Food and Wine World

Wine is probably one of the most collected items in the world.  There are many bottles of wine which are even bought solely for investment purposes where nobody has any intention of selling it.  I find this quite a sad concept however if you have found yourself accumulating more bottles of wine than you can easily store in your kitchen then building your own wine cellar can be an excellent idea.  Also, some wines taste better after they have been laid down for some years so you want to make sure that those bottles are kept in the perfect conditions for when you do eventually open them up.

What Are Wine Cellars?

A wine celler is a room which create the perfect environment for wines.  Wines really dislike heat, light and humidity so it’s important to store wine properly.  Some wine cellars are temperature controlled whilst others are naturally the perfect temperature.  Most restaurants will have one but some people are building their own wine cellars at home too.
If you are building your own wine celler there are some basic steps you need to be aware of.

Location of Wine Cellar – It’s very important to know where you are actually going to have your wine cellar.  The most obvious and ideal place is underground in your basement.  However if you have a large house then it’s certainly possible to build a cellar above ground.  You don’t need the biggest of rooms but one which is 3 x 3 x meters is more than adequate.

Insulation – The inner walls of your cellar must have insulation of a minimum of R-11 and outside walls will need R-19.  If your cellar is going to be built in the basement you need to see about a vapour barrier and concrete sealant for the flooring.  For the vapor barrier you would use a polyethylene plastic sheet which is 6mm thick.

Doors – You obviously need a door for getting in and out of your cellar, when choosing a door make sure it doesn’t have a window, it must be solid and have insulation.  Do not select a wooden door because the insulation is not enough.

Cooling System – There are two main types of cooling system; standard and split.  Although standard systems are popular, costs less money and are easy to install, you need to be aware that you’ll have to replace it in about 5 or 6 years.  The split system is the opposite; it costs more and needs to be fitted by a professional however it lasts a lot longer.

Lighting – Although you will want to have lighting installed in your cellar so you can see what you are doing, you need to understand that lights cause heat which is not good.  Installing a dimmer switch is great because you can control the strength of the light much better and only use what you need.

Flooring – The types of flooring you choose affect the conditions of your cellar.  Hard surfaces like stone, slate and tile are much better and always avoid carpeting.

Wine Cellar Kits – If you do a search on the internet you’ll many wine cellar kits to choose from and they all vary a lot in price.  You will obviously pay more if you select the best quality items.  If you have an expensive wine collection you want to keep for many years, it’s well worth spending that bit extra for quality otherwise you’ll only be disappointed.

So whether you have a relatively small collection of wine bottles or enough to supply a small hotel, building your own wine cellar can make a great addition to your home.

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