Spring is here in full force. Allergies abound, the hills are green, kids are getting antsy about summer vacation and suddenly we're getting days of 90-plus-degree weather. For those of us with an investment in wine, this weather reminds us that wine is perishable and fragile. Even one day of 100-degree heat can ruin your collection.

The basics of wine storage are pretty straightforward and common-sense-oriented; still, I can't tell you how many stories I've heard about great wine carelessly stored. (I have a few myself.)

Rule one—Keep it cool. The purists would tell you to put your wine in an environment of 50 to 55 degrees, and that's ideal, but you can get away with keeping your wine in a warmer temperature for short-term cellaring—3­5 years. If you can find a space in your home that consistently stays between 60 and 70 degrees, you're probably fine. The killer for wine is temperature spikes. If your collection is small, look for a closet on the inside of your home, away from exterior walls, on the floor. Some folks in this area find a great little nook under the stairway or the crawl space under their house. Although it may be tempting, stay away from the laundry room. The vibrations, temperature changes and high humidity are a no-no. Speaking of humidity: wine likes humidity ranging from 70 to 90 percent; fortunately, in this area it's not a big issue.

Rule two—Keep the cork happy. Wine corks like to be kept moist, so laying the bottles on their side is perfect. A dried-out cork will shrink, allowing air to invade your bottles and degrade your wine. Storing cases with the bottles upside down works just fine also.

Rule three—Keep it out of direct light.

That's it. Easy, right? Remind yourself that for centuries wine has been stored in caves and basements all over Europe and has fared just fine. As you might suspect, caves and basements are not generally equipped with high-tech climate-management systems. So if you're lucky enough to have a nook or basement that keeps a cool, consistent temperature, you are way ahead of the game. The only other thing you must remember is to store your wine there.

Under the category of wine-storage units, there are two main branches: wine coolers and long-term storage units.

Wine coolers are (roughly) modified refrigerators that keep a higher temperature—50­60 degrees—than your fridge, but they do not manage humidity. These units have relatively small capacity—25­50 bottles—and are relatively inexpensive, $50 to $200.

Now, there are a few questions you should ask before you embark on finding the perfect long-term storage unit. How many bottles are in your current collection? What is your collection worth? Are you aging your wines or storing them? Will the storage unit be a prominent piece of furniture or will it live in the garage?

The answers to these questions play off each other and build a picture of what kind of investment you have and what type of storage you need. If you have a small collection that is priceless, and you don't want to touch it for 10-plus years, you will probably need a different solution than if you buy wine in quantity to consume over the next six months. One issue is cellaring and aging, the other is storage, and although the solution might be the same, you should understand the difference.

If you buy wine in case lots to consume over the next year or 18 months, you need good storage. If you are collecting Port wine for your grandchildren to enjoy, you need long-term cellaring. Another key is the level of investment you have in your "collection." If your whole collection is worth less than $1,000, it's difficult to rationalize a $3,000 storage unit, but if your collection is worth $5,000 and growing, it's a piece of cake.

Storage can be accomplished cost-effectively different ways. You can purchase a lower-end unit that provides temperature control, which is absolutely fine for a few years. Or you can change your buying patterns so that you pick up what you need a little at a time, making the merchant responsible for the storage. Call it "just in time" wine buying. Meanwhile you need at the minimum a cool nook somewhere in the house for your stock.

For those of us who have a substantial investment in wine, a higher-end storage unit can make a lot of sense, but such units can be a hassle to purchase. One would imagine that a wine-storage unit that advertises a capacity of 500 bottles would actually store 500 bottles. Well, maybe. That is if you are storing perfectly sized Bordeaux-style bottles. But that's never the case. So reduce any advertised capacity by at least 30 percent.

Eventually, most of us bite the bullet and get a wine-storage unit of some sort or another. My own favorite personal tale about wine storage is that I brought home a case of great wine and sat the box next to my wine-storage unit, figuring I'd put the wine away in a few days. Well, I suppose the rest of the story is unnecessary. Which just goes to show, it is not the equipment but how you use it.

Cara Finn is the owner of The Grapevine, a fine wine and cheese store and tasting bar. She can be reached at 408.293.7574 or at info@grapevine-wg.com.