Luxury Home Magazine

T h e L u x u ry o f W i n e C e l l a r s “The great thing about wine cellars is that you can sit back and enjoy a bottle of wine that you choose.” If you are one of the many people around the globe who are passionate about wine, you may be wondering about having a wine cellar built in your home.There are a number of factors to consider when taking on such a project, space being one of them. Other considerations include the size of your cellar and rack system. Be sure to add the additional weight for the wine, which averages about three pounds per bottle.When building a new home the best time to think or install a wine cellar would be at the time of construction. Make sure the specs include a cooling system, shelving and storage. For existing homes, find a space that makes sense for storage and you plan it out well. Temperature is the single most important factor to consider when planning or installing your own wine cellar, especially in Hawai`i.The degree and the speed of temperature change are critical to successfully storing and aging wine.Therefore, expertise lies in getting the temperature just right. With the warm Hawaiian tropical weather, having a temperature control system cannot be overstated. It has been said that in the absence of a quality control system, the wine cellar is not worth the bottles housed in it. To obtain the This Kalaheo estate (above) on Kauai, features a number of luxury amenities including a must have wine cellar. Listed by F. Lee Morey, not only does it keep wines tasty, but is a unique selling feature to the property. ideal storage temperature of 55-65 degrees F., special wine coolers are often employed. Maintaining the appropriate conditions in your wine cellar will require an investment in a system that addresses both temperature and humidity in order to keep the wine tasting perfect.These coolers can be either free standing, built in with the wine cellar or can be hidden under the counter. Coolers vary in size, some having the capacity to hold two to four bottles, while others have larger capacities of up to 50 bottles. Home owners today have a selection of different kinds of wine cellars that range from the smaller case storages to industrial sized cellars racking large quantities of wine bottles. Due to the increasing interest among wine lovers to have their own wine cellars in their homes, many companies build wine cellars as per the demands of the customers.These are generally very expensive and are usually meant for serious collectors of wine who are ready to spend large amounts of money to have a custom made wine cellar. An alternative to the full cellar is a smaller system known as the modular wine rack. These are great investments because they can be modified to fit anywhere plus they are not expensive.These too come in many different finishes and grains. Of course bottles should be stored on their side so that the cork remains moist.Wine should also not be exposed to vibration either. The great thing about wine cellars is that you can sit back and enjoy a bottle of wine that you choose. It is certainly an advantage when hosting guests so you don’t have to worry about going out to get a bottle when you are ready to sit down and eat or when you just want to enjoy a glass.