Many wine lovers appreciate having their own wine cellar at home. They can collect and open their wines for different occasions. However, only a few people can have a real underground wine cellar. It can be complicated to have one if you live in an apartment or in small house because it takes up a lot of space. We give you some advices on how to find the most suitable cellar depending on your needs in this article.
The different types of wine cellar
First, the wine service cellar is used to store bottles in the best conditions of humidity and temperature before opening them. However, this kind of cellar has a limited capacity in terms of bottle storage. It can hold approximately 50 bottles. In fact, this cellar can easily be part of your kitchen or living room. It will allow you to refresh your bottles before serving them.
And what about the wine-ageing cellar?
It will allow the bottle to be kept for several years in optimal conditions. You can collect more wines with this cellar. You can reach up to 300 bottles. It’s interesting because anti-vibration dampers are present in the cellar to preserve wine in the best conditions. You can find other elements such as an outdoor thermostatic sensor that automatically regulates the temperature.
Important things to take into account
- Temperature
This is the most important element to consider in order to collect wine. A wine bottle hates frequent temperature change. In fact, it can deteriorate the wine and it’s possible to ripen the wine too quickly, so be careful with the different changes in temperature. The wine should be ideally stored at 12 °C.
- Hygrometry
You should take the degree of humidity into account too. Humidity is often not considered in comparison with temperature. It’s important to focus on this characteristic. The humidity should be between 60 and 80%. If the degree is less important, the major risk is to dry the cork.
Finally, it’s also important to take into consideration UV protection and vibrations.
Energy saving:
A wine cellar must be constantly illuminated. In fact, it allows temperature and humidity to be kept at the same level. You need to focus your researches on wine cellars which don’t consume a lot of energy. Today, there are more and more wine cellars which respect that criterion. Professionals can give you advices to find the best wine cellar.
French Version available here.
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