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Storing wines at home  

For some fortunate readers with genuine underground cellars this fantasy might be a reality. But cellars like these are as rare as hen’s teeth in modern homes. While professional storage is one option for the majority who lack proper cellars, it’s an unsatisfying option for those of us who want to have their wines to hand – either because planning ahead to the degree that professional storage requires is an unwanted hassle, or because we just enjoy ogling and fondling our precious bottles.

How should wine be stored? Temperature is probably the most important factor. Wine ageing involves a complex series of chemical reactions, and these take place faster at higher temperatures. The problem is, not only do these reactions speed up as the mercury rises, but their nature also changes. So while a wine kept at a steady 20 °C will mature faster, it is likely to be less interesting and complex than one kept at the conventional cellar temperature of 11–12 °C. Still higher temperatures will cook wine, completely ruining it. With a paucity of decent scientific data it’s hard to be precise, but keeping a wine above 25 °C for a few months will inevitably kill it, as will shorter exposures to temperatures above 30 °C. At the other end of the scale, temperatures below 10 °C aren’t going do damage wine, but they will slow down its maturation. But go down too far and there’s a risk that the wine will freeze. Not recommended.

Fluctuation in temperature is also undesirable, because it increases the risk of oxygen getting to the wine. As the temperature changes, the liquid in the bottle expands and contracts, and if the cork isn’t forming a perfect seal there’s a danger that small amounts of air will enter. Wine ageing is a reductive process that takes place in the absence of oxygen, and if any air does get past the cork, this will rapidly prove fatal to the liquid inside. It follows that  older wines, with their less elastic corks, are far more susceptible to temperature variation than younger ones.

The relatively benign British climate means that short-term passive home storage—in an insulated cupboard, or a north-facing room with the radiators turned off, for example—is a possibility. But this isn’t to be recommended for expensive wines—if you ever want to re-sell, provenance (where the wine has been and how it has been stored) is critical, and auction houses aren’t likely to be interested in wines stored at passive temperature—those you’re intending to keep for more than a few years. 

Dedicated wine storage cabinets
If you want to keep your first growths in pristine condition, it’s going to cost. The cheapest option is to buy a standalone wine cabinet. Although the manufacturers get upset when people say this, think of these as redesigned fridges, designed to run at higher temperatures and altered to maintain an ideal relative humidity of around 70%. The compressor unit is also tweaked to minimize vibration. The market leader is Eurocave, who make a range of dedicated wine cabinets. According to Eurocave, the average sale is a cabinet configured for 210 Bordeaux bottles at a delivered price of £1400. Last year he sold some 900 units, mainly to private customers. The entry-level Eurocave fits around 40 bottles for £780. The cabinets come with a variety of custom options, and can be configured to fit different sized bottles. Eurocave cabinets contain heating elements as well as a cooling unit, and can cope with an ambient operating temperature in the range –5 ° C to +35 ºC—ideal for garages as well as in the home. 

Eurocave’s main competitor in the UK is Transtherm. Interestingly, both outfits are owned by the same French company, Groupe EuroCave SA. Transtherm units offer equivalent features to those of Eurocave, but differ in appearance and are distributed through separate channels. Vin Garde, one of the two UK distributors, sells 600–700 of these a year. Again, most of these sales are to private customers. And the prices? To give you an idea, a medium sized unit taking 144 bottles retails for £1266, and a large cabinet with a 184 bottle capacity is £1499.

The advantage of the Eurocave and Transtherm cabinets is that they are designed with wine storage in mind. Consequently, they’re deep enough for the bottles to overlap neatly at the neck. Other units derived from standard sized fridges are more affordable, but suffer from less efficient storage and tricky retrieval of bottles. Vin Garde also distributes the Vintec cabinets, based on the standard size kitchen unit, with a 60 x 60 cm base. The 90 bottle size will set you back £799, with six height adjustable storage shelves. Because these units don’t have a heating element they can’t really be kept in a garage, but they’re good for the home. Other manufacturers producing similar wine storage cabinets are Miele, Liebherr and Norcool.

A newcomer to the UK market is Vinosafe, distributed by L’Amour du Vin.  They make a wide range of home storage devices, including the TVR range of conventional cabinets and the larger AVR/ATB units with built-in air conditioning. These units are finished in a rather striking (or alarming, depending on your taste) burgundy colour, and they are quite expensive, starting at £1130 for a TVR unit taking up to 150 bottles and going up to £4929 for a 1000 bottle, four-door ATB cabinet.

The key thing to bear in mind in buying one of these stand-alone wine cabinets is capacity. If you are a fairly motivated wine geek it won’t take you long to fill up a 200-bottle unit. Wise counsel seems to be to think how many bottles you are intending to store, and then double that number. One of the great attractions of these units is that they are simple to install (you just plug them in) and you can take them with you if you move. But if you require storage for thousands of bottles, then you probably wouldn’t want a bank of 10 Eurocaves lining your dining room wall. This is where the next option comes in.

The walk-in cellar
If you have the space, then you could always create your own walk-in cellar by using specialized air conditioning units. Eurocave have recently entered this market, selling two temperature control units designed for rooms up to 10 m³ and 20 m³ (priced at £1500 and £1800, respectively). A popular option is to partition off part of the garage, making an alcove. As a rough guide, an area 2.5 ´ 2 m will take 1600 bottles. For the less thirsty, 650 bottles will fit into a space 2 m ´ 1.5 m. These units were only introduced last year, and so far 30 have been sold. Other similar specialized air conditioners on the market are the Norcool Coolmaster (£880 to £1300) and Fondis Winemaster (£950 to £1650), both of which are available from Spiral Cellars Ltd. Standard air conditioners aren’t designed to run at such low temperatures, and are unsuitable.

If you are planning to go down this route, then there are some important points to bear in mind. First, the cellar space needs to be thoroughly insulated, or the conditioning unit will be running all the time. That could be expensive. Second, creating different temperature compartments can cause condensation, so the cellar will have to be properly designed with a suitable vapour barrier. Richard Gold’s awkwardly titled How and why to build a wine cellar (ISBN: 0932 66454 7) is widely regarded as the classic reference book on this subject. Perfect for wine-loving DIY nuts. Other help is available by canvassing the opinions of wine nuts about their experiences on discussion fora such as the Wine Lover's Discussion Group (www.wldg.com).

Spiral Cellars
The final option is possibly the most ingenious, and comes in the form of the spiral cellar. This is a solid concrete cylinder, sunk into the ground and with access through a trapdoor. There is a spiral staircase for access and the bottles are recessed into bins surrounding the stairs. Since 1978 10 000 of these units have been installed in French homes. 2 m wide, the cellar comes in depths of 2, 2.25, 2.5 and 3 m depths, taking up to 1600 bottles. Although you could have one recessed into the floor of your living room, a common option is to have them in garages or conservatories. A range of sizes are available, and the most popular choice is a 2 m deep cellar taking 1000 bottles, at a fully installed price of £7049 + VAT. Last year some 150 of these cellars were installed in UK homes. Of course, you can’t take these with you when you go, so you have to be settled in your current location to make this a sensible prospect.

 

Making a Wine Cellar

There are whole books written on the construction of an ideal wine cellar, so it is clearly a process which many people take very seriously. When selecting a location in the home for a wine cellar, which in many cases is above ground and not a true cellar at all, temperature control is the main concern (read more on the importance of temperature in my feature ideal wine cellar). Before commencing it is wise to purchase a thermometer which records maximum and minimum temperatures, such as the one shown on the right. This is the most essential piece of equipment for any cellar.

Those who have the luxury of several rooms to themselves may wish to devote one entirely to the storage of wine. Turning off the radiator and drawing the curtains are excellent first steps towards achieving a cool, stable temperature. In all locations a container of water will help to maintain a slightly improved level of humidity. For those who demand perfect, long-term storage, a dedicated, insulated, humidity and temperature controlled air-conditioned room is the ideal. This is especially important in warmer climes, where summer temperatures may be baking hot, but in the UK and other temperate regions this is not at all essential.

Location

For most people, however, the search for a location for a wine cellar usually involves otherwise little used areas and cubby-holes, as well as the attic, sheds and other outbuildings. I strongly advise against the temptation to store wine in the attic. Just a short period of monitoring reveals that attic temperatures fluctuate wildly, reaching sweltering levels at times. Outbuildings, such as sheds, garages and old outside toilets are always tempting locations, but these should be approached with caution. Here the risk is freezing, as temperatures may drop extremely low during the winter months. There are also security issues with storing your wine in what is a traditional target for the burglar or opportunist thief.

The best option for many is the under-stairs cupboard, and in older houses the larder area. For those in flats with no such facility the insulation of a freestanding cupboard or wardrobe may be the best option, but in these conditions wine should be kept for only mid-term storage, perhaps five years or so. For bottles demanding more age than this other solutions must be sought.

Other such solutions include a temperature controlled wine cabinet, a piece of kit rather like a refrigerator, but operating at a temperature suitable for the storage of wine. Such units offer an excellent solution and guarantee piece of mind where wine storage is concerned, although you must always be sure to purchase one with a sufficient capacity for your needs; otherwise after a few years your next concern may be where to locate your second such cabinet. A similar option is to pay for professional storage of the wine. Many merchants will offer this service, although it is important to ensure that your wine is clearly labelled and kept separate from the merchants stock, in order to ensure it isn’t sold, and that it can be rescued in the event of the merchant's business folding. There are other businesses offering specialist facilities for wine storage, although these tend to be aimed at the wine trade itself and are consequently unfavourably priced for the wine drinker wishing to store just a few cases. The Wine Society, an excellent co-operative mail order society, also offer facilities for storage of wine, but unfortunately only for that wine bought through the society.

Temperature

These common-sense measures are the first and most significant steps to constructing a suitable area for wine storage, but are there any other methods we can use to encourage temperature stability? When considering methods of influencing the temperature within an above-ground wine cellar, it is worth considering the physics of how heat is transferred.  These are as follows; conduction (transfer of heat through materials in contact), convection (transfer of heat by movement of molecules), radiation (transfer of heat by electromagnetic radiation) and evaporation (which consumes latent heat, and is not of great concern when discussing wine cellars). Taking conduction first, this is transfer of heat from materials in contact with one another. Hence warmth from the air outside the cellar is transmitted to the wall, which warms up, and consequently the air within the cellar warms up also. 'Heat differential' has a significant effect on heat transfer into the cellar, ie. the warmer it is outside the cellar the quicker it will warm up inside. When choosing a location for an above-ground ‘cellar’, the heat differential can be reduced by locating the cellar somewhere that has an outside wall, where it will usually be cooler, especially if it is north facing. Insulating the walls and doors with materials, such as polystyrene, foam or pillows of loft insulation, will slow the transmission of heat into the cellar. Moving on, convection is the transfer of heat by mass movement of substances - in our case the movement of air through a draughty cellar. Blocking off gaps around the door will thus reduce heat transfer into the cellar. white will reduce heat absorbed from the outside, whereas painting the inside black will reduce the emission

Suitable insulation and draught-proofing reduces heat loss by conduction and convection, but what role do the other methods of heat transfer have to play? In the case of evaporation, very little, but manipulation of

Suitable insulation and draught-proofing reduces heat loss by conduction and convection, but what role do heat loss by preventing radiation can have a significant effect. The internal temperature of a room or building can be markedly influenced by changing the colour of the inside and outside surfaces. Black or dark surfaces

absorb heat, whereas white or light-coloured surfaces reflect heat. Painting the outside surface of a cellar of heat into the room. I know from personal experience that whitewashing the roof of a ‘cellar’, which was constructed of stone covered in bitumen, resulted in a reduction of the average internal temperature by 2ºC. That’s a big difference.

Humidity

Other than temperature, the only characteristic of a cellar that is of great concern is humidity. As mentioned above, low humidity is not a problem, as it is easily corrected by placing a container of water in the room, the aim being not to make the room damp, but rather to improve on the very dry air that occupies many centrally heated homes. Very high levels of humidity, however, can be a problem. In a very damp cellar, paper, cardboard and similar materials quickly moulder and rot away to nothing. If the wine is stored in cardboard boxes, which isn’t ideal, care should be taken when moving them. It’s very likely that the box will fall apart when moved, with the risk of subsequent breakage of the precious bottles within. This can be easily avoided, however, by storing the wine in wooden packing cases (which will still rot, but over a much longer time period) or preferably a wine rack constructed of some resistant material, such as pressure treated timber or galvanised steel.

A much more serious consequence of humidity, however, is it's effect on wine labels. As most of these are made of paper (some nowadays are plastic or plastic-coated, and are thus resistant to rot), they quickly moulder away, as with the bottle shown here on the left. Once a label is damaged in this way, there are two problems. First, and most importantly, the identity of the wine is lost. This makes opening it something of a lottery. Secondly, for those who have suitable bottles, the resale value is lost. The wine aftermarket greatly prefers bottles with pristine labels, and will pay a premium for such wine. Many wine writers recommend spraying the labels with hairspray, which supposedly forms a lacquer-like coating over the paper label, thus protecting it. I myself have a very humid cellar, and have never found this technique to be of any great success. It also introduces unwanted odours into the cellar. A quick wrap of clingfilm around the label, however, has in my experience always been effective, and is also odour-free. Of the two bottles shown here, the one on the right has been protected with clingfilm, and although not pristine (the film was applied after the wine had lain in the cellar for some time) it is easily identifiable. By contrast, the identical, unprotected bottle on the left is now a mystery wine.

Light & Vibration

The internal light is easily moderated. External windows, if any, should be covered to exclude light. Vibration is not a great concern.

 

The Ideal Wine Cellar

Developing a passion for wine inevitably results in the desire for a cellar of wine to be at your disposal. This may seem eminently impracticable, but I assure you that a wine cellar is not the sole reserve of the rich or titled. Anyone, whether living in a flat or a similarly cellarless modern semi-detached house can, with a little ingenuity, ‘cellar’ wine. By considering the essential characteristics of the ideal cellar it will become clear that these may be applied to any nook or cranny within the home. This feature goes on to examine the most important aspects of wine storage to consider, particularly temperature and humidity, before my next article which explains how to put some of this knowledge to practical use when making a wine cellar. Of course, another option to consider for those without the space, time or inclination to consider these most important aspects of wine storage is a temperature controlled wine unit.

Temperature

This is certainly the greatest concern when cellaring wine. Today's modern, centrally heated homes are not at all conducive to wine storage. Room temperature is usually in excess of a very comfortable 20ºC, great for humans but rapidly lethal when it comes to wine. The temperature inside the average home is also very variable, with most rooms warming rapidly during the day as the radiators switch on, cooling again at night as the heating is switched off. This is also true in the kitchen, where many people seem to store wine, at least in the short term. Here the ambient temperature varies significantly, reaching obscene levels when the Sunday roast is in the oven and there are pans bubbling away on the hob. This inconstancy of temperature is of as much concern as the temperature itself.

The ideal temperature is 10ºC to 13ºC, but several degrees either side of this is quite safe. In fact, provided the wines do not freeze, which does not occur until the temperature drops some way below 0ºC (the alcohol acts as an antifreeze), then it is quite safe for temperatures to drop lower than the ideal. The worst that may happen is that some non cold-stabilised wines may throw a small deposit of harmless tartrate crystals, which is of no real consequence. It is worth remembering, however, that one of the purposes of cellaring wine is so that it develops over time, gracefully maturing into something more complex and interesting than the wine in its youth. Lower temperatures inhibit this process, meaning you will have to wait even longer to enjoy the wines at their peak. A little above 13ºC is also quite safe, and I would be happy with wines stored medium term in temperatures up to about 15ºC. This will not spoil the wines at all, but as you may expect warmer temperatures may accelerate the ageing process.

Accelerating the maturation of the wine may seem desirable, as you will be drinking the wines at their peak sooner than you would otherwise be able to. I’m sure, however, that wines aged more slowly, at 10ºC to 13ºC, have greater complexity. I don’t advise trying to accelerate the ageing process with slightly warmer temperatures. With even higher temperatures, up to 18ºC, many wines will still survive, although I do not recommend such temperatures for even medium term storage (despite this being a typical temperature inside many off-licences and even specialist wine merchants). The wines most likely to suffer are aromatic white wines and Champagne, both of which are likely to lose some of their freshness and character. Any older, more fragile wines would also suffer in such conditions. Temperatures above this sort of level, at 20ºC and beyond, rapidly sound the death knell for most wines. As a general rule, the higher the temperature, the less exposure is required to kill the wine. Just a short exposure to a temperature of 30ºC can damage a wine.

Temperature fluctuation is another great concern. The constant change in temperature experienced by a bottle of wine living next to the cooker or radiator results in an inexorable expansion and contraction of the wine. It may expand so much as to seep around the cork. As the wine contracts air will be drawn in. The wine will rapidly deteriorate, taking on cooked and oxidised flavours. In the cellar, fluctuations over a period of hours (such as might happen if the cellar houses a boiler or hot water pipes) will soon  damage the wine in a similar manner. Fluctuations taking place over the day (alternating between a warm day and a cool night) may be just as unhealthy. Fluctuations over the course of the year (cooler in winter, less so in the summer) are in my opinion of no consequence, provided the absolute temperature does not rise too high, as the change is too gradual to have any great effect on the wine.

Humidity

A moderately damp cellar is ideal, as humidity helps to keep the corks from drying out. This is also achieved by keeping the bottles horizontal, so that the wine is in constant contact with the cork. A cork that is kept moist keeps its shape, and thus remains well expanded and maintains a good seal. Although it is not too difficult to get around the problem of a cellar with humidity that is too low, a cellar that is too damp is more difficult to rectify. Fortunately, there are simple measures that may be employed to avoid the problems inherent with high humidity levels.

Light

Darkness is ideal for a cellar. Ultraviolet light destroys wine, which is one of the reasons wine is traditionally bottled in coloured glass. Consequently it makes sense to store wine away from the potentially damaging effects of such light sources.

Vibration

Wine needs to sleep, and frequent disturbance of the wine will agitate it. This is unlikely to be a significant problem in the modern home, the small and occasional vibrations from domestic appliances being too slight to cause any real problem.

ine Cellars