wine storage

Rob, I have a friend that put a wall with glass doors in the end of his dining room - effectively creating a "closet" that was then very well insulated and cooled by a whisperkool unit (http://whisperkool.com/). He is in Louisiana and does not have any issues keeping the room cool. I think his storage capacity is about 1000-1200 bottles.

If one does not have a basement, this seems to be a great solution and makes for a dramatic view when dining.

 

I have a 2,000 bottle cellar and for long term collector use -- consistency is key. It doesn't matter if its 55 or even 60 degrees; the goal is to keep it consistent. More than 2 degrees over a 1 year period would be less than ideal IMO.

 

Frefan,

Thanks for the information. Can you share how you store 2000 bottles and have the temperature stay within 2 degrees a year? Are you referring to ambient air temperature or actual temperature of the wine? Is it active or passive? I am curious if you have any suggestions for us.

We went to some extremes to get our temperature stable (lots of insulation, massive concrete heat/cool sink, etc.). The ambient air temperature is between 52 and 57 over 90% of the time, but can get warmer or cooler when the weather is extreme. However, the actual temperature of the wine lags the ambient temperature and the change is very slow, which I think is important.

Also, how to you control humidity? We shoot for 70% and can keep it in the 65% - 75% range.

Any advice is appreciated!

 

57 red.

45 white/rose

...that right, I like rose.

 

Noel. Good rose is tough to beat in summer heat. I am on my 3rd case of Dom. Fontanyl 2011... a Cotes de Provence that sells for about $ 13. dee-lish and refreshing. A dry rose like this makes a great aperitif, and goes as a food wine with many summer dishes.

 

totally agree. For some reason rose' has a bad name in the USA, no so elsewhere (I know it's because of cheap box wine in the 80's).

 

I've seen this in in the uk press a couple of times in the past few months.

Pricey solution but defiantly has the wow factor especially the glass trap door.

http://www.thekitchn.com/trapdoor-in-the-kitchen-floor-74465

Also found this when I was googling it. Which has more detailed info.

http://elitechoice.org/2009/01/22/spiral-wine-cellars-through-the-30000-trapdoor-in-your-kitchen/

 

Thanks for the feedback Frefan. I appreciate your guidance and input.