Archive for the 'Wine Storage' Category

Everyday here at Wine Enthusiast, we have wine lovers from all around the world contacting us via telephone, email, live chat, etc. asking us this very question. For some people, wine is just something they like to enjoy with meals or on social occasions with friends and family. For others, wine is a true passion, a way of life and reaches into their soul in one form another each and everyday. For that reason, there are a variety of different wine storage options that are offered, from entry- level wine refrigerators to high-end custom wine cellars, for all to choose from.

Regardless if you are a novice just starting your collection, or an experienced wine connoisseur that has had thousands of bottles stored for decades, there are 4 basic reasons why anyone who enjoys having wine in their home should have some form of proper wine storage. We call them the 4 P’s:

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I was recently working on organizing a wine cellar with a large collection of exceptionally old bottles. As I worked I stumbled upon several tragic situations of 1983 half-bottle Hermitages gone wrong over the last 25 years. I was shocked at their condition until I considered they were the only lost soldiers I had found throughout the whole project.
The wine cellar I had been working on, though a little disorganized, was kept in perfect condition and allowed for a majority of older wines to age beautifully. This perfect condition successfully battled all four of the Enemies of Wine:

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If you are planning to build a wine cellar, there are certain steps that need to be taken in order for the room to perform properly and maintain ideal wine storage conditions of both temperature (55 degrees) and humidity (60-65% relative humidity). To ensure that this happens, follow our basic steps which involve common building materials, all obtainable from any building or home supply store.

• Framing lumber
• Green board (moisture-resistant sheet rock)
• Rigid foam insulation
• Vapor barrier (rolled plastic sheeting)
• Floor tile (ceramic, porcelain or rubber)
• Exterior grade insulated door

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One of the most exciting things about having Wine Enthusiast design and build a custom wine cellar in your home, is a personal visit from John Seitz. John is not only one of our Master Wine Cellar Builders, but he travels across the country in the famous Wine Enthusiast Wine Cellar RV. Just to give you an idea of John’s travel schedule, between April 21st to May 26th, he’ll have traveled from Illinois to New York, down to Virginia, and back across the country to California, all in the name of wine cellar installation.

Check this page often to see when John’s going to be in your area. While on the road, between wine cellar jobs, John will come directly to your home, by request, to make a professional wine storage house call. He’ll take measurements and evaluate your space to determine the best wine cellar design for you. After 10 years and hundreds of wine cellars, John has literally defined full-service wine cellar consultation and design in America.

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As a Wine Cellar Specialist for the past 15 years, I’ve made many observations. In some ways wine storage has changed, and in others, it remains the same. See if you can pick out which of these wine storage statements is true and which is false. Some may be expected and others will be a big surprise!

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As a Wine Storage Consultant, we often have customers ask us, “I’m thinking of building a wine cellar, should I use the designer kits or is it worth it to move to the custom level?” This is a question that comes up quite often when customers are determining their desired wine cellar racking style. There is not a clear answer to that, as everyone’s needs differ, and so do budgets. But hopefully I can shed some light on the situation for you.

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I don’t make a habit of scoping out the contents of people’s refrigerators, but when I’m asked to “help myself,” I notice things. One of the things I observe occasionally is a bottle or two of white wine. I rarely see a bottle of red in a fridge. Maybe it’s because people think reds don’t have to be refrigerated. Reds actually require the same storage environment as whites, one that’s a cool 53-57°F with 55-70% humidity. (For more on wine storage temperature, read Wine Storage Misconceptions: The Truth About Your Reds and Whites.) In any case, there is wine being stored in regular refrigerators all around the world, I’m sure. That’s why I’m writing this post; not to pronounce any “rights” or “wrongs” about what folks put in their fridges, but merely to point out the differences between everyday refrigerators and wine refrigerators or wine cellars, and what those differences mean to the storing of wine.

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One of the most common misconceptions about storing wine is: reds are stored at one temperature and whites are stored at another. The truth of the matter is: reds and whites are stored at the same temperature, 53-57˚F. (Only the serving temperatures are different.) The middle of this range, 55˚F, is considered the holy grail of temperature grades, not too cold to impede wine maturation and not too warm to accelerate it. Temperature extremes in either direction, low or high, can ultimately spoil a good wine. Knowing the delicate nature of wine makes it easy to understand why a conventional refrigerator just doesn’t cut it as a wine storage solution; another popular misconception. To learn why a wine refrigerator or wine cellar is the best place to store your wine, read Wine Fridge Vs. Regular Fridge. What I mean by “storage,” by the way, is basically the place you keep your wine when you’re not drinking it, be it for a day, a week, or a year.

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Why do we call our popular line of wine refrigerators Silent Wine Refrigerators?
Because of thermoelectric technology. Since our units are built with a thermoelectric cooling system instead of a typical compressor, the result is what we like to refer to as “pin-drop quiet performance.” Rather than having a loud compressor, thermoelectric semiconductors reduce noise and vibration, two powerful enemies of wine. Noise and vibration interfere with the biochemical process of wine maturation and are often fatal to the best wines.

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Each year more and more people are enjoying and collecting wine. It’s no wonder, there’s so much delicious wine available and so much to learn from tasting. It’s easy for any collector to end up with more bottles than expected. Like many ambitious wine lovers, have you found yourself thinking, “How am I going to store all this wine?”

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