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Wine Cellars

If you enjoy wine, even just on an occasional basis, why not consider building yourself your own wine cellar?  You don’t need a lot of money, time, and you also don’t need to have an actual basement or cellar to store your wines in.  There are plenty of ways that you can create a great cellar, just ready for you to use!

Locating Your Wine Cellar

When choosing a spot for your wine cellar, there are some things that you need to consider.  You will need to find a cool spot in your house that is not subject to vibrations and that is not too dry.  Wine cellars need to have some moisture in the air.  Some options for your wine cellar include underneath the stairs, in a wardrobe, in a laundry, underneath the house, or even a cupboard.  Ideally, your cellar will not be located against an outside wall.

It is very important that the spot that you choose has a consistent temperature.  Anywhere between 10 and 20 degrees Celsius is ideal, but remember that consistency is more important than the temperature itself.  It is much better to have a constant temperature of 17 degrees than a temperature that ranges between 10 and 17 degrees.  This is because changes in temperature will cause the cork to lose elasticity and let air into the bottle, leading to your wines oxidising.

Some moisture in the air is also important as corks that are moist will not let any air in.  for this reason, keep your bottles on their side or upside down in the cartons that they came in.  if you live in a dry area of Australia, keep a dish of water in your wine cellar.  Finally, light is also an enemy of wine.  This is because light will cause wine to oxidise faster.  Choose an area that is primarily dark.

Fitting Out Your Wine Cellar

The main thing that you need to do when fitting out your wine cellar is decide how your wine will be stored.  There are many options, from the basic cardboard box, to specially made wine racks that can store dozens of bottles of wine.  Options for storing your wine include using milk crates, with the wine wrapped in fabric, polystyrene wine mailing packs, metal or plastic building pipes, earthenware pipes, polystyrene boxes, or beer crates.

Once you have got the storage worked out, it is time to buy your wine!  A good starting point is to buy mixed cases, so that you have a variety of wine, and can get to know the types of wine that you like.  Wines are stored for varying periods of time, so look on the label to see when the wine will taste best.  The goal is to stock your cellar with wines that you truly enjoy, but if you have limited tastes, include a few different wines that you can bring out when you have guests over.  A couple of bottles of champagne will always be a great inclusion and most champagnes will cellar very well.

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