Contrary to what one can believe, it is not necessary to be an expert in oenology to constitute his wine cellar. However, to keep your bottles in the best possible conditions, there are a few rules to respect. Here are some tips to find out how to constitute your wine cellar.
Where to install your wine cellar?
Before choosing your wine cellar, you must above all know precisely where it will be stored. The space allocated to your wine cellar will determine all the other choices you have to take.
Whether you live in house or apartment, nothing prevents a wine cellar. It is not uncommon for an apartment to have a cellar or basement, and it is precisely the ideal place to keep wine.
If this is not the case with you, perhaps you have a room or space available to light and temperature variations?
If these conditions are not met, it is advisable to turn to an electric wine cellar, which can fulfill all these criteria without incident. There are many models of service cellars and aging cellars, in all sizes (from 8 bottles to more than 250 bottles).
You will only have to adapt your wine cellar model to the space you have, and the number of bottles you want to keep. You can turn to an aging wine cellar to age your best bottles, or a more classic cellar for a service wine.
How to fit out your cellar?
If you have the chance to enjoy a space dedicated to the conservation of your wine bottles, know that there are still 6 essential criteria which will assure you that the place is perfect for the development, even the aging of wine.
- Freshness: a cellar must benefit from a constant temperature between 10 and 15 ° C. Above, the evolution of the wine will be too fast, and conversely, it will be too slow if the part is at a temperature below 10 ° C. In addition, wine does not resist temperature variations, so you will have to make sure your cellar is not a victim.
- Obcurity: wine is very sensitive to light. In the event of excessive exposure, aromas can permanently alter. Make sure you can immerse your cellar in the dark, and to ensure the aging of your best wines, you can even push your requirements by installing low-intensity bulbs in your cellar.
- Humidity: too low a humidity level will cause the cork, which will then let the wine evaporate, and oxidize. On the other hand, excessive humidity will have little consequences on wine. It will then be necessary to ensure that you have a cellar with a humidity rate between 70 and 80 %.
- Ventilation: Again, a poorly ventilated room will have consequences on the plug. If the air does not circulate enough in the cellar, the risk of mold formation that could damage the cap is high.
- Calm: beyond calm, it is mainly stability that wine needs. Also, a cellar undergoing the vibrations of the metro, traffic, or next door, will not be conducive to the conservation of wine. However, there are anti -vibrational lockers that amortize vibrations and protect the bottle of wine.
- Odorless: you will understand, the plug is the Achilles heel of the wine bottle. So we should not keep wine near paint, chemicals or cleaning products, at the risk of transmitting odors to wine by the porosity of the cap.
How to organize your wine cellar?
Once you have chosen your wine cellar, you need to think about the organization of the storage space. To help you, here are 3 tips to store your wine cellar:
- Each row his family of wine: the best wines at the top, the red and light rosés in the middle, the whites below;
- Separate young wines and childcare wines: the guard wine requires less manipulation and more freshness, so it is logical to store it at the bottom of the cellar. Young drinking wines can then be exhibited on the front, at hand;
- Create a cellar book: To find out precisely what you have in the cellar and the guard potential of each wine, nothing better than keeping an up -to -date book that lists all the wines from your cellar.
What are the wines to have in its wine cellar?
Would you like to have a pretty cellar, with various wines to respond to all events and desires? Then compose a cellar with great diversity:
- Great classified wines of Bordeaux, like a Saint-Émilion, a Graves, or a Saint-Julien, capable of aging;
- Great red wines from Bordeaux to drink quickly, and white wines from Bordeaux to drink young, or serious to keep;
- Bottles of red wine from the Rhône valley (Gigondas, Côtes-du-Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape…);
- Burgundy bottles in red (Côtes-de-Beaune, Mercurey…) and in white (Chablis, Chassagne-Montrachet…);
- Rosés de Provence (Land of Bern, Ultimate Provence, Bandol, etc.).
The larger your cellar, the more diversity you can widen by adding Alsace, Jura, Languedoc, Provence, Corsica, Southwest, the Loire valley, and Champagne, Champagne, and Champagne, For a very complete cellar.
Whether you are an amateur or wine expert, building a wine cellar is always a pleasure. This allows you to always have a nice selection of good bottles at hand.
