Recently here at Wine Racks America I received a very troubling email. It was from a gentleman who was writing to me in hopes that I would have a solution to his wine cellar mold problem. At first I felt very upset for the person in question. All of these images were running through my head of ruined wine and screaming infants. Why the screaming infants you ask? I don’t know. It’s just that when bad things happen infants scream!
Back to the problem; Mold and mildew in a wine cellar, how to solve it.
First let’s talk about how to AVOID it. A wine cellar that is properly sealed, insulated and ventilated should not allow for mold and mildew to grow. If it does then something is very wrong. A painstaking search must then be initiated to find where the excess moisture is coming from. Nine times out of ten the problem will be a leak in the vapor barrier or a water leak from a rusty pipe inside the wall.
After fixing the problem so it doesn’t happen again how does one clean up the moldy mess? The first thing that I would do is to remove my wine and store it, at least temporarily, in a cool place. Now there are a lot of ways to clean up mold in an ordinary basement but not all of these ways are safe in a wine cellar. Bleach vapors are rumored to damage the cork. Does anyone have any insight on this issue? Are there any professionals out there that have dealt with mold removal from wine cellars? If so please share your wisdom.
Drink Often,
Christian Hancock
Wine Cellar Specialist (Except when it comes to mold)
We use a product called Concrobium which is available (here at least) from Home Depot. This works very well at cleaning mold off bottles when a cellar has been damaged and does not harm the labels…i think it’s all natural ingredients.
Cheers,
Warren Porter
Iron Gate – Private Wine Management
Mr. Porter – Thank you for your informative comment! This is a major issue for many many collectors out there. This month’s Food and Wine Magazine estimates that within a few years the number of wine consumers in America will reach 148 million, up 66% from 15 years ago. You can bet that with so many new collectors on the market we will continue to see an uptick of people with these same questions about mold and mildew. Have a great day!
Greetings. I am writing to offer a green solution to the problem of mold in wine cellars. DeconGreen is indeed the product that James referred to above. We offer this as a service for commercial and residential buildings. It is an EPA approved “green” product; non toxic, it eradicates mold, bacteria, viruses, and fungus. Guaranteed for up to five years, it’s a fantastic solution for issues such as odor, staff infections, and of course, good old mold.
The site’s still under construction, but please take a look.
All the best,
Michael
Hello! Though this thread is a few months old, I am still writing in hopes of advice regarding my collection of wine I which was mold damaged during 3+ years of storage in a local wine storage facility (the bottles suffered water damage). The bottles were individually wrapped in cellophane, but mold of various types has grown under and on top of the plastic. I am left with hundreds of stinky bottles to clean. Most labels have deteriorated, others look passable. I am most concerned with mold growing under the foil, which is not removable unless you remove the foil. The few I opened had a little mold growing under the capsule. I am concerned about contaminating my new wine cellar, or my house for that matter) with mold spores from these bottles, even if I wipe them down to the point where they look clean. I am also concerned about cleaning them with anything which will damage the cork or the wine itself or cause an off flavor to the wine.
Have there been any advances in this area? Any new products? Is bleach a problem? A wine professional suggested a bleach dip, but you mentioned vapors are a problem for the corks.
Best,
Carol
the HVAC manufacturer of ny new wine cellar offered the advice to wipe all bottles with individual isopropyl alcohol wipes (available at mosty drugstores) to prevent mold in the cellar. I do this to all bottles prior to adding them to my cellar.
I have a few bottles with mold stained labels from Eurocave storage with excess humidity, and have cleaned each 2-3x with the alcohol before permitting them into the 70% humidity controlled cellar, don’t know if this is a mistake or not.
If anyone has further advice please let me know.
Randall
We just found a major leak in our wine storage area yesterday. All the bottles have mold and have been wet for a while. I have read that chlorine bleach is a big no no! The chlorine ions can penetrate bottles and destory the wine. I am looking for an answer to save my wine collection of 500 bottles. If any one has any suggestions they are most welcome
Okay, I have just idscovered mold in my storage unit’s wooden racks. Upon inspection, it is still concentrated on the racks and not on the bottles. I may have caught it on time. Now, my 80 year old mom recommended I use good old fashion vinegar to keep the mold off the wood ( for at least awhile) This may be just a band-aide, but does anyone have any comments on this method? It is a natural, albiet smelly if not completely dried, option.