Building a wine cellar or expanding an existing cellar is an exciting way to inspire your passion for great wine. When designing a wine cellar, there are many attributes of the cellar that you must consider. Some of the most important considerations include:
Capacity
The main determinant for how big your cellar will be is how many bottles you hope to fit in the cellar at a time. An easy way to estimate what your bottle capacity should be is to multiply the number of bottles you drink (or expect to buy) per year by the average age of each bottle. For example, if you drink an average of 250 bottles per year that are each about 5 years old, your wine cellar should have a capacity of 1,250 bottles. This will ensure that you can continue to drink your average amount of wine each at an age of about 5 years. We also recommend including an additional 15% capacity to account for trips to wine country, wine shopping sprees, and longer aging for particularly special bottles.
Aesthetics
As a wine enthusiast, you likely enjoy displaying your wine. Royal Palm Closet Design and Fine Cabinetry has a wide range of luxury materials with which to build your cellar. We work with you to design a cellar that is unique to your home and displays your bottles beautifully.
Practicality
If you think you don’t have enough space, or the right space, for a wine cellar, don’t be discouraged. We have the capability of building custom cellars to fit any nook in your home. Whether you are concerned about reachability, ease of cleaning and maintenance, or capacity, we will find a wine rack plan that is right for you.
Climate
Did you know that ambient temperature and humidity dramatically affect the speed at which wine ages? Wine stored in a conventional home wine rack at 73°F ages 2.1-8.0 times faster than a bottle stored in a cellar at 55°F. This rapid aging will make it incredibly difficult to accurately estimate when a bottle reaches its peak. Further, if you store your wine in a climate that is too dry, volume can be lost through the cork due to evaporation. Extremely dry conditions can even damage the cork and cause a real mess! We have custom-designed wine closets that allow you to store all your wines in a space where you can control the climate of your cellar to best promote proper aging.
