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The term "wine cellar" often conjures up visions of grandeur and luxury. After all, do not the finest European villas pride themselves on their extensive wine cellars? Further more, do not the finest restaurants in the area brag about the elaborate processes for keeping their expensive wines in ideal conditions.
All of this focus on wine cellars can leave the average person a bit uncertain about what a wine cellar is for, and, more importantly, whether his or her love of wine is sophisticated enough to actually purchase or build a wine cellar at home.
Let us start by saying that most wine lovers do not need fancy storage systems for their wines. Most wine drinkers will focus on carefully selected bottles, and will drink them in regular, but small quantities. For this kind of consumer, creating an at-home wine cellar may be unnecessary.
There is, however, the wine lover who stocks many different kinds of wine and is considered a collector of fine wines. For this person, there may be a need of a dedicated wine cellar in which to keep their collection. The wine cellar designs can still be located within the home in a place that is convenient.
When setting out by a wine cellar, there are some factors that need to be considered including: size of the wine cellar, humidity, temperature, and vibration. While these are just some of the factors that go into making a safe secure wine cellar design, they are the most important and needs to be taken into consideration at the start of building a wine cellar.
In order to maintain wine at its highest-quality sunlight, fluorescent lighting, vibration, temperature, and humidity need to be taken into account. If you have too much light, whether it is sunlight or fluorescent light, it can damage your wine. As a result, your wine cellar designs should include a darkened, storage space as well.
Vibration can also damage the wine by disrupting the sediments, which will cause a change in color or taste with most delicate wine selections. They are known to be especially susceptible to vibration and light damage.
Humidity is a third factor to consider, as too much humidity may cause the wine to mold, and too little humidity may cause the corks to shrink, leading to wine spillage and spoilage. The optimal humidity for wine is about 70%.
Temperature is the last important consideration. Having improper temperatures will decrease the flavor of the wine, and if the temperature is to low, it can cause the wine to freeze.
Self-contained wide cellar units are the easiest way to create a wine cellar in your home. They can range in size from 2 x 3 feet to 10 x 12 feet and sometimes even bigger. However, if you are considering a wine cellar design that is extremely large, it may be less expensive to have it custom-built for you.
Wine cellars range in size (some hold as few as 24 bottles, all the way up to 2500 bottles) and the prices rise to match. Prices for small models may begin at about $500, and rise up to $4000 for the larger ones.
Wine cellars also come in a variety of exteriors from super-sleek, stainless steel to rustic oak or pine. You can also add to your unit - interior lighting, glass panels, locking doors and the like. However, be aware these added features will typically raise the price.
When deciding to purchase a wine cellar, you should first determine a few things.
- Number or bottles that should like to store.
- What is the amount of space that you have available for your wine cellar.
- What kind of features and controls do you need in terms of lighting, temperature, humidity, and vibration? If you're planning to collect expensive, delicate or special care wines, you will need to take into account extra features for your wine cellar.
- Is the wine cellar going to be tucked away in a room or placed out in the open? If you're going to play set out in the open your going to want to invest in higher and finish so that it matches the rest of your house.
When it comes to purchasing the perfect wine cellar, it comes down to balancing the features versus price and space, you want to take in account your own personal drinking habits and purchase the best wine cellar you can afford. It should have all the features you want to fit your current needs with a little extra room to expand and upgrade.
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