Many of us wine aficionados enjoy storing and displaying our wine almost as much as drinking it. Building your custom wine cellar and display is an interesting and fun journey. Here are five important decisions to be made with your architect or designer. This blog is for people who enjoy searching for those special vintage wines and who enjoy drinking wine.
Wine Safety - Let's start with the not so interesting but extremely important details that must be solved. What does wine love? Cool, dark, and an ideal humidity level of 60%. Basically, reliable climate control. Wine bottles also love to sit still, on an angle or horizontal.
Wine hates heat. Temperatures above 70 degrees ages a wine more rapidly than you would like. Ideal numbers have been cited between 45-65 degrees for red and white.
Light wrecks havoc on wine as well. Sunlight is a no-no since it heats wine and we know that is not good. Hot lights such as incandescent, florescent and halogen are not recommended. LED lights are cool and there are more choices of colors than in the past. These lights are placed in close proximity to the bottles for beauty and viewing and must be chosen properly.
Humidity levels about 70% will cause mold and degradation of labels. Humidity below 50% will dry out the corks causing evaporation of the wine and causing oxidization making it undrinkable.
Stillness is important since vibrations age wine and cause sediment to disburse in red wine.
Placement - Your home or apartment most likely will dictate where your wine cellar is built. A good option is the basement. Usually cooler and darker than other areas of the house, it's perfect for short term storage. Long term and fine wine storage in a basement should climate controlled. Another great spot, if you don't have a basement, is a large closet or under a stairway. Creating your wine cellar as a room divider is a stunning design statement. If you have the room consider adding a tasting area or an intimate dining area adjacent to the wine cellar.
Size - The size of your home may restrict the amount of space you can dedicate to your collection. Many people wish they dedicated more space for their cellars after they've been built. The passion for your wine collection blossoms more each year. The layout depends on your storage needs. Plan on wide aisle(s) and easy access to your wine if enjoying the experience is your goal. For serious, high volume collectors more compact, high density storage and a good system of cataloging inventory is a must. If you purchase wine for investment, leaving space to keep wine in their cases is important. Analyze if you need rack storage for single bottles, large bottles, champagne. This will determine the size of the racks.
Style - So many choices! Modern, Traditional, Transitional. Choice of metals. Endless choices of wood. Do you want display shelves? Many people like stone or brick on the walls. What about a door? Black glass on the cases is quite beautiful depending where it is built. A doorway with character leading into the cellar sets the mood before entering your wine kingdom!
Ambiance - All important - Lighting, floor / wall material, artwork, music.
Lighting - Shelf lighting and overhead lighting will dramatically change the look and feel of your wine cellar. What type of lighting will you enjoy in your tasting room? Chandelier? What light color(s) do you love? Dimmers.
Materials - The floor material adds to the whole experience of your wine cellar. You must decide what feels best for you. Wood, concrete, stone, porcelain tiles, bricks vinyl. Do you want it to be a backdrop or a "wow"? Practicality must be considered. Is it easy to clean? Will it withstand the environment without cracking or buckling? Wall materials as part of the design will coordinate with the floor. Some people like contrast, others uniformity. Both change the ambiance.
Art work - So do you want sophisticated, romantic, old world or modern? Adding art work is a very personal choice. You can change an entire room with the art you choose.
Music - What an amazing game changer music can add to the ambiance of your cellar! Especially if you have a tasting or dining area. But even if you don't, choosing your wine with a music backdrop is wonderful!
How much fun is it to design your wine cellar! We will be there every step of the way.
