There are still many who believe that having a wine cellar in your house is the pinnacle of luxury. However, many amateur wine collectors and enthusiasts see a very practical side to having at least a small home wine cellar somewhere in the house: protecting your wine from extreme temperatures, humidity, and other environmental factors that can ruin any bottle of good wine. In other words, having a wine cellar at home is a good idea.
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Framing
The framework is what you need to do initially when you’re creating a wine cellar. It is recommended that wood studs measuring 2 inches by 6 inches be used to frame the room or basement’s outside walls. Utilize studs measuring 2 inches by 4 inches if the flooring is chilly.
Insulation
Insulation is the next thing that has to be done while building a wine cellar. The temperature in the room should be maintained at as stable a level as is practicable. The sprayed 2-pound polyurethane is the way that is recommended for usage; however, it is possible to utilize methods that are less costly, particularly if the basement is located on the first level of the home. Take this opportunity to remind you that the cellar is an investment.
Doors
Don’t ignore the importance of the door! In addition to being insulated, it requires weather stripping to be installed. In such a case, all of the efforts that were put into insulating the walls would be for nothing.
Drywall
When finishing the walls, choose drywall that can withstand dampness without being damaged. Alternate wall materials may be used; however, care must be taken to ensure that these materials do not absorb moisture and do not add flavor to the wine.
Racks
It is important to not put off designing the racks until the very end. You should begin by using this plan to ensure that you will have enough room to store the number of bottles that you want to keep. Examining the smaller racks that are offered at your neighborhood wine shop is an excellent way to get started with your search. These will provide you with inspiration for the style that you would want to have. Remember to double-check that the structure is robust enough to support the weight of the wine.
Temperature and Humidity and Wine
As was said before, the perfect serving temperature for wine is between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature is too high, it will deteriorate in a short amount of time. When it is too low, the aging process will not proceed normally. The cork will expand and shrink depending on how often the temperature changes. This might result in the wine being tainted with air. Keeping this in mind, you should never purchase refrigerated wine from a shop since you have no way of knowing how long it has been stored in that condition. Additionally, you should not store wine in your personal refrigerator for more than one or two days at a time.
Additionally, wine may be harmed by humidity. Cork is susceptible to drying out if the relative humidity is too low. A bottle that has been turned over will keep one side of the cork wet, but the other side is more likely to become broken and brittle.
In addition to this, make sure the wine will be stored somewhere dark and away from any vibrations. Do not put all of your faith in the bottle’s ability to block the light entirely, even if it is colored or otherwise designed to do so. It’s possible that any movement will cause the bottles to shift. Because the wine must remain in touch with the cork so that the cork does not dry up and fracture, the amount of movement that the bottles are subjected to should be kept to a minimum.
Wine Cellar Cooling Units
After the construction of your cellar is finished, you will be able to buy a commercial wine chilling machine. Many of them operate in a manner similar to that of a window air conditioner. Instead of being positioned in the ceiling, they vent through the wall of the building. On the other hand, there are commercial units that may be placed if you are below ground or for some other reasons are unable to utilize a window unit. These are a little bit more expensive, but they perform quite well under certain circumstances.
Configuration
There is a wide variety of styles and configurations available for use in the home. There are smaller wine cellar units, also known as wine cellar cabinets, that can only hold a few bottles of wine. On the other hand, there are bigger cabinets that can hold at least 300 bottles. It is best to choose a home wine cellar that matches your situation: are you a wine enthusiast who stores only a couple of bottles when your friends come over or do you plan to have a larger (a couple of hundreds or even thousands of bottles) collection? There is no one answer that is correct for everyone; therefore, it is best to choose a home wine cellar that matches your situation.
To a significant extent, the amount of free space in your house and the kind of wine you want to keep will determine the essential components of an effective home wine cellar. The majority of home wine cellars provide the option of storing wine either in cooling units or on racks. If you have an estimate of how many bottles will eventually be in your collection, you will be better able to choose the optimal wine cellar design for your space and arrange it.
A storage space that has the capacity to hold more than 500 bottles of wine is often referred to as a wine cellar, while an area that can store less than 500 bottles is typically referred to as a “wine closet” or a home wine cellar.
There is a home wine cellar choice that is suitable for your requirements no matter how serious or casual your interest in wine may be. It is important that the wine cellar in every house be built to properly hold wine as it matures since this will allow the wine to grow in complexity and depth without being spoiled.
