Wine Cellar Do’s & Dont’s

There are three major malicious threats to your wine as it ages: UV light, temperature, and humidity. A good wine cellar will neutralize the effects of the terrible trio, while providing a beautiful setting for your fine wines.

UV Light, Temperature, and Humidity

Ultraviolet light destroys the tannins that are incredibly important to the structure of wine, as well as the prevention of oxidation – hence the subterranean nature of most cellars.

Wines that become too hot or too cold are ruined forever, but subtle changes in temperature can have a malignant effect. The key to a perfect cellar is temperature consistency.

If a cellar is not humid enough corks will dry out and allow air into a bottle, oxidizing your wine or even causing it to leak out. Address this issue by humidifying the room and storing bottles horizontally, so that the wine can moisturize the cork.

Passive vs. Proactive Cellars

Due to the insulation of the earth surrounding basements, many cellars can store wine at acceptable conditions without the addition of air conditioning units or humidifiers. This method is called passive storage, and is a good deal less-expensive than the alternative. The problem is, passive cellars usually only work in very moderate climates, where the outside temperature never goes above 75-80 degrees F. They also often require some sort of ventilation system that allows warmer air to escape.

Proactive cellars use climate changing devices like air conditioners and humidifiers to attain the perfect conditions for storing wine you want to age well.

Ideal Conditions

Spot-on readings will be about 55-60 degrees F and 65-70% humidity, with as little temperature fluctuation and exposure to light as possible.

DIY vs Professional Installation

If you’re a weekend warrior, then by all means, tackle this project yourself. Doing it yourself will give you great satisfaction and probably teach you a lot about woodworking – not to mention save a ton of money on labor costs.

As a matter of fact, I have just begun building a primitive wine cellar in my parent’s basement as a gift for them (they deserve it after footing most of my college bill). This article provides free plans for fashioning your own wine racks, but the rest of the design is going to be up to you.

Now, if you are someone who: A) has money to spend B) appreciates professional quality or C) is just too lazy to break out that table saw – by all means, hire a kick-ass woodworker. The spiral cellar pictured above is said to cost around $30k to construct and install. If you aren’t crazy enough to try that design, then check out some of the inexpensive stuff available locally. (The picture to the left is a beautiful mahogany cellar done by Mark Villalobos, a Chicago man – click it for his website).

Cellaring wines is essential to the Vintelligence lifestyle – start planning for one if you see fine wines in your future.