Whether you consider yourself a professional sommelier or an amateur wine enthusiast, it’s easy to see why wine rooms are so popular. Not only are they beautiful to look at and fun to walk through, but they’re great for facilitating a hobby or investment. If you’re curious about creating a wine room of your very own, consider the three features we think can make or break a wine room:
- Lighting. Wine room lighting is often a two-part equation: you need ambient light to set a mood for the space, and you also need enough working light to, ya know, see what wine you’re reaching for! There are a wide variety of ways you can integrate both types of light, and instead of listing them here, I’d recommend you check out Houzz for some visual inspiration. One thing I will note, however, is that your best bet is LED lighting, as it emits very little heat. We’ll see why temperature is key next.
- Temperature control. There have been handfuls of articles written on the correct temperature to store wine, and the consensus is that 55 degrees Fahrenheit (about 13 degrees Celsius) is best for storing a mixed collection (of course, serving temperatures vary). What’s just as important as this temperature is the consistency at which it is kept. Too much fluctuation in temperature could lead to early aging or even spoiling, and if you’re planning on aging your wines or storing them for long periods of time, this is a big deal. The good news: we have a ton of wine room experience under our belt and will be happy to work with you to determine what type of refrigeration and humidity control is best to ensure your collection stays at its optimum state.
- Display. Of course, what’s a wine room without display racks?! Not only is it recommended that you store wine on its side for aging’s sake (corks dry out over time and shrink, letting air into the bottle, but when the bottle is on its side, the wine stays in contact with the cork, keeping it from shrinking), but it’s a shame to not be able to see all of the unique labels on your collection. We’re partial to VintageView, a company we’ve worked with on several projects. Their peg systems and shelves make it a breeze to completely customize a wine room.
If all this talk of wine rooms has you ready to break ground on your own project, drop us a line! We’re ready to help you design and build the cellar of your dreams.
