Does your apartment get really hot during the summer months? Will the heat kill your wine? Higher temperatures encourage wine to age faster and less gracefully, but how much heat can a wine withstand before it crosses over into cooked?

Food and Wine Magazine has this to say on the topic:

• Most of us don’t have the luxury of a proper cellar—which holds bottles at a steady 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit in a dark, humid spac. I’ve seen all manners of MacGyver’ed storage solutions, the most common of which being the converted closet.

• A few days or weeks in less-than-ideal conditions won’t do much to affect their aromatic and flavor profiles, so you should feel confident pulling the corks on recent purchases. A notable exception to this rule? Natural wine. If it abides by a low-to-no-sulfur regimen, it will be more susceptible to spoilage from heat exposure.

• Find the coolest spot in your home and make it the place for your stash. Treat the bottles like full-shade plants, keeping them away from any windows or direct sunlight.

• One thing thing I can’t stress enough: Don’t keep wine on top of the fridge. It might seem like a good idea since it’s out of the way, and wine belongs in the kitchen, right? Wrong. We keep a gap between the refrigerator and the wall for a reason, and the heat from those coils rises, making the fridge-top effectively the hottest possible place to store bottles. If you’re keeping them there, you’re basically cooking them over-medium.