A popular modern trend in the organization of a residential environment is the availability of a wine cellar, which can become a decoration, a unique “highlight” of the house, it’s a most representative part, where guests are gathered and good drinks are tasted.
Contents:
- Secrets of the modern trend
- Where to place
- Finishing materials
- Zoning
- Wine storage area
- Tasting zone
- Furniture
- Decoration
- Illumination
Wine Cellar at Home: Secrets of Modern Trend
A photo compilation can be a source of inspiration for creating your own project.
The image of an ideal room for everyone depends on the tastes, intentions, and financial possibilities of the owners.
Most people prefer to have a small cellar, and in the benefit of modern designs is your possibility to store a collection of wines in a limited area.
Where to Place?
The organization of a home wine cellar begins with an exploration of available premises suitable for the planned project. Previously, the place for storing wines was associated with a dark basement, away from daylight and sudden temperature changes. Modern technologies of cooling, temperature control, humidity maintenance, lighting system, allow you to keep the wine in the most prominent place in the glass showcases in residential buildings for various purposes.
If there are niches, you can create a “wine zone” with access to the kitchen, living room, cabinet through the arched or rectangular overlap.
One of the popular solutions for the compact placement of wine storage is the spiral placement of shelves in a narrow underground space, access to which is provided through a hatch mounted on the floor and a ladder of the appropriate configuration.
If there is no basement in the house, you can always find the area to place the cellar. The closet, storage room, a niche under a staircase fit this purpose well. You can simply strengthen the lattice on the wall.
Materials for Finishing the Home Wine Cellar
You should decorate the walls, the floor, the ceiling in the chosen place. The most suitable finishing materials are stone, brick, glass (transparent or toned), ceramics, stainless steel, wrought iron, and noble wood.
Zoning
Basically in the “wine cellar” there are two functional zones – storage and tasting.
Wine Storage Area
The most common furniture in the cellar is the shelving, which allows you to store bottles in a horizontal and slightly tilted position, so that the cork is damp, does not dry out, and does not fall to the bottom.
The depth of shelves and shelving should allow placing the entire bottle completely: from the bottom to the cork.
Tasting Zone
Furniture for the reception of guests is installed in the tasting area. There are no strict rules for furnishing. Everything depends on the overall design concept and the owner’s taste. The table can be traditional (round, square, rectangular) or function as the console. The choice of seats is very diverse: from high bar stools to soft deep chairs. If the area allows, you can set a dining table for several people. Put a couple of chairs with a coffee table to create a cozy and hospitable atmosphere.
Which Furniture to Choose?
The classic choice for furnishing a home wine cellar is high-quality wood, which allows counteracting the appearance of mold and absorbing moisture. All wooden parts in contact with bottles should not have a colorful or varnish coating to prevent foreign odor from entering the wine. Racks and shelves of various shapes should be made of hardwood.
Suitable durable and decorative material is stainless steel. Designs from wrought iron, steel, or aluminum will look beautiful and modern.
Today’s market offers a wide range of special metal holders that are mounted vertically on the wall and, clamping the neck of the bottle, allows it to be positioned in a wide range of positions. Such devices are suitable for compact rooms and perfectly match the style of minimalism. A similar function is carried out and by the construction of wooden panels, the round slits of which serve as the horizontal basis for wine bottles.
How to Decorate?
The decoration of the wine cellar is, of course, its content – a collection of drinks selected by brand, year of manufacture, country… Wine bottles themselves, beautifully distributed on shelves, decorate the room.
Suspended glasses on the frame or standing on the side shelves can be elements of the decor.
In addition, you can find other decorative elements of decoration related to the wine theme. Barrels with plugs, tables, and benches in the retro style of village winemakers will perfectly complement the design of the cellar. Drawers for napkins stand, wicker baskets, and other attachments, which will help best serve the table to treat your friends and acquaintances, are good complements for the interior.
Illumination
Illumination (ceiling, wall, floor, or LED lighting of shelves and racks) serves to create a certain atmosphere in the room, highlighting certain furnishings, emphasizing the texture of the finish, but most importantly – allows you to admire the shape of the bottles and evaluate the color of the wine.
10 important recommendations
- The taste of wine over the years only improves with those wines that are sustained in wooden containers (oak barrels), and only after that are poured over glass bottles. If you put young wine even in the most perfectly equipped home cellar with the goal of tasting it after many years, the quality of the wine can be very disappointing, it will surely be spoiled.
- It is very important to maintain a constant temperature of 8 ° C to 18 ° C, an average ideal temperature of 12 ° C all year round. If the temperature is higher, the white wines begin the fermentation, the red ones turn sour. Conversely, lower temperatures spoil the taste and change the color of the wine, making it cloudy. Therefore, the presence of a thermometer, which is always at hand, is a must in the wine cellar.
- It is necessary to maintain optimum humidity: it should not be excessive, since in this case mold may occur and the wine will get an unpleasant smell of dampness, but it should not be below 80%, since dryness affects the corks that compress and begin to flow air.
- It is necessary to take care of noise insulation. Although wine can not “hear”, but noises, sound, and mechanical vibration can cause a change in its quality. All designs for the storage of bottles of wine should be located at a sufficient distance from the refrigerator or any other apparatus with an engine. Well, if you have already placed wine containers for storage, then you should not start a major renovation in the room, which serves as a cellar.
- Smells can also penetrate into the bottle of wine. Therefore, it is unacceptable to place cans of paint or cans of gasoline beside them, as well as food with a strong flavor – cheese and ham.
- Ventilation is another aspect of the proper storage of wine. The air must be ventilated and not static. It is desirable to provide a ventilation system without a motor to avoid vibration.
- The bottles of wine should be stored in a horizontal position so that the cork is constantly in contact with the wine. You should place the bottles so that it is easy to find the desired sort and move the containers with wine less often. If you have a large collection, you can create a catalog indicating where the wine is stored.
- Light is the enemy of wine. It spoils from a long stay in the light. The basement should be lighted very poorly so that there is no oxidation, which experts call “the taste of light.”
- All work on the installation of the cellar conditioning system should be carried out before you start placing the bottles of wine.
- A good and economical choice for beginning wine collectors will be the purchase of a wine cabinet, which is useful even when you have a real wine cellar.