All You Need to Know About Wine Cellars
Throughout time and history, wines were used for many purposes, from being used in ancient religious ceremonies from many cultures and regions to being used as a flavor agent. And most commonly, it is used as an important beverage that accompanies and enhances a wide range of European and Mediterranean-style cuisines.
However, though a wine's quality can improve and be enhanced as it ages, it can also rapidly deteriorate if kept in inadequate conditions. Therefore it is vital to store wine correctly in order to maximize its life, flavor, and palatability; thus, reaching its fullest potential.
Historically, wine merchants used to handle the storage of wine since the mid-20th century and an increasing number of consumers have been using home-based wine cellars as their way to store their wine.
Wine cellar is a place, which could either be a room or, in some cases, an underground basement, designed specifically to store and protect all types of wines. It is the most ideal way to store all types of wines as it can not only provide you the benefit of a tidy and safe storage facility with an elegant and stylish design, but it can also enable you to enjoy wine at the perfect temperature and with the perfect taste and flavor. Wines, when properly stored, can not only maintain their quality but improve aroma, flavor, and complexity as they age.
Designed to protect the wine, a good wine cellar can guard against the three customary enemies that have the most direct impact on a wine's condition: strong direct light, dry humidity and excessive temperatures. Additionally, it can also provide protection against any dramatic fluctuations in temperature or humidity, which can cause damage to the wine very quickly. Low humidity can dry corks out over time, allowing oxygen to enter the bottle and reduce the wine's quality or possibly cause the wine to spoil. That's why some degree of humidity is required in order to keep wines with cork enclosures from drying out. On the other hand, excessive humidity can also pose the risk of damaging wine labels, which may hinder identification or hurt potential resale value.
Wine is also very susceptible to changes in temperature. Exposure to too high a temperature that is in excess of 77 °F (25 °C) for long periods of time may cause wines to become spoilt or "cooked", developing off flavors that taste raisiny or stewed. On the other hand, if exposed to temperatures that are too cold, the wine can freeze and expand, causing the cork to be pushed out and allowing more oxygen to be exposed to the wine. Dramatic temperature swings such as those caused by repeated transfer of wines from a warm room to a cool refrigerator can also cause adverse chemical reactions in the wine that may lead to a variety of wine faults. Most wine experts recommend that wine be kept at constant temperatures between 50 and 59 °F (10 and 15 °C). An alternative to wine cellars is a wine refrigerator.
These days, wine cellars vary in size, cost, and effectiveness. In recent years, there are a number of affordable options that have appeared on the market, allowing even those casual consumers of wine the ability to store their wine at the convenience of their home.
Generally, wine cellars are of are two main types: passive cellars and active cellars.
Active wine cellars are highly insulated and make use of insulation, monitoring and cooling systems, artificial humidifiers, and seals. They need to be properly constructed and require specialized conditioning and cooling systems or climate control system in order to maintain the desired temperature and humidity. Though constructing these cellars can be very costly, depending on their size, it is a more ideal form of protection for valuable wines.
In contrast, passive wine cellars are not climate-controlled, and so are required to be carefully located in naturally cool and damp areas with minor seasonal and daily temperature variations. This means that these types of cellars are, for example, built underground or found in a basement with a temperate climate to reduce fluctuations in temperature.
However, though a wine's quality can improve and be enhanced as it ages, it can also rapidly deteriorate if kept in inadequate conditions. Therefore it is vital to store wine correctly in order to maximize its life, flavor, and palatability; thus, reaching its fullest potential.
Historically, wine merchants used to handle the storage of wine since the mid-20th century and an increasing number of consumers have been using home-based wine cellars as their way to store their wine.
Wine cellar is a place, which could either be a room or, in some cases, an underground basement, designed specifically to store and protect all types of wines. It is the most ideal way to store all types of wines as it can not only provide you the benefit of a tidy and safe storage facility with an elegant and stylish design, but it can also enable you to enjoy wine at the perfect temperature and with the perfect taste and flavor. Wines, when properly stored, can not only maintain their quality but improve aroma, flavor, and complexity as they age.
Designed to protect the wine, a good wine cellar can guard against the three customary enemies that have the most direct impact on a wine's condition: strong direct light, dry humidity and excessive temperatures. Additionally, it can also provide protection against any dramatic fluctuations in temperature or humidity, which can cause damage to the wine very quickly. Low humidity can dry corks out over time, allowing oxygen to enter the bottle and reduce the wine's quality or possibly cause the wine to spoil. That's why some degree of humidity is required in order to keep wines with cork enclosures from drying out. On the other hand, excessive humidity can also pose the risk of damaging wine labels, which may hinder identification or hurt potential resale value.
Wine is also very susceptible to changes in temperature. Exposure to too high a temperature that is in excess of 77 °F (25 °C) for long periods of time may cause wines to become spoilt or "cooked", developing off flavors that taste raisiny or stewed. On the other hand, if exposed to temperatures that are too cold, the wine can freeze and expand, causing the cork to be pushed out and allowing more oxygen to be exposed to the wine. Dramatic temperature swings such as those caused by repeated transfer of wines from a warm room to a cool refrigerator can also cause adverse chemical reactions in the wine that may lead to a variety of wine faults. Most wine experts recommend that wine be kept at constant temperatures between 50 and 59 °F (10 and 15 °C). An alternative to wine cellars is a wine refrigerator.
These days, wine cellars vary in size, cost, and effectiveness. In recent years, there are a number of affordable options that have appeared on the market, allowing even those casual consumers of wine the ability to store their wine at the convenience of their home.
Generally, wine cellars are of are two main types: passive cellars and active cellars.
Active wine cellars are highly insulated and make use of insulation, monitoring and cooling systems, artificial humidifiers, and seals. They need to be properly constructed and require specialized conditioning and cooling systems or climate control system in order to maintain the desired temperature and humidity. Though constructing these cellars can be very costly, depending on their size, it is a more ideal form of protection for valuable wines.
In contrast, passive wine cellars are not climate-controlled, and so are required to be carefully located in naturally cool and damp areas with minor seasonal and daily temperature variations. This means that these types of cellars are, for example, built underground or found in a basement with a temperate climate to reduce fluctuations in temperature.
Source...