Let's See Your Wine Cellars!

The best place is old cellars as they can still be found in old houses in the countryside, that is: an arched stone-masonry cellar, if possible with a ground in hard-packed surface (earth or clay) and a double aeration coming from two basement windows.

This guarantees everything that wines need for aging well:
-no vibration (street / roads near a cellar are VERY bad…);
-almost no light (except when you turn the electricity on, of course, but don’t visit your wine often);
-a naturally constant temperature of 10 to 11° centigrade, same day or night, same in each season;
-some humidity (the exact degree of humidity is not very important, but about 60% is right, if you got more this is not really a problem; if it is very dry, it is a problem)

Then leave the wine here, aging by itself; I mean, leave it alone and quiet, don’t go there very often; and have a “cellar book” listing your wines by “ aging time bracket” for being at their optimum, and remember to drink any bottle for which it’s the end of the aging time bracket is nearing. That’s all.

If you don’t have such a cellar in your house, try your best to duplicate the characteristics they naturally have, which provides ideal to wine: no vibrations; no light; some air circulation (not much, but some) constant temperature of 10-11°; humidity “about 60%”; and leave the wine aging by himself, don’t visit it too often…

Rgds

 

The next step was to get all of the led lighting wired up and working

We set a few bottles in place to test the lighting on the shelving
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After the lighting was completed the horizontal wine racks are installed and even though it's not ready, a few bottles set to get a feel for the room.

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Here is a photo from the entry hallway as you're about to come into the main room

 

The next step was obviously to get the floor completed. Here is the wood that will be laid.

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Here is the completed floor.
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Another view from the hallway leading in
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What a great thread!

 

The next step was to get the oak top made and fit on the back wall.

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The last big step was to get the wood door with glass upper insert made and installed.

This photo is from the inside looking toward the hallway outside the cellar.

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Finally with the floor installed and the wood top in we could clean up the room, bring the better wines in and start organizing.

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That looks awesome! Nice work!

 

Great cellar.
Would love to see photos of bottles of your favourite wines that grace it .

 

Bob

Here are a few of my favorite wines to enjoy. None of these are over the top or overhyped wines they're all wines we've found while looking for what we really like. All listed are very reasonable buys and come with a great recommendation.

Musella Amarone Riserva
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Aalto PS
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Palmera. L'ANGELET D'OR
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Il Poggione Brunnelo di Montalcino
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And for a very neat treat at a ridiculous price get a bottle of this Flagtree Malbec next time you're going to grill up a Steak!!
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Like I said, these are the wines we will enjoy on a regular basis. Id rather tell you about those over the ones we'd pull out for special occasions and may or may not enjoy but you want to because of what you paid for them....

 

Nice to see you buy and enjoy some different wines-I've got a small collection of Bordeaux wines (approx 100 bottles) .I store mine in temperature and humidity controlled wine fridges ,would love to get round to creating a proper cellar so I could increase the numbers.
Some of my favourites below :0)
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Good selection there Bob! I've read great things about the Château Lafite-Rothschild. I have not had it yet but have a case of 2013 reserved and am looking forward to seeing how it progresses over time.

 

I would not open a bottle before 2025, at least...

Rgds

 

The plan is 2023 then every 5 years

 

Thank you nerofer. You were very explanatory.

I really appreciate it.

Kind regards

 

With six bottles, my own plan would be 2025 (first one will then be twelve years old) then one every two or three years. As all first growths, Lafite-Rotschild has an exceptional potential for long-aging, but there is always a slight risk that, after 25 years or so, it fades somewhat.
You might get a divine surprise with a bottle that has aged well, but this could not be 100% guaranteed...in fact, the old saying was that with any great wine, you always need to buy three cases: one for drinking the wine, one for long term aging; one to be sold at "some later date" to pay the three new ones...

Rgds

 

I may just give that a try then. I only went with 1 case for 13 because I read that it may have been a rough year. I'll look at a couple from 14 as well.

 

2013 is a weird year for the Bordeaux; nobody knows actually how the wine from this vintage will evolve; some of the good/great wineries even decided not to produce any.

This been said, there is an old saying which says: "it is always better to have a great wine in an average vintage, than an average wine in a great vintage".
As for 2014, it is too early to tell.

Recent exceptionnal years for Bordeaux were 2000; 2005; 2009; and 2010.

Regarding Lafite-Rotschild, we speak of an exceptional wine, so even in a "not-so-good" year, it still should be memorable...

Rgds

 

A stark contrast indeed: the cellar of the family house, with
- (1) the staircase to the basement where the cellar is,
and (2) the “crus classés” corner
Quality of the pics is very poor as these were made with a cellphone and the flash distorts the pics (it’s dark in that cellar&#8230

Note that the water pipes are apparent on the walls, because…running water was not fitted to the house as build in 1774: there is a well in a special room to the right of the stairs, at the end of the cellar, where water was collected (and can still be collected today).

That cellar is very dark, has a hard-packed ground of clay/earth, an arched stone roof, three aerations to have just a slight flow of air…
Giving ideal conditions for leaving the wine age by itself: constant temperature and humidity, no light, no vibration, slight flow of air. It has been doing its job admirably all by itself for 240 years, and long may it continue to do so.
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Your house is older than my country.

 

Yes, if you consider that your country did not exist as such before 1776...
By the way, this family house was liberated by men from your country, exactly 70 years ago this November. A small company from about ten american soldiers used the house as headquarters of some sort for two weeks. The soldier doing the translations was from Houston, Texas. My family and him used to exchange letters around X-mas for a very long time.

Rgds

 

Some wines from my small collection:
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I know nothing about wine. Why does the humidity matter to a sealed bottle? I can see the temp being an issue so please school me.

 

Cork

 

A rather terse answer, but true: cork is porous when dry; when it is, this allows too much air exchange with the wine, leading to incorrect aging, and sometimes too much evaporation through the cork.
A tiny evaporation during a long period of time is accepted as part of the maturing process; this was sometimes called "la part des anges" in old french, or the "Angel's Share". When buying a very old bottle, the level of wine in the bottle should be checked to see if evaporation through the cork was not too great.
Humidity of a good cellar should be about what you would like to have for maturing havana cigars: 65 to 70%; more is not a problem for wine; less is.

Rgds

 

I would not wait any longer on the 59. The 23 is very nostalgic but i'm betting it is maderized. I had a 29 a few years ago and it was falling apart. The 66 is ready .