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How to Build a Wine Cellar Tips
Oh, the Humidity...
Humidity plays an important role in a good wine cellar. Corks are most affected by the humidity. A dry cork allows oxygen to seem into the bottle and age the wine or change its flavor. Keep your wine cellar’s humidity level at 70-75% to prevent corks drying out. In drier climates, such as the American Southwest, keep bowls of water in the cellar to help humidify the air. In other parts of the country where humidity is prevalent, remove excess humidity in your cellar by running fans. In either case, invest in a humidity gauge to keep in your cellar...and check it regularly.
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VigilantInc.com Tip: Wine Cellar Options
What conditions are best for your wines to mature properly? Mainly, factors such as temperature, lighting, and humidity are key. Once your collection of wines is large enough, you’ll need to build your own wine cellar to maintain these conditions in a consistent manner. There are two basic directions for how to build a wine cellar: have one custom made, or make one yourself. If you have the budget, a custom wine cellar that is tailor-made to your needs is the best option, as professionals are able to anticipate your collections’ specific needs. Creating your own cellar can save some money, but will require more hands-on attention. You’ll work with professionals to put together modular racks and storage systems that will suit your available space and monetary restraints.
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Wine Cellar Construction Specifications
There are certain things you need to incorporate in your home design when you decide to undertake wine cellar construction.
For example, your framing walls must be 2" x 6" @ 16" on center, and your framing ceiling must be 2" x 8" @ 16" on center.
You should install a vapor barrier on the warm side of walls and ceilings, and your insulation should be a minimum of R-19 in the walls and R-30 in the ceilings. A vapor barrier is designed to keep moist air inside the wine cellar while preventing condensation from developing on the exterior of the wine cellar. 6 mil polyethylene must be applied on between the outside of the wall and the insulation. Check your local building codes.
You should use special sheathing on the walls, too. Your finished wall materials should consist of: ½" moisture resistant green board. Green board is a moisture resistant form of gypsum board and is specifically designed for high moisture environments. If this seems overwhelming, don't worry - the right contractor or architect will know what to do.
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VigilantInc.com Tip: Collections That Look as Good as They Taste
While proper storage of your wines is the main purpose of your wine cellar, it doesn’t have to be the only focus. The plan to build a wine cellar, whether it’s custom designed or built from a wine cellar kit, should take into account a pleasing view of your collection in its layout. Depending on your personal taste, you may decide to have the focal point of your cellar (i.e., the center of visual attention) be your stemware collection, a vintage bottle (or bottles) of wine, or even the full wine racks themselves.
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Design Your Own Custom Wine Center With Ease
You shouldn't have to be an architect to design your own custom wine cellar! Ideally, all you need to do is provide the dimensions you have to work with, how many bottles you'd like to store, and what you'd like your custom wine cellar to accomplish. Do you want to simply store wine? Or would you like your custom wine cellar to provide another entertainment area, or a focal point for your home? You should be able to count on your design team to come up with a creative and workable plan that fits your needs once you provide these details. A competent and experienced design team, like the team at Vigilant, can make your custom wine cellar turn from dream into reality quickly and easily.
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VigilantInc.com Tip: 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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Build a Wine Cellar the Right Way
When you build a wine cellar, aesthetics are certainly an important part of the design. However, the ideal conditions to store wine are also of primary concern. Your cellar should keep wine at approximately 55 to 65 degrees, with humidity of about 55 to 65 percent. When you build a wine cellar, your primary concern is to keep your wine at these optimum conditions for long life, the right aging, and stellar storage of your wine investment. So, you should always consult with professionals who know wine and wine cellars. Your architect, builder, and designers should understand the nuances of fine wine. If they don't consult design professionals to help you build your wine cellar the right way.
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VigilantInc.com Tip: Protecting Your Cellar
Wine cellar construction must follow certain guidelines to ensure the protection of your wine collection. Regardless of where your cellar is located, much of the wine cellar construction will take insulation, framing, sheathing, and other types of barriers into account. For example, a thin layer of polyethelene will most likely be used on the warm sides of walls and ceilings as a vapor barrier. Even the types of paints or stains you select for your wine cellar should be both moisture and mildew resistant.
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What to Consider When You Build a Wine Cellar
Lighting, flooring, and construction are all things you need to consider when you build a wine cellar. So are vibrations and odors.
If you place your cellar near a laundry room or air conditioner unit, the vibrations from those appliances could be enough to shake your wine racks and stir up sediments.
Since most wine bottles are still sealed with cork, and cork breathes, if there are odors around your wine cellar, the wine can absorb them through the cork. So, before you decide on the final placement for your cellar, do some homework and your wine cellar construction will be stress free!
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VigilantInc.com Tip: Closet Cellars
Wine cellars don't have to be free standing cabinets or cumbersome refrigerators blocking up your kitchen space. A fun, crafty way of handling your wine storage is to build wine rack cabinets right into an existing closet. First thing's first, it's a good idea to consult experts on what you're planning to do. Wine cellar installation experts are available, such as those at VigilantInc.com, but you can also call on a local contractor.
After ascertaining the dimensions of the to-be-renovated closet, decide on what sort of racking you would like to use: diamond bins, rectangular bins, square bins or simply shelves for case storage. Wine rack cabinets come in mahogany and can be built to fit perfectly in your closet space. You will also need to purchase a climate control/humidity control unit that will keep your closet dimensions between 55 and 58 degrees with 60 percent to 65 percent humidity (maximum). Also, make sure your closet is insulated and free of permeable surfaces, such as raw wood or un-insulated drywall. Your floor, walls and ceiling all need to be well insulated so the climate control system can properly handle the space without costing you an arm and a leg. After your closet space is properly insulated, be sure to follow your building plans exactly. It's much easier to install your wine storage closet correctly the first time than it is to repair a costly mistake later on.
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Wine Cellar Construction -- Lighting
Did you know that improper lighting can damage the fine wines in your collection?
Too much light can actually cause heat and can damage the environment you've worked so hard to create in your cellar. So, when planning your wine cellar construction, pay close attention to the lighting. You want enough light to be able to read labels. You don't want so much light that it can damage your wines.
If you want enough light to use the room for entertaining, be careful that you don't use so much that it creates heat, especially near the racks. Track lighting, recessed lighting, and sconces all work well in the right situations.
Check with a design professional before you begin your wine cellar construction to choose the lighting that's right for you and your cellar.
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Wine Cellar Doors are Important in the Design
Wine cellar doors are the first thing your guests will see when they visit your cellar. Since so many cellars are located in the living space now, they are also an important part of the overall room design. Now, you can create a custom wine cellar door that fits your personality and still protects your extensive wine cellar investment. Whether you choose solid wood, mirrored, etched, or French doors with a side-light, your wine cellar doors make a personal statement about your taste and your commitment to your collection. Choose the right door and set the mood for your entire room design.
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Wine Cellar Doors go High-Tech!
Just as wine cellar design has gotten bolder and much more creative, wine cellar doors are now an important part of the design and building process. These fully-insulated doors can be wood, glass, etched, or a combination of designs and elements. They show off your wine collection to guests, rather than hiding it behind a plain, boring entry. They are also double-insulated and weather-stripped just like entry doors to make sure your wine cellar stays insulated and secure. Created from beautiful mahogany they enhance the design and look of any wine cellar, and with their high-tech engineering, they'll last as long as the rest of your high-quality cellar.
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Wine Cellar Doors are Important!
Wine cellar doors are important because they are the first glimpse a visitor has of your cellar, but also because they can be the source of the biggest cooling loss in your design if you aren't careful. If you use glass doors and/or sidelights, the glass needs to be insulated. The glass should also be tempered, which will prevent shattering. The style of the wine cellar doors should match the interior of the cellar, but the materials for the doors are just as important as what's inside. The right wine cellar doors will add beauty and function your wine cellar.
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Wine Cellar Designs for the Design Challenged
If interior design isn't your strong point, don't worry. You can be design challenged and still end up with a beautiful and functional wine cellar. Just talk with the professional design team! They can take your ideas and make them real. They can also give you ideas on what your cellar will cost and how to incorporate it into your present home or new home construction.
They know the right materials, the right size, and everything else you ever wanted to know about wine cellar designs. So, don't panic! Call the professionals and discover the design process that's so easy, you'll never feel design challenged again!
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The Modular Custom Wine Rack
When you order a custom wine rack system, make sure the components are modular. That is, they work together or separately, so you can add on other pieces as your cellar grows. If your components are all separate, you may find that when you need to add another, you can't find just the right size, wood, or stain match. If that happens your wine cellar won't look as pulled together as it could. Many companies will build a custom wine rack, but watch for quality in the construction, the right woods that will stand up to wear, and fine details, such as moldings, over-sized bottle storage, and extra stabilization to hold heavy weights. Your custom wine rack should stand up to years of use if you choose wisely.
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Prefabricated Home Wine Cellars
You may think one way to add value to your home is to build in a prefabricated home wine cellar. However, these cellars can create headaches for the homeowner. These prefabricated kits come with walls and shelving, but often, the materials are made up of inferior woods like pine, which are flimsy and can eventually rot.
In addition, the homeowner has to install them on their own, or hire someone to do it. The kits are usually not customizable either, so they may not fit your needs and your collection exactly. To make sure you create the perfect home wine cellar, avoid those prefabricated cellars. Custom home wine cellars are the way to go for the discerning collector and connoisseur.
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Wine Cellar Designs Incorporate Creativity
In today's homes, wine cellars are a necessity for many people. Because of that, wine cellar designs incorporate function and creativity. Some cellars are small enough to hold five hundred or so bottles, while others can hold thousands. The scope is really up to you.
Wine cellars are also part of the family home, rather than hidden away in the cellar or the basement. They incorporate beautiful shelving, lighting, serving areas, and even wine accessories like stemware racks, arches, architectural trims and moldings, and storage bins. Wine cellar designs have come out of the closet, and they are getting more creative and functional all the time!
