Cellar mould

[Simon Wheeler]

My cellar is around 5 years old, it’s a purpose built exterior build partially sunken in the ground and temperature controlled.
Occasionally I get waves of mould on some of the containers, I’m assuming due to some increased moisture, I’m wondering how much of a problem this is, I could run a dehumidifier but I didn’t think it should be too dry, but when the mould runs rife it does weaken certain cardboard boxes and strangely cover Dom Perignon boxes in particular inside and out as well as making it smell damp and musty
The mould is a beige yellow ish colour

Are there any tips on managing this better or protecting cases ? Or should I just not worry too much ?
All thoughts welcome

 

[Ian Sutton]

I would certainly have a little concern for integrity of cardboard boxes in a humid environment.

The only concern I'd have re: mould, is if labels are important to you (or cardboard boxes). If they are, I know some wine trading merchants use cling film around the labels to protect them.

 

[Steve Slatcher]

I know some wine trading merchants use cling film around the labels to protect them.

Nothing to do with mould, but cling film has the added advantage of increasing friction between bottles, making a pile of bottles on a wine fridge shelf a lot more stable.

 

[Andy Leslie]

Are there any tips on managing this better or protecting cases ? Or should I just not worry too much ?
All thoughts welcome

I think you should worry a little bit. Cardboard boxes will fail sooner or later in these conditions - in my cellar they looked fine until I tried to move them when it became evident there wasn’t much holding them together any more. The moulds will tend to thrive where there’s some substrate for them to grow on and wood and cardboard both fit that bill - I completely stopped florid mould growth in my cellar by banishing wooden & cardboard boxes. There’s still a background tendency for some bottles to do as your picture shows. For reasons I don’t understand, some producers bottles quickly attract moulds and others never do. I’ve put cling-film around some and it seems to have some medium-term benefit in keeping labels looking nice. If you decide to go on a cleaning spree then I think white vinegar is the thing - bleach doesn’t necessarily kill moulds and the chlorine may combine with the mould to form TCA or TCA-like substances, which I guess we should regard as undesirable.

 

[Gareth Germain]

Looks fatal. I'll head over and help you get through the good stuff!