The bottom of a closet can make a fine mini wine cellar.

Collecting fine wines seems to get more popular every year. The perfect bottle of wine makes a home-cooked meal or a get-together with friends a little bit more special, so when people come across a wine they really like, they often decide to buy a few bottles of it. But proper storage is key to preserving the value and taste of good wine, and not everybody can afford a real wine cellar. So where should a beginner wine enthusiast store those special bottles of wine?

Richard Sanford has the answers. With his wife Thelka, Sanford established Sanford Winery, located near Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1981. He offers these tips for home wine storage.

• Keep it down low. According to Sanford, wine should never be stored up high, like on top of kitchen cabinets or over the stove. Heat rises, and wine wants to be where it's cool. Somewhere dark, cool and close to the floor is more advisable. Sanford suggests the bottom of a closet as a good spot for a mini wine cellar.

• Ideal temperature. Sanford advises keeping wines at a temperature between 58 and 62 degrees. This is the ideal temperature to allow the wine to age properly. But as long as the temperature is steady, it can be a few degrees higher than that, so a closet should be okay.

• Let them age. After buying a great bottle of wine, it can be very hard to resist the temptation to open it. But restraint can prove very rewarding. After letting those bottles sit for a few years, you'll find yourself with wines that, in Sanford's words "have some age on them." And once they are opened and tasted, you'll be glad the bottles were stored properly and allowed to age.

The American Institute of Wine & Food
304 West Liberty Street, Suite 201
Louisville, KY 40202
800-274-2493, www.aiwf.org/national/index.asp?chapter=1

Wine Spectator
www.winespectator.com/Wine/Home

Wine.com
www.wine.com