It all started with a sip. And before you knew it, you can’t seem to pass off a long day without drinking at least a glass of your favorite wine. With your newfound passion, perhaps you’re ready to take it to the next level and decided to have the perfect wine cellar.
Wine cellars used to be only for the rich and influential back in the days. Wines were stored in different manners—from the French’s concealed wine caves to the Romans’ underground catacombs. These have come a long way because it’s now made simpler, more affordable, and more aesthetically appealing without losing its functionality. For more details, visit Wine Cellar HQ and other trusted sources to see units suitable for you.
Why You Need The Perfect Wine Cellar
Before diving into the nitty-gritty of creating the perfect wine cellar, you should first ask yourself why you need one. Apart from dedicating a storage space for your collection, there are also other benefits of having a cellar at home. Here are some of them:
Provides The Best Environment For Your Wines
To better enjoy the flavor and aroma of wines, they need to be stored in an environment with the proper temperature and humidity. These environmental factors significantly affect how your wine cellar will serve its purpose. Aging the wines at a proper pace requires a distinct temperature around 52-57 degrees Fahrenheit. If the cellar’s temperature goes beyond this mark, the wines will start oxidizing, affecting their quality.
Humidity, on the other hand, is crucial because once it goes higher than 70%, molds would begin to form, which could then damage the bottle labels. Molds may also disfigure the corks, particularly the organic ones. And when this happens, the seal may be compromised.
The ideal humidity for a wine cellar is within the 50-70% range. Anything lower or higher than this could affect the quality of the wines.
Protects Wines From Vibrations
Did you know vibration can negatively affect the aroma and flavor of wines? Red wines, in particular, form sediment or little crystals as they age. If the wines’ environment has too many vibrations from the machinery, it can disturb or disrupt the process of sedimentation, diminishing the quality.
Having dedicated storage for your wines will lessen the vibrations they receive. Ideally, you should lay the bottles down in the wine cellar and they shouldn’t be moved again unless you’re ready to consume or open them.
Saves You Money
A cooling unit is a great investment. Building a wine cellar may be costly at first sight but once you’re already reaping its benefits, you’ll realize it helps you save money in the long run. You may ask how this is possible, and a good instance would be when you’re buying wines for your collection. Instead of purchasing a few bottles one at a time, you can purchase in bulk, which could give you a cheaper price.
When you have a wide range of wine selections, you can comfortably hold events and gatherings at home without having to shell out extra money in case of shortage. You can just go to your wine cellar and pick several bottles for your guests.
Makes You A Wine Expert
As you add more bottles to your wine collection, you acquire additional knowledge and expertise on the different varieties of wine. You’ll know better when wines have aged perfectly and when the right time is to serve or consume them.
Helps You Earn Money
Aside from saving money, being a wine expert can also be another source of income. As you grow your collection, you’ll know the difference between a high-quality wine and a generic one. Also, you’d be able to discern which brands are better and which choices one should be investing in. This can be an edge as you can consider purchasing and then reselling them for a profit.
Organizes Your Collection
Having a wine cellar at home helps you organize your wine collection. You can store them according to variety, vintage, and region. For example, keep all your Napa Valley cabernets in one cellar. Also, you can sort it according to the year they’re manufactured.
An organized wine collection also makes it easier to for you to locate a specific wine anytime you need to. It makes your inventory accessible in a way you can easily tell what wines you still have and what needs to be refilled or repurchased.
Elevates Your Home’s Resale Value
With a wine cellar, your home’s resale value can also be increased. Not all houses have a unit dedicated to wines. And when you decide to sell or lease your property, it can be a factor boosting the selling price. Having a wine cellar is a specialized feature and potential buyers would surely be interested in it.
Creating The Perfect Wine Cellar
Now that you know how having a wine cellar at home can give you several benefits, it’s time to proceed to create the perfect wine cellar. There are several styles and designs of cellars. It’s up to you to choose one that’ll perfectly suit your taste and preference.
Here are some of the factors you need to consider if you want to create a wine cellar:
Location
Whether you’re creating a wine cellar for your home or commercial space, you must pick the right location for it. Some factors to consider include light, layout, and footfall. You also need to make sure the location is ideal for climate-controlled conditions the cellar requires.
Materials
A variety of building materials can be used when creating a wine cellar. For flooring, for example, there are options such as vinyl, marble, stone, or hardwood. One tip to remember is to not install carpet if you don’t want mildew and mold to develop or accumulate.
For the shelving, make sure you consider the bottles’ size, shape, and weight. Flexible and modular shelves will be more useful and these can help you save space as well.
Lighting
Your wine cellar can’t have excessive lighting or the temperature will be significantly affected. Make sure your wine cellar isn’t exposed to direct sunlight. Most wine cellar owners prefer using light-emitting diode (LED) lights because they release little to almost no heat.
Space
You may think having a small space for wine storage will be fine, but as your wine collection grows, you’ll see the need for more capacity. Having enough space also lets you move around comfortably, lessening the possibility of bumping into wine racks and shelves. In this way, you’d be able to get bottles without worrying about dropping the others.
Insulation
Space must be insulated so it can be protected from any potential source of heat. Some options include a vapor barrier and closed-cell foam insulation. Keeping your wine cellar well-covered will help regulate moisture levels while also keeping the heat out and the cold in.
You may think creating the perfect wine cellar requires a lot of work and decision-making. You’re correct, but it doesn’t mean you can’t do it successfully. You just need to do your research well and understand how each factor mentioned above is crucial to completing your dream project.
Installing The Right Cooling System
A typical mistake wine cellar owners usually make is they don’t consider the importance of having the right cooling system. Because wine cellars require custom temperature, humidity, and even airflow, you need to install a proper cooling system that’ll help you achieve all these requirements.
There are several options to choose from when it comes to cooling systems. There are self-contained units easy to install. You can also use a cooling unit without any need for venting or ductwork by installing it through the wall. Nonetheless, it’s best to gather information when it comes to wine cellar cooling systems.
DIY Or Not?
Building a wine cellar involves manual labor. And if you don’t have enough experience and expertise, you may find it troublesome in many ways. Perhaps, you’re already at the point where you’re asking if it’ll be more practical and economical to hire a professional in building your cellar.
The answer will vary depending on several factors. If there’s already a space available for the wine cellar, you could have a do-it-yourself project. However, if you’ll need to add a few square feet to your house, you might want to consider contacting a professional team instead.
Your budget is also a factor you need to consider. If materials are available, the cost of building a wine cellar can considerably lower down. But if you want a more customized cellar with custom racks and other configurations, you may need to shell out thousands of dollars to achieve your desired result.
Wine Storage Tips
When you’ve spent a considerable amount of time and money building your dream wine cellar, you shouldn’t slow down or hesitate to go the extra mile when it comes to storing your wines.
Make sure to organize your wine properly. Here are some storage tips you should remember:
- When storing the bottles, make sure they’re laid down either upside down or on their sides. This will ensure the corks won’t dry out as you age the wines.
- Invest in a strong and properly insulated wine cellar door. It has to be thick enough to ensure the wines will be fully protected inside. If you choose to have a glass door for your wine cellar, it should have exterior-grade insulation and double panes.
- Separate everyday wines from the special ones. Doing this will make it easier for you to locate a specific wine for any intended purpose. It also prevents you from unnecessarily opening a wine bottle by mistake.
- If you can’t avoid vibrations, you can wrap the bottles using Styrofoam or bubble wrap to prevent them from shaking.
- Fill the cellar with as much wine as you can because chillers and cooling systems work better when the unit is at full capacity.
- Know how to store wine bottles that have been opened already. Ideally, an open wine bottle could last anywhere from five to seven days when you know how to properly keep them. Put the cork back immediately and tightly. You can use some wax paper and place it around the cork, so it can become tighter and more evenly.
If you can afford it, consider getting an insurance policy for your wine collection. Just like how jewelry and fine arts collection should be insured, your collection of wines should also be protected. In this way, whenever a disaster or accident occurs, you won’t have to worry about your entire possession going down the drain.
Insurance companies offer premiums and policies specially designed for wine collectors. Knowing more about them will help you understand which will be perfect for your needs. Make sure to seek financial advice on this since it’ll be a substantial investment on your part.
Final Words
There’s nothing an ultimate wine connoisseur would love other than to admire their extensive collection from time to time. A perfect wine cellar that’s only a few steps away is equally perfect when you want to savor a glass of your favorite drink after an exhausting day at work. It’s more than about rewarding yourself because building your dream wine cellar can make you achieve a sense of accomplishment and pride. The process may take a lot of time, effort, and even money, but with the right guidance and knowledge, it’s not an impossible feat to achieve.
Remember, all wines aren’t made equal, so you have to invest accordingly if you want to continue enjoying their flavor and aroma. Store your wines properly, insulate and control the environment as needed, and choose the right materials for your shelves and racks. Following these recommendations will surely help you maintain and organize your collection at an optimum level.
With these tips, your wine cellar is set to become the newest obsession among your family and circle of friends. So go ahead and pop a bottle because this calls for a celebration!
