷️ Wine classifications · 🗺️ Wines of Europe
Sources
- OIV — State of the World Wine Sector in 2025 (May 2026)
- Butzke C. Wine Storage Guidelines. Purdue Extension FS-58-W
- Council Directive 92/84/EEC (excise duty rates on alcohol and alcoholic beverages)
- UGCB — Semaine des Primeurs, millésime 2024 (press release, April 2025)