All About Wine Cellars

Getting serious about wine means storing it properly.  When designed right, wine cellars provide the right conditions to preserve wine's taste and value.

Important considerations

Take time to decide a location best suited for wine cellars.  Once up, wine cellars are hard to move.  The following list provides eight considerations when planning wine cellars.

Keep bottles in the dark.  Sunlight is especially detrimental to wines.  Incandescent or sodium vapor lights are okay to see what you are doing, but avoid fluorescent and UV light.

Cool climes.  Temperatures expand and contract liquids, causing the cork to loosen its airtight seal.  Ambient temperature in wine cellars should be within 55 F and 65 F with no sudden fluctuations.  Gradual seasonal changes are no problem.

Humidity.  Monitor the humidity in wine cellars, keeping it between 50 and 80 percent.  Experts recommend levels of 70 percent.  Improper humidity affects not only the bottles, but wood wine storage shelves.

Ventilation.  Keep wine cellars free of strong smells.  They can sneak in through the cork and change the flavor of your wines.

Bad vibes.  Constant vibrations can gradually move the cork out of place.  Do not set up wine cellar racks near pumps or appliances such as washers and driers.

Easy to reach.  The less you handle the bottles, the better.  Good wine cellars should provide easy access to the specific bottle you want.

Side sleepers.  Resting bottles on their sides lets the wine keep the cork moist and the seal airtight.  If that cork dries out, air will seep in and ruin that bottle.

Plan ahead:  Your wine cellar will grow.  Plan for expansion with modular storage systems. 

Keep these points in mind when designing wine cellars.  It is a lot to consider, but doing so will make appreciating the grape much more enjoyable.

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