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Being the wine connoisseur that you are, you always found it
unacceptable that you do not have the appropriate storage place for
your collection of vintage wines. All your dream home now needs to
make it absolutely perfect is a wine cellar were you can store all
your wines bought over the holiday season for later enjoyment or to
toast a later special occasion. You might also consider having fun
experimenting and analyzing the wine as it matures and make notes of
its changes in tastes and structure as it matures over time. By
adding such a storage room to you home enables you do buy young
wines and allow it to mature to its optimum state and derive the
greatest benefit from it.
If you are planning a new home it might be easier to allow for
this space within the architecture of the building for optimal
ambient results within the cellar, but even with a little initiative
a lot of futile spaces in your existing home can be converted to a
wine cellar. All that is required for such a cellar is temperature
which can be controlled, moderate humidity, good ventilation and to
be as dark as possible. If you have a large enough space you could
even include a table or comfortable couch for the occasional private
wine tasting in peace and quiet.
Below follows a few key factors to consider when planning you own
wine cellar:
Temperature
Temperature is at the top of the list for the reason that it is
the single most important factor to consider when planning or
installing your own wine cellar. The wines should be stored at a
constant temperature as far as possible as fluctuations in
temperature will damage the wines over time. It is said that the
most favorable temperature range for a wide variety of wines is
between 6 and 18 degrees Celsius, the higher the temperature the
earlier the wines will mature. It might be wise to get a more
accurate opinion from a wine maker for a specific type of wine that
needs to be stored.
Humidity
To keep the corks of the wines elastic and to prevent shrinkage
thereof an optimal humidity level of 70 per cent is most often
specified. Depending on the type of wine collection in your cellar a
humidity level of between 60 and 80 per cent would also suffice to
keep the corks resilient enough to allow the most advantageous
‘breathing’ of the wines.
Light
Wine ages prematurely when subjected to too much light during its
bottled lifetime, hence the darker colored glass bottles for
packaging. Ensure that your wines are kept in complete darkness as
far as possible especially if there are clear bottled wines in your
collection. The most favored source of lighting for any type of wine
cellar is incandescent or sodium vapor lights.
Ventilation
A constant airflow though the cellar is imperative for the
non-contamination of the corks of the bottles and keeping the
impurities in the surrounding air out of the wines. Never store food
or other goods even if it is packages in your cellar as this could
also penetrate the wines through the corks especially when the
ventilation in the room is not sufficient. By ensuring a steady air
flow in your cellar you can be sure the wine maintains its original
taste.
Position
As far as possible plan your wine cellar as far away from noise
and vibrations for example next to the garage or if your property
faces a busy main road rather try to place your cellar at the back
of the house where it can have peace and quiet away from vibrations
that will disturb the red wine sediment and spoil the wine. The
wines should be stored in a horizontal position in shelves so that
the wine stays in contact with the cork and should be moved as
rarely as possible.
Future planning and expansion of the wine cellar should be
carefully planned beforehand so that the existing precious wines are
not disturbed when shelves are added onto the space.
Written by JB, architect & founder of
www.dreamhouses.co.za, a
website dedicated to provide home builders, home renovators, home
owners & developers with free professional advice on all aspects of
home design, building & diy. Reproductions of this article are
encouraged but must include a link pointing to http://www.dreamhouses.co.za
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