A Wine Storage Facility in New York City Has Locked Customers Out of Their Entire Collections — Here's How You Can Learn From Their Mistakes

Plus, everything to know to avoid this happening to you

How you store wine matters — especially when that wine costs more than the average home in the United States.

As any avid collector will tell you, the last thing you want is to entrust a facility to keep your prized wines fresh, only to have them ghost you in the middle of the night, which is precisely what happened to clients of the New York City-based Chelsea Wine Storage.

Chelsea Wine Storage is under investigation by the New York State Liquor Authority after facing backlash for mismanaging its clients’ wine collections. It is accused of stealing and selling bottles, including $300,000 in prized Burgundy, according to The Post. After spending more than 20 years in New York’s Meatpacking district, Chelsea Wine Storage moved its facility to the basement of a defunct T.G.I Fridays in Times Square in 2022. The move and a change in the company’s leadership sparked a year of chaos with its customers, which has heightened over the past few weeks as clients have been unable to access their bottles.

Related: How to Tell the Difference Between a $20 and $200 Bottle of Wine

The company has historically offered both open storage, where wine is stored in a warehouse for $10 a case per month, and closed locker storage, where clients pay a bit more for a self-service locker in the storage unit that is (or at least, was) always accessible. Now, however, clients can’t access their collections. After weeks of unanswered calls and emails in hopes of checking up on their wine, clients have gone so far as to try and enter the storage facility, The Post explained.

The owners, Amelia and Michael Gancarz, blame staffing shortages and issues with the company’s landlord, Delshah Capital, who sued the couple in November for missing rent on the storage facilities, the wine store, and their basement lounge. The Gancarz’s were also sued by the wine brokerage firm Grand Cru, in a case filed on November 14 after the couple allegedly sold $350,000 of Burgundy bottles to Grand Cru. The brokerage firm never received the wine, and sued the Gancarz’s. The couple has since paid Grand Cru $165,000 and are working to pay back the rest with interest.

Related: Wine Pros Share How They Store Their Favorite Bottles at Home

The Post reported that Chelsea Wine Storage reached out to its panicked clients over the weekend with a hollow promise that their wine was safely stored, with very few other details. One client successfully retrieved his wine, but only with the help of his new storage company, Domaine Storage. (F&W reached out to Chelsea Wine Storage for comment on multiple occasions and did not receive a response.)

While the chaos of Chelsea Wine Storage is an isolated incident, it does make us think about how we store our wines. If you’re looking to learn more about storing investment-worthy wine, read on.

Take extra care when buying in the first place

“Wine has become a legitimate alternative investment given the growth of its worldwide popularity over the past twenty years boasting an 8% compound rate of return, according to various estimates,” says Caleb Silver, editor-in-chief of Investopedia. “But, for individual collectors and investors, it's important to note that only the most highly rated wines that have been properly stored with established provenance and pristine documentation meaningfully appreciate over time.”

When it comes to buying and selling wines at auction, quality control is vital. Wine bottles exposed to high temperatures can literally cook, damaging the flavors and ageability. Additionally, there’s rampant concern over potentially counterfeit branding thanks to wines with improper labeling, so be sure to do your homework before submitting a bid.

Create a schedule to check in on your wine

Your wine stored miles away might not always be top of mind. However, it’s key to at least check your investments, like you would your 401k, every now and then. For example, if you find out your wine storage company has new management or a new facility, check in on your collection to ensure  the quality control remains the same, and get any changes in writing.

“If you rent storage space from a company and the company changed ownership, you probably want to make sure the storage conditions haven’t declined or become problematic,” warns F&W executive wine editor Ray Isle, who stores his wine just outside New York City.

When in doubt, DIY

Like many prized possessions, the safest place to store them is within sight. If you are a collector with extra special bottles, invest the money you’d spend in an off-site facility to equip your own home with bottle aging and storing space. Store wine in a temperature-controlled wine fridge (emphasis here on wine. Your traditional refrigerator is far too cold), purchase stone wine storage tiles that naturally keep your wine chilled, or get a sturdy wine rack for your basement or closet.

Finally, perhaps it’s a good idea to reframe your thinking of what it means to invest in wine. “For most collectors and enthusiasts,” Silver says, “the best returns they will earn will be from drinking and sharing it."

For more Food & Wine news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Food & Wine.