Synthetic corks a must for me?

I'm making mead, but figured I would get more attention in the wine section since it's not just about what's in the bottle.

I do not have a wine rack or any other way to store bottles on the side (nor do I plan to any time soon). Does this mean I have to use synthetic corks?

Is there any good reason not to use synthetic?

From the studies I've seen, synthetics are good for about three years, tops, before the wine or mead begins to oxidize.

Let me add that (like beer) - I'm making this to drink.

Likely nothing will age beyond the 3 year mark until I find a way to store on the side anyway.

If synthetic works for upright storage (and is the ONLY solution for upright storage from what I can tell) - I guess that's it for me.

I would probably go synthetic just because they are easier but I don't see what's so hard about storing them sideways.

1. Get bottle
2. Lay on side
3 That's it!

You have a couple of other options though. You can use crown caps which provide about as good a seal as synthetics. There have been times when I've run out of wine rack space and I just put the bottles in a cardboard wine box and lay it on its side.

I didn't think of just laying them in boxes on it's side, but I don't have the shelving room to lay individual bottles on their sides, so I will be putting in boxes and stacking them. I would imagine they're slightly stronger standing up than they are on the side.

I guess if it comes to having to lay them on the side, I can do that, I guess it's just that I prefer not having to do so if at all possible.

One piece of 1 x 10 x 8' and one piece of 1 x 10 x 6' will make an easy to build "X" box wine rack. Storing on the side is easy.

I lack the following items to do that:

1) Space
2) Skill

I'd buy one, but again the space issue is there but add in the money issue. It's not like I'm talking a batch or two - I love mead so much I plan to keep ~150-200 bottles on hand at any given time.

For the price of 5 bottles of mead and 15 minutes research online you could build a wine rack that would take up 2'x2' of floor space....

Anyway, I don't think synthetic corks are the way to go. If you need to stand them up, I would go with crown caps and wax them. As stated above, they will last just as long without oxidation.