Before Summer Begins…A Few Updates From the Cellar

From the Cellar - by Wine Storage Management

Thoughtful guidance on storing, protecting, and enjoying your wine — from the people who care for it every day.

Summer tends to change the rhythm of wine collecting. There are trips to wine country, bottles shared at dinners, cases purchased while traveling, and shipments timed carefully around the heat.

As many of you spend the next few months traveling, entertaining, and enjoying your collections, we will be taking a short summer pause from "From the Cellar" Newsletter. But behind the scenes, our work certainly does not slow down.

Throughout the summer, our team will be focused on preparing for the busy fall season while making several updates designed to improve your overall storage experience.

Before we pause for the season, a few thoughts and plans for the months ahead.

From the Cellar

Summer Changes the Way Wine Moves

Summer is often one of the busiest times for wine movement. Travel increases. Wine club shipments arrive. New discoveries are made in tasting rooms and packed into suitcases or shipped home. But warmer weather requires a little more planning. The goal is simple: keep wines stable, even when everything else is moving.

A few simple adjustments can help protect your collection throughout the season:

• Ship early in the week whenever possible

• Avoid long transit over weekends

• Monitor temperatures before confirming delivery

• Allow wines to settle after travel

• Coordinate storage before bottles arrive home

Start Planning Ahead for Fall Arrivals

While summer may feel quieter in the cellar, it is often the ideal time to plan ahead. Be proactive! As harvest approaches and fall wine club shipments begin to ramp up, now is a good opportunity to:

• Review available storage space

• Plan for incoming allocations

• Coordinate receiving needs

• Evaluate long-term storage goals

• Make adjustments before the busy season begins

Collector’s Perspective

Buying Wine While Traveling

Some of the most memorable bottles in a collection come from travel: a winery discovered unexpectedly; a bottle shared over lunch overlooking a vineyard; a small producer whose wines never make it to retail shelves back home.



Summer travel often leads to spontaneous purchases, and usually more bottles than originally planned. The key is having a plan before the wine leaves the winery.

Whether shipping directly to storage or carrying wine home carefully, preparation helps ensure those bottles arrive safely and continue aging exactly as intended.

A great trip should create memories, not shipping stress.

Remember, Wine Storage Management is happy to receive your wines. Wherever your travels take you, if you purchase a few bottles or a few cases, you can ship them directly to us and we will carefully place them in your locker.

How It Works:

Provide our receiving address (located below) to whomever is sending you wine. Once your order is received, your box is inventoried (not opened but inventoried as a sealed box). Your shipment is then held at our receiving location at a perfect 57 degrees.

Service Breakdown & Cost:

·        $10 per box received

·        Your first shipment received is free of charge.

·        There is no fee for new clients shipping their collection to WSM.

For more details on our Receiving Program, click here. 

Start Drinking Outside the Cellar

Wines for Summer Drinking

Not every wine in a collection needs decades of aging. Summer is often the perfect reminder to reach for bottles meant to be enjoyed now. There is no need to wait for a special occasion to drink these wines.

Suggested Summer Wines:

Crisp, Aromatic White Wines – Bright and zesty, these are wines to enjoy with fresh seafood. Look beyond Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio, and try Albarino, Vermentino, and Gruner Veltliner.

Dry Rosé – What’s not to enjoy about a fresh crisp wine with strawberry, melon, and citrus notes?

Light, Chillable Reds – Try interesting varieties like Gamay, Graciano, Valdigue, Counoise, and Frappato. Pop one of these fruit-forward, low-in-tannin red wines in the fridge for 20 minutes and then enjoy.

Sparkling Wines – We love our Champagne, but for everyday bubbles, enjoy Prosecco Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG, Cava, or look for a sparkling Gruner Veltliner, Albarino, or Chenin Blanc. 

What’s in the Cellar

What We’re Working On This Summer

While many of you are traveling and enjoying the season, we will be hard at work behind the scenes preparing for the months ahead.

This summer, Wine Storage Management will be focused on several updates and improvements designed to enhance the overall storage experience for our members, including:

• Cosmetic Upgrades: Each facility will undergo painting, new bathroom hardware, and related upgrades

• Welcome Packets: We have been creating Welcome Packets for each facility to provide a single source for any questions. This Welcome Packet will be given to all new clients but will also be shared with existing clients.

• Digitizing: All paperwork, including leases, will be digitized.

• Monitors in each facility: We will be testing new screens in the lobby of each facility. These screens will share facility specifics as well as company and partner news.

• Security: Cameras will be added and upgraded where needed. Environmental monitoring systems will also be upgraded as needed.

• WiFi: WiFi will be upgraded in all facilities, as needed.

• Service Offerings: We will finalize all service offerings for our clients.

• Partnerships: We are regularly creating new partnerships with local businesses you may find useful.

• Future Events: We are planning a series of tastings at our Redondo Beach location.

We look forward to sharing more details when From the Cellar returns in the fall.

Don't Miss This Special Offer

Just in time for your travels

As you plan your summer travel, make sure your wine will travel in style as well! Vingarde Valise is designed specifically to protect wine in transit, with secure inserts that keep bottles stable and insulated. Purchase a 5-bottle, 8-bottle, or 12-bottle suitcase. And, these suitcases are not just for wine. if you want, you can take the foam out of one side (or both) and put in your cloths.

Don't miss this special offer for Wine Storage Management members:

20% off Vingarde Valise wine travel luggage

Use code: WSM20

[Shop the Offer]

A Thought from the Cellar

Summer

Wine is meant to be collected, but also opened, shared, and enjoyed. We hope your summer includes all three. We will see you again in the fall.

Until next month,

The WSM Team