Feb 10 2011
Qualities that a Good Wine Cellar Should Have
A wine storage facility normally built underground for storing wines in bottles and barrels is called a wine cellar. Some environmental factors have to be put into consideration to ensure that any wine stored in a wine cellar maintains its freshness even after many years of storage. This means that the temperature and humidity of the cellar have to be regulated at levels that will not affect the quality of the wine. Wine cellars built above the ground are known as wine rooms while those that have capacity for 500 or fewer bottles are known as wine closets. One of the biggest reasons for building a wine cellar is protecting wine from harsh environmental factors such as heat and light. Wine is a perishable food product that should be protected from fluctuating temperatures, heat and light as well as vibrations and light. Wines that are stored in wine cellars maintain their freshness over a period of time and even become better in complexity, flavor and its aroma.
A good wine cellar should have the required qualities to maintain or improve the quality of wine. 5-18 °C is the right temperature in a good wine cellar with variations also should be avoided. If the temperatures changes, it should change by less than 10 °C or less. This temperature level was arrived at because caves in France where wines used to be kept ranged around that temperature. When the temperature of a wine cellar is too high, the wine will mature faster than it should and therefore miss out on some steps that give it the qualities of a well matured wine. If a wine has matured too fast, it will taste like vinegar as opposed to regular wines that have a sweet and savory taste.
Wine cellars are either cooled actively or passively. When using active cooling systems in a wine cellar, proper insulation should be done by a professional. These cooling systems need to be installed in order to ensure that the humidity and temperature of a wine cellar are monitored. Unless the weather is too hot, most people do not use the active cooling systems for their wine cellars. Passively cooled wine cellars are located in areas that are naturally cool and have very few seasonal changes. Passive cooling systems do not require any energy to operate and are normally in the basement of a house. Although they are sometimes unreliable, they are cheaper to maintain.
