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Types of Wine Racks
If you regularly keep more than a few bottles of wine in your home at a time, it’s wise to invest in a wine rack. The type of wine rack you choose has much to do with the amount and quality of your wine. A table- or counter-top rack is fine for wine lovers who like to have a few bottles easily at hand for entertaining or for regular drinking. Larger wine racks, such as wall-mounted, modular or free standing wine racks, are ideal for larger collections intended to store wine, rather than open immediately. The former wine racks are typically made from wrought iron or wood – choose the material that best suits your décor. The latter wine racks are typically made from wood, but can be stained or painted to match your personal room/cellar style.
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VigilantInc.com Tip: Design Your Own Wine Cellar
Wine cellar designs can be as different and varied as the many wines found around the world. Tastes differ, and your wine cellar design should reflect your personal taste and style. Several options are available when planning your wine cellar layout and each has its own pros and cons.
Modular design lets you arrange a layout that fits your needs and style without breaking the bank or requiring the time necessary for a custom build. Modular design incorporates many kit wine racks, stackable cabinet, and furniture options, allowing great custom feel without the custom price tag.
Custom wine cellar design lets you add the individual details to your wine cellar such as custom countertops, trim, accents, and finish. Start by accumulating wine cellar design ideas. Perhaps you've seen a great layout at a winery or have seen a piece of furniture that you think would make a great wine cabinet. Work the features you find in other places into the design of your custom wine cellar.
Finally, whether you go with a modular or custom design, a wine door brings the look together while protecting your wine from climate fluctuation. Get a wine door that creates a good seal and has the look to match both the inside of your wine cellar and the entryway that leads to it.
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Books and Wine: The Storage Connection
The great thing about wine storage racks is that they have multiple uses. In the same way you display your favorite books on a bookshelf, you can show off your best wines on a wine rack. When you buy a bookshelf, you don’t necessarily feel obligated to stuff it full of books – same thing goes for wine racks. Empty spaces can be filled with theme-appropriate accessories or knick-knacks. Stemware or sterling silver wine openers can be stored on shelves of your wine rack. You can also highlight a particular bottle of fine wine on its own shelf. Unlike bookshelves, however, wine storage rack location is important. Place your wine rack in a popular (but quiet and not-too-bright) area of your home such as the living room or dining room, or a climate controlled wine room.
Getting just the right solution for your commercial wine display can seem daunting. You want to be sure your store stands out, and yet you want your customers to be able to find what they need and the high quality they deserve. When brainstorming ideas about what you want your commercial wine racks and wine displays to say about your business, it is important to consider style, functionality, wood type, finish, and lighting.
First, think about what you want the customer to feel when they enter your business. Do you want them to think "California vineyard," "Michigan winery," "European wine cellar," or a contemporary look? The feeling a customer gets when they walk into your store starts the relationship with that customer.
Second, consider functionality. In particular, you will want to think about floor space needed, layout requirements for cooling, and the variety of items you will be stocking. Make sure the wine rack solution you choose will do the job you need it to now, and also consider how it will function as your business grows.
Choosing wood type and finish is one of the most important decisions in determining the style of your commercial wine display. Choose a wood and finish that will serve as the basis for the rest of the décor of your store. From the texture and grain of different types of wood, to the distinct difference that the color of finish makes, nothing is more important to the image of your store than the aesthetics of your retail wine display.
Finally, make sure your displays are lit correctly. How you light your displays can help bring attention to the items you want customers to notice first.
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Bad Vibrations
Did you know that movement plays an important part in wine storage? If you’re considering building a home wine cellar, you’ll need to determine if the location you’ve chosen (closet, basement, etc.) has any ongoing or recurrent vibrations within it. For example, generators, heaters, and motors of any kind can cause vibrations that will affect your wine’s aging process by keeping the normal sediment in the wine from settling. Keep your wine cellar away from such vibrations or movements and your collection will benefit.
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VigilantInc.com Tip: Do You Need a Wine Cellar in Your Home?
If you have asked yourself the question, “Do I need a wine cellar in my home?” then the answer is yes, and the real question is probably, “What kind of wine cellar do I need in my home?" A wine cellar is a significant architectural modification to your home, and you want to make sure that it will serve you well for years to come.
First, exactly what purpose do you want the wine cellar to serve? Will the room be solely for storage or also serve as a tasting room? Determining the primary purpose of the addition to your home is important in making the decision as to what your needs are.
If you will primarily be using the room for storage, think about how many bottles you may want to store and look into options that utilize commonly underused space, such as shelves that fit beneath stairs. Closets can also be great spaces to convert into a home wine cellar.
If you have a large number of bottles to store or are also planning on using your home wine cellar as a wine tasting room, make sure to consider where the room is located and the affect it will have on climate control in your home wine cellar design. The question isn’t really whether you need a home wine cellar, but how big your needs are.
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How to Build a Wine Rack
Sure, you can build a wine rack out of pine, cedar, or other decorative woods, but did you know they are prone to rot, and the rot can taint your expensive wines? The best way to build a wine rack is to use mahogany or redwood. Redwood is endangered, though, so try to stick with mahogany or your retailers suggestion. These woods may be a bit more expensive, but they are mildew and rot resistant.
They are also strong, durable woods, so they won't dent as easily as many other woods, although redwood is softer than mahogany. For a lifetime of enjoyment and utility, learn how to build a wine rack with the right wood. That way, you won't have to worry about replacing your wine rack someday, and you'll know your expensive collection is housed in the best wine rack available.
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VigilantInc.com Tip: How Are Refrigerated Wine Cabinets Different than Refrigerators?
The main reason to store wine in a wine storage cabinet is to keep it at a consistent temperature near 55 degrees. Seems simple enough, right? Just get a cheap mini-fridge and use a thermometer to set the temperature. Unfortunately, these kinds of refrigerators also dehumidify. Humidity levels for wine need to be kept at 60-65% relative humidity to ensure the cork does not dehydrate and deteriorate. Although vegetable drawers often provide a higher humidity than the rest of the refrigerator, they are not consistent enough to depend on, or big enough to store more than a few bottles of wine.
Special refrigerated wine cabinets, more than your average mini-fridge, regulate humidity as well as temperature, which make them a good investment. If you are buying wine for the sake of drinking wine, and not as part of a collection, refrigerated wine cabinets offer a smaller-scale solution to installing a wine cellar in your home. No matter what wine varieties you purchase or experiment with in wine making, you can be sure that your refrigerated wine cabinets will keep every bottle in prime condition during wine storage until you want to enjoy it.
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Grappa
Grappa is made from distilling pomace (grape skins) left over from the wine-making process. Distillers ferment the skins and produce a strong clear drink that can be enjoyed as a digestif, or added to coffee for an extra kick-start in the morning.
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Wine Varieties
A varietal is simply a single type of grape used in wine production. A "varietal wine" is made predominantly from one type (or varietal) of grape. Examples of varietals include Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Syrah. A varietal wine must contain at least 90% of its wine from a single variety of grape. The other 10% may come from blending in other varietals, a practice commonly employed by wineries to produce unique flavors in their wines. This other 10% may also result from a vineyard whose vines containing a few "stray" varietals, which, unless expressly detected, may go unknown for years.
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Wine Storage Racks
Wine storage racks are an affordable way to build a top-notch cellar yourself, especially since they come in kits. In fact, they are so simple to put together, most handy homeowners do it themselves rather than calling in a contractor. Remember, if you are not into constructing and carpentry, this may be over your head!
The wine storage racks are all pre-drilled and come with all the hardware you need. All you need is a few common household tools and you'll be storing wine in no time! The wine storage racks also come with complete, detailed instructions, and design professionals are available to help if you have any questions about the installation.
Wine storage rack kits are a great way to add value to your home while you store your growing wine collection.
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Wine Cellars for the Small Space
If you don't have enough room for a wine cellar, you can still create a small storage area in many areas of your home. How about sectioning off a corner of your garage? Do you have a closet you aren't using? Under the stairs can be a perfect spot. How about an extra bathroom you don't use any more? If you look around your house you many find a nook or cranny that can be converted into wine storage. Small home wine cellars are popular too, and you can add a wine cellar rack to maximize your space.
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Maintain Good Air Quality In Your Wine Room
Another essential component of properly maintaining your wine room is good air quality. Wine breathes and can incorporate unpleasant smells and debris into the wine through the cork. This can contaminate the bottle and cause the overall flavor to become harsh, sour or generally unpleasant. A clean wine room environment is important to the health of your wine collection. Make sure the wine room is properly ventilated and cleaned regularly to rid the area of dust, dirt and other unwanted irritants.
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Humidity
Humidity is important, since it keeps your cork from rotting and destroying the wine, but too much can be a bad thing for labels. An average wine storage cabinet should have a humidity level between 60% and 75%. If you have a very dry climate or your house is heated and cooled by central air, it might be a good idea to place a saucer of water in your wine storage area. The water with put a little humidity in the air and should be a great help in preserving the wine. The other problem with humidity, though, is that too much can ruin wine labels. If the humidity runs in excess of 80%, mold could start growing on wine labels and your identification of the wine, as well as the value, is lost. One good suggestion for preventing mold growth is to wrap your long-term bottles in saran wrap. This effectively keeps out most mold and doesn't have any unpleasant odors, such as shellacking or applying hair spray as a sealant would cause.
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Location
When looking for a place to store your wine, keep in mind the temperatures, not only in your house but outside as well. Wine does not do well stored in the attic unless the attic is finished (insulation, heating and air conditioning, etc.). The same goes for storing wine outside in an unfinished storage building; temperatures can fluctuate wildly and this will only harm your wine. Good locations for building a wine cellar include under your stairs, if you have them, or within an insulated cabinet in the house. Root cellars and underground cisterns work as well as long as you have monitored the temperature in the room and found that it does not fluctuate too wildly and that it stays around a comfortable 55 - 58 degrees year round.
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