How do you store your wine [+ Fridge/Cabinet recommendations]

[billbro]

for example the AC to turn on if it gets too hot or a humidifier/dehumidifier depending on what the case may be.

Why not just get a smart AC?

We just installed Mitsubishi MSZ-LN, I mean calling it "smart" is probably inaccurate as the app sucks, but it allows the configuration of rules (e.g. aircon switches on/off if the room reaches a certain temperature, certain times of the day etc).

Unfortunately, either a coughpy install (likely as we are dealing with the vendor on repair issues) and an old leaky house (also likely victorian and high ceilings) means that the rules trigger a lot and the aircon runs forever as we don't seem to get many degrees lower than ambient.

The xiaomi cheapies I believe also enable automation - I think the problem is deciding on a central smart home hub (some of ours is on smart things, yet we also have hue lights, xiaomi products, alexa, google home, ring...).

 

[Pushka]

View attachment 242868
Fridge arrived early.

I shouldn't need to go this route with my new ducted system, but am considering personally one of the Eve Internet-of-Things devices. The Eve Room will record temperature, humidity and air quality, while the new Eve Weather – which is designed for outside use primarily – is built on newer smart home technology (thread) for improved support in the future. The advantage to one of these devices over a cheaper system bought on Amazon is not only can you access your data anywhere, you can set up automations, for example the AC to turn on if it gets too hot or a humidifier/dehumidifier depending on what the case may be.

Not cheap though.

Symfonisk looks great. Does it play music to keep the wine chilled!

 

[samh004]

Why not just get a smart AC?

Which we have, I was mainly talking from the perspective of someone who doesn't. Still, it would be nice to graph/log temperature and humidity fluctuations.

Symfonisk looks great. Does it play music to keep the wine chilled!

Almost wish it was still in the bedroom to play the Calm subscription raindrop sounds to fall asleep to. But eventual plan is have a couple chairs in there to sit and chill after opening something. Or maybe that wont work out and we'll simply move the lamp

 

[VeniVidiVici]

Why not just get a smart AC?

We just installed Mitsubishi MSZ-LN, I mean calling it "smart" is probably inaccurate as the app sucks, but it allows the configuration of rules (e.g. aircon switches on/off if the room reaches a certain temperature, certain times of the day etc).

Unfortunately, either a coughpy install (likely as we are dealing with the vendor on repair issues) and an old leaky house (also likely victorian and high ceilings) means that the rules trigger a lot and the aircon runs forever as we don't seem to get many degrees lower than ambient.

The xiaomi cheapies I believe also enable automation - I think the problem is deciding on a central smart home hub (some of ours is on smart things, yet we also have hue lights, xiaomi products, alexa, google home, ring...).

We went with the basic a/c unit because with the dry contact it can only switch on with one setting, i.e full cool, there's no risk the a/c's built in sensor will misfire and accidentally heat the room. Also the unit will not need to sit on standby or on reduced power, it's either on or off depending on what the thermostat tells it.

I've already noticed some significant differences between what the a/c unit is reading the temp as (through the a/c manufacturer's app) and what the thermostat and thermometers are reading. For instance the a/c app might say the room is 23 degrees when the other thermometers (2) and the thermostat are reading at 17.

The temp/hygro sensor allows me to log temp and presents it in a graph so nothing lost there by not having smart a/c.

The dry contact solution was recommended by the installer, he's done quite a few of these setups for wine rooms, server rooms etc.

 

[qaz]

One man and his cellars

Laurie Bilsborough has been installing and maintaining cellars in Sydney homes for 40 years. He’s seen a lot of impressive wine collections. #cellaringwine #Cellarwine #DomainedelaRomanéeContiLaTâche

www.therealreview.com

also perhaps read this and these:

• How to convert a freezer into a wine fridge
• Home-made wine fridge No 2

Buying a wine cellar

Andrew had been storing his cache of wines under the stairs in the basement of his house. He noticed that some of his treasured bottles were not ageing as well as they should. It was time to spend a bit of money on wine storage. #AndrewScott #DeLonghi #HarveyNormanNZ

www.therealreview.com

 

[qaz]

nevermind how do you store wine - what about the empties?

François Audouze:

As many comments were made on the room where I had a lunch, I have made this small video. It is my first video on Instagram. You see that the number of wines that I have drunk and kept is great. It is probably one third, maximum, of what I have drunk.

I will explain why I kept empty bottles... I saw that when I kept a label, it did not help memory. But if I kept the bottle, then memory existed. So I began to keep empty bottles. And it took volume. So when I created a new cellar, it had six rooms all in a row along 30 meters. And I stored full bottles and above, all empty bottles in a row. And it was very nice to have living wines with dead bottles.
But this cellar has been expropriated. I had to buy a new place, which I did. And in this place, there is more logic to have concentrated all full bottles together. And I used the room on the video for empty bottles. I preferred the previous situation because living and dead were mixed. But it is nice too.
One good news. I have collected corks. I am in discussion to offer this collection to a place were people would see it. It is connected to corks. And I would be happy to give parts of my collection to museums or to Domaines. We will see.

So You Think You Are a Wine Baller?

Anyone who thinks their expensive wine drinking makes them look cool hasn't seen how François Audouze drinks. His "empties shelf" is bigger than my house.

www.vinography.com

 

[billbro]

Looks ridiculous... I should show the other half, lol.

I do have a tendency to keep bottles lying around the house, but the plan was to strip the labels so I can chuck them into a big photo frame instead of having to buy a painting to fill at least one of the walls - has just been more painstaking than I thought it would be.

 

[qaz]

How do you store your wine?

There are many ways to organize a wine cellar, but only one good one.

winegourd.blogspot.com

some people seem to prefer arranging things by region or grape type, or basing things on vintage date (Four ways to organize and manage your wine cellar)...

I simply decided to arrange the boxes by year of intended drinking. Upon purchase, I would decide on what might be a suitable year (or years), and I then stuck the wine (or wines) in the appropriate box (or boxes). When any box was full, it was sealed, and then remained undisturbed until the relevant year arrived.

At the beginning of January each year, I would open the appropriate boxes (4—5, if my wife and I have one good cellared wine per week). Then I would get my surprise, as I found out what wines I had squirreled away. Some I could remember buying, and some not. These bottles then get moved to a separate "drink soon" location, from which I select a wine each time I want one. The rest remain undisturbed.

 

[qaz]

Blue Poles Vineyard - April 2021 Newsletter - Mark Gifford
If you are to cellar some wines, I feel you should set yourself some ground rules:

1. Only buy what you can afford. Do not max out a credit card on a couple of wines that seem vitally important – forget about it – wait 2-4-6 months and it is likely just as awesome wines will be on offer.
2. Get yourself a wine cellar. Be that a wine fridge if you do not have access to a cellar/ storage. Just makes sense to take care of a product that goes to custard in the heat (and also the cold!)
3. Buy multiples – 3 if you are not sure (but excited), 6 if you are confident or the price is stretching you, and 12 for the full experience. Trust me, when you buy a dozen of a wine the first time you think “I’m bonkers” – but you are not, you are a dead set genius.
4. Remember to drink them. This is the biggest failing of nearly everyone who owns a cellar – you just avoid enjoying the product you actually bought to consume.

How Well Do Wines Age an Update - David Farmer (Glug)
I am regularly asked to comment about aging wines and cellaring and the following update was in response to a customer looking to cellar wines to open at stages with his daughters.

https://www.facebook.com/glugbook/posts/2054264051382634

 

[qaz]

Aging With Grace | Home

Wine aging is, at first sight, decently easy with big rewards. Buy a bottle, forget about it for a year or five, and get a completely new wine to drink. Some cheapish bottles can turn into memorable sensory experiences with age and the great wines require it to reach their full potential. Some...

www.vintecclub.com

 

[redbigot]

pictures pictures pictures, i love seeing cellars.

Mine is built for function and storage density, not for show.

http://redbigot.info/Cellar/cellarplan.gif

The cork collections and cork extractor are long gone, there aren't that many cork-sealed wines there any more.

http://redbigot.info/20170309_132434.jpg

 

[TDC]

Mine is built for function and storage density, not for show.

http://redbigot.info/Cellar/cellarplan.gif

The cork collections and cork extractor are long gone, there aren't that many cork-sealed wines there any more.

http://redbigot.info/20170309_132434.jpg

It looks wonderful.

 

[YosemiteP]

pictures pictures pictures, i love seeing cellars.

I too like looking at cellars. This is one we built for my dad.

 

[skittle]

I'm planning a cellar in a renovation. Fairly smallish, under the house and the slab. Does anyone know how likely this will be to have a reasonable environment? Leaving space to add conditioning but not sure if it will be required. In Melbourne.

 

[kevviek]

I'm planning a cellar in a renovation. Fairly smallish, under the house and the slab. Does anyone know how likely this will be to have a reasonable environment? Leaving space to add conditioning but not sure if it will be required. In Melbourne.

I like the topic of cellars, at the risk of being non conformant to the thread rules, this is what I have. Most is under the stairs.

 

[baiden]

I'm planning a cellar in a renovation. Fairly smallish, under the house and the slab. Does anyone know how likely this will be to have a reasonable environment? Leaving space to add conditioning but not sure if it will be required. In Melbourne.

Hard to say without context within full layout and northerly aspect but on face value seems reasonable if you don't expect much temp variation between night and day and preferably at least under 20 deg year round, ideal would be 16-18

 

[tgh]

Simple stuff from a wine keeping perspective is to seek to minimise temp variation ; with modern builds you may look for insulation everywhere you can put it , eg Doors are typically hollow and facilitate temp variation.
A thick brick wall is a good place to start as the heat sink of the bricks aids stabilisation.
The cellar end of paradise gets big swings in ambient off a lowish base , so insulation is a good first stop option.

 

[qaz]

Storage and temperature recommendations for today's Burgundy wines

Energy, effortlessness, and vivaciousness are terms that I use about a good vin d'emotion. But to attain and maintain these attributes, storage and

winehog.org

Domaine Leroy – amongst the most expensive of Burgundy’s biodynamic wines – recommends storage at 12-15 Celsius both for red and white wines (see label below).​

This means one needs either a very cool natural cellar, climate control, or a wine refrigerator if this recommendation is to be followed. And do note the humidity recommendation on the Leroy label: a minimum of 80-85%. This is very high indeed.​

 

[redbigot]

Storage and temperature recommendations for today's Burgundy wines

Energy, effortlessness, and vivaciousness are terms that I use about a good vin d'emotion. But to attain and maintain these attributes, storage and

winehog.org

Domaine Leroy – amongst the most expensive of Burgundy’s biodynamic wines – recommends storage at 12-15 Celsius both for red and white wines (see label below).​

This means one needs either a very cool natural cellar, climate control, or a wine refrigerator if this recommendation is to be followed. And do note the humidity recommendation on the Leroy label: a minimum of 80-85%. This is very high indeed.​

The humidity recommendation is for cork-sealed wines. It doesn't really matter when you have screwcap sealed wines. Screwcap sealed wines also mature slightly slower (and much more consistently) than a similar cork-sealed wine and are probably less susceptible to rapid temp changes and can probably be cellared at a slightly higher temp to get the desired maturation time.
My Cellar is on it's 3rd reverse-cycle split a/c unit (in 22+ years), sits around 15C in summer, can get down to 10C in winter and I put on the a/c in heat mode (starts at 12C) to make it more pleasant in there, doesn't take as long to warm up to drinking temp and get some air circulation. Humidity is currently 66%, there are some brick courses below the damp course on the curved wall, in summer when cooling sucks out the moisture it sometimes gets down around 40%, not an issue as the at least 90% of the bottles are screwcapped.

I tend to drink most of my wines by around 10yo, I have just over 10% of bottles older than 10 years (320), although 30 of those are sparkling Shiraz from 2008.

 

[redbigot]

How do you store your wine?

There are many ways to organize a wine cellar, but only one good one.

winegourd.blogspot.com

some people seem to prefer arranging things by region or grape type, or basing things on vintage date (Four ways to organize and manage your wine cellar)...

I simply decided to arrange the boxes by year of intended drinking. Upon purchase, I would decide on what might be a suitable year (or years), and I then stuck the wine (or wines) in the appropriate box (or boxes). When any box was full, it was sealed, and then remained undisturbed until the relevant year arrived.

At the beginning of January each year, I would open the appropriate boxes (4—5, if my wife and I have one good cellared wine per week). Then I would get my surprise, as I found out what wines I had squirreled away. Some I could remember buying, and some not. These bottles then get moved to a separate "drink soon" location, from which I select a wine each time I want one. The rest remain undisturbed.

My wine is in bins or shelves containing 18-50 bottles all of the same vintage. Each bin/shelf has a code (eg C2R is unit C, level 2 Right bin) all the details are recorded in an Access database and if I'm conscientious in updating that when I move stuff around I can find anything I want. I used to spend Easter each year checking and updating the locations of wines, I didn't this year and it's now a little disorganised.

The database also has estimated drink from/to/by years, so I manage drinking that way as well as looking for specific bottles to suit and occasion or tasting.