What Are Some Of The Qualities of Good Wine Cellars?

A wine storage facility normally built underground for storing wines in bottles and barrels in, is what we all know as a wine cellar. To ensure that the stored wine remains fresh even after many years of storage, the cellar should have favorable environmental factors. This means that the temperature and humidity of the cellar have to be regulated at levels that will not affect the quality of the wine.

When a wine cellar is built above the ground, it is referred to as a wine room while those that contain less than 500 bottles are referred to as wine closets. Building a wine cellar mainly ensures that wine is protected from heat and light, which will compromise the quality of the wine. Wine is a perishable beverage that should be protected from fluctuating temperatures, heat and light as well as vibrations and light. Wines that are stored in wine cellars maintain their freshness over a period of time and even become better in complexity, flavor and its aroma.

For a wine cellar to be rated as worthy, it should be able to keep the wine in its original freshness and also improve its quality. The right temperature in a wine cellar should range from 5-18 degrees Celsius and have very few variations. If the temperature changes, it should change by less than 10 degrees Celsius or less. This temperature level was arrived at because caves in France where wines used to be kept ranged around that temperature.

If the temperature is higher than 18 degrees Celcius, the wine will mature too fast and cause the wine to lack some qualities of a well-matured wine. If a wine has matured too fast, it will taste like vinegar as opposed to regular wines that have a sweet and savory taste.

A wine cellar can be actively cooled or passively cooled. Proper insulation and professional work should be done if a wine cellar is to have active cooling systems. These cooling systems need to be installed in order to ensure that the humidity and temperature of a wine cellar are monitored. Most people do not use this type of cooling system unless the weather is too hot. Areas that are naturally very cools are the best areas to have a passively cooled wine cellar. Passive cooling systems do not require any energy to operate and are normally in the basement of a house. They are therefore cheaper albeit unreliable sometimes.

Aging Wine and Storing In Your Wine Cellar

If you have graduated from casual drinker to wine aficionado then there are definitely wines out there that you would like to try that need cellaring. These are wines that will not reach full potential when tasted now; they need to be stored for a few years, sometimes even decades before you can enjoy the full flavor of a bottle. A custom wine cellar in your home is the way to keep your collection in good condition, however knowing some basics on storing wine will help you to choose the best method of cellaring.

Aging Wine Gracefully

Besides a suitable wine cellar that allows you to control humidity and temperature, the cork of a wine bottle plays an important role in keeping wine fresh. If air is allowed to oxidize the wine you will lose that amazing vintage and instead will be left with vinegar.

Always store wine bottles horizontally in your wine cellar. This will prevent the cork from cracking, a cork that cracks or shrinks will allow excess air into the bottle. The right level of humidity in your wine cellar is also important. Low levels of humidity and the cork will dry out, too much humidity and you will create an environment for bacteria and mold to grow.

The temperature in your wine cellar is very important. Old cellars were built underground but modern wine cellars look very similar to refrigerators. You can control the temperature but be careful not to make the inside of your wine cellar too cold. The ideal temperature to store wine is somewhere between 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

Another thing to remember about temperature is that wine ages well when conditions are constant. Frequent changes in temperature can damage wine. Even if the temperature changes are within the recommended range you could still be damaging the wine by frequently making changes to the temperature.

The type of lights in your wine cellar is very important as light exposure can lead to a disagreeable smell in the wine. Choose incandescent bulbs over fluorescent bulbs where possible as they produce less UV light. Most modern bottles have good UV filters but it’s always better to be safe with the issue of light exposure.

Try not to move the bottles in your wine cellar around too much as even vibration can affect the aging process of wine. Keep movement to a minimum until you are ready to serve. A bigger bottle is also preferable for wines that you would like to cellar.

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