Your growing interest in wines may be accompanied by the problem of where to keep the bottles you buy. Here's some advice.

Probably the biggest challenge to maintaining the value of the wines you buy is storage because just any cupboard or shelf won't do. The things you have to guard against the most are light, humidity, and vibration. Allotting a dedicated space must also be considered. It's not advisable to store the wines on top of a refrigerator because it vibrates and heat does travel up to its top.

There are several "caves" in the market temperature-controlled storage units with shelves for bottles. The best are humidity-controlled, have dark glass doors and are balanced to minimize vibration. And don't underestimate the size of a storage unit for your collection, it can grow to double your original estimate very quickly!

The other alternative is to build your own cellar, with expert advice on load bearing (a full bottle weighs just under a kg), and a filled storage unit with shelves for 500 bottles can take the weight up to 1,000 kg and more. Add to that the refrigeration/humidity control unit and the weight can present a problem.

Light can age a bottle of wine prematurely, rendering it unfit for drinking or if you have bought the wine as an investment, it can ruin your chances of selling it in the future. Clear glass bottles are most susceptible to light but there's no reason to think that dark green/brown bottles are the answer because ultraviolet rays can get through dark coloured glass, too. By degrading the organic compounds of a wine, ultraviolet light attacks the tannins, the parts that make up its structure, aromas and flavours, without which you would have nothing to savour. Like mushrooms, wines are best nurtured in the dark!

The latest way of guarding against damage to wine caused by humidity, or the lack of it, is to buy screwcaps! The only drawback to that is that not every producer favours this closure method and, especially with Grand Cru wines, corks are still de rigeur.

The main criterion is to keep the corks from drying out. When this happens, the corks shrink and air gets into the bottles causing the wine to spoil. Store wine bottles horizontally so the wine keeps in contact with the cork, and keep the labels facing upwards for easy identification so that there is no need to move them around when choosing a bottle. This also allows you to see any sediment more clearly than when you do lift the bottle up - still horizontal.

Whichever method you follow to store wines, a steady temperature of between 13 and 18 degrees Celsius is ideal for reds, and 7 to 14 degrees Celsius for whites. Below 7 degrees Celsius your mouth doesn't taste very much anyway.

Wines for keeping: Plan on having a smaller selection of white but keep in mind this area will also be ideal for dessert wines, sparkling and champagnes. For immediate drinking look at Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Viognier, Pinot Grigio, new and old world sparkling, etc., and go for oak-aged whites such as Chardonnay and classic champagnes (Krug, Cristal, Bollinger and others of that ilk) for keeping longer.

Red wines, too, benefit from being kept at a cool, steady temperature - in a "cave" unit that means closer to the top as heat travels upwards. Big reds such as Bordeaux, Brunello, Rioja and Shiraz at 17/18 degrees Celsius, Burgundy, Pinot Noir and lighter new-style Rioja at 15/16 degrees Celsius and Chianti at 15 degrees Celsius. Fresh Beaujolais and rose wines at 12 degrees Celsius and Viognier, Chardonnay, Sauternes at 11 degrees Celsius. Champagne and sparkling keep well and ready-to-serve at 7 degrees Celsius as does Riesling, and medium-oaked Chardonnay.

If in doubt, a good rule of thumb is to store at 13/15 degrees Celsius. If you feel a wine is too cold it can be poured and left to warm up a little. In Hong Kong this can happen in a matter of minutes.

There's one other thing to look out for if you intend keeping wines for the future - overbuying. It's easy to get carried away. Try to keep to two distinct categories of wine, one for immediate drinking within the next few days, weeks or months, and another set for long-term storage.