Designing Your New Wine Cellar
Wine collecting is a hobby that many people will enjoy pursuing. However, wine can be fairly challenging to store, and it may require you to invest in having a custom wine cellar designed if you are to keep your wine collection safe from deterioration. Throughout the design process, there are some factors that will play a particularly important role in determining the results of your new wine cellar.
Effective Temperature Regulation
Effective temperature control is essential for any wine cellar. Excessive temperatures and dramatic changes in temperature can all be extremely harmful to the wine you are storing. In extreme cases, it can cause the wine's flavor to change and become more bitter. Not surprisingly, the wine cellar should have an active temperature control system that can keep it within the ideal temperature range for the various wines you are planning to store.
Maintain Ideal Humidity Levels
The humidity levels will also need to be managed if you are to keep your wine in good condition. Excessively dry air can cause the corks to deteriorate. Eventually, they may develop cracks that could lead to the wine spoiling by allowing air to enter the bottle. Additionally, this deterioration could make the cork harder to remove without it getting small pieces into the wine.
Manage The Light Entering
Light is another factor to address when creating a wine cellar. Extremely bright lights can deteriorate wine fairly quickly. If your cellar is designed with windows, the wine should be positioned away from the windows, and they should be covered with treatments to block as much of the light as possible. The artificial lights in the cellar may also be put on a timer. This can avoid unnecessary light exposure due to accidentally leaving the lamps and overhead lights on when they are not needed.
Install Strong Shelving
A common mistake that can be made when designing a new wine cellar for your home can be underestimating the need for strong shelving. The wine bottles that you store will be relatively heavy, and it can be possible for the weight of a wine collection to quickly exceed the design limits for most standard shelving. To combat this, you can opt for wine storage racks. These racks can be made to be free-standing, and they will be built strong enough to support the weight of the wine bottles that are placed in them. As an added benefit, these racks will typically have small cubicles for each individual bottle of wine, which can prevent the bottles from banging together and suffering damage.