Creating Your Own Wine Cellar

For hundreds of years wine has traditionally been traditionally stored in wine caves and underground cellars. Today, modern homes rarely offer underground cellars, so most wine lovers are left wondering how their prized wine collection can be “cellared”. When creating your own cellar it is important to consider a number of essential characteristics and a little imagination when it comes to building your “cellar”.

For Storing Unopened Bottles

1. Wine should be stored in a dark place far away from light. Basements, pantries, closets and even wine refrigerators/coolers often times work the best. Despite the fact that most colored bottles incorporate built in UV filters, it is still important to shield bottles from sunlight and florescent lights since unpleasant smells and tastes can result. Bottles can also be wrapped in cloth or placed in a box to help avoid light.

2. Wine racks are important when it comes to storing wine. It is important to have some sort of fixture or rack that allows wine bottles to rest on their sides since it allows the cork to be kept moist. This helps to not only keep air out, but also keeps sediment from settling at the bottom of the bottle. Wines should also be stored on racks in the following order: sparkling wines on the bottom, white wines in the middle and red wines toward the top.

3. Wine must be kept cool. The best storage temperature for wine should be somewhere betwee
55°F and 65°F. For a varied wine collection it temperature should be kept at 54°F/55°F. It is important that the temperature never goes over 75°F for any long period of time since the wine will begin to oxidize. Humidity should also be kept somewhere betwee
65% and 75%, since too much humidity can cause mold or loose lables.

4. Avoid moving or causing vibrations to the wine bottles. Wine bottles must be stored in a way that will prevent you from having to move them around to reach other wine bottles.

5. Do not store your wine bottles with items that give off a strong odor because wine does “breathe” and odors can taint the wine.

When it comes to creating a wine collection it is important to know and understand any and all of the dynamics that go into creating a wine cellar. Here at Ponte Winery we hope that you have fun creating your own personal wine cellar. Next time you’re around, be sure to make it a point to stop by our wonderful Temecula winery.