7 Aspects to Consider When Planning Your Wine Cellar

7 Aspects to Consider When Planning Your Wine Cellar

Planning a wine cellar is a more complex project than it might seem. Regardless of the area available, there are several factors to take into account, so that you can enjoy this place to the fullest.

Whether the project it's a private wine cellar for family use, or a commercial  wine cellar for a gourmet or wine store, restaurant or hotel, these are often expensive projects. For this reason, it is worth taking some time to analyze the following aspects, during the planning phase:

Function

First, it will be important to define whether the cellar will be a storage, conservation, exhibition, tasting space or a combination of all.

Capacity

Consider the storage capacity you will need, depending on the number of bottles you plan to store per year. For example, if you are in the habit of spending 4 bottles a week, that will be 200 bottles a year. If, in addition, you organize dinners once a month, it could be approximately 50 more bottles. Also consider the bottles you usually offer to friends and you can easily reach a total of 300 bottles.

Conservation

Bottle consumption also varies depending on the storage time required. It will be necessary to reflect on the amount of wines that you consume regularly and what types of wines you want to keep for longer periods of time. Consequently, it will be easier to configure the storage formats to suit your needs.

Inventory

For your organization, it is essential to make a detailed list of all bottles and types of wines. Then, you will be able to adjust the space to the quantities and bottles sizes.

Map

It will be very useful to draw up a map, which will allow you to know exactly where each bottle is. This way, you'll avoid confusing fast-drinking wines with wines you want to keep for several years and reserve for special occasions.

Design

Ideally, the wine cellar should always appear to be full, however, if you have display shelves, you may notice empty spaces. To create the illusion of depth and content, it is important to insert shelves or boxes, that allow the storage of sets of bottles horizontally. It will be easier to remove several bottles from these spaces, preserving the overall visual appearance.

At garrafeiras.pt you can consult models of wine cellars in wood, aluminum and steel for inspiration. We are also available to help plan your project.

Climate Control

The temperature of the place where the wine is stored should never reach 24ºC, to avoid oxidation of the wine. The ideal temperature for storing wine is 12ºC. This temperature should not fluctuate more than 1.6ºC in a day and 2.7ºC in a year. With this precautions, you will avoid premature aging of the wine. Keep in mind that red wines are more sensitive to these fluctuations, than white wines.

You should also keep the humidity of the place between 50% to 70% and avoid direct sunlight.

Need ideas for your project? See the Wine Cellar Projects section of our blog.

If you need help planning a large project, please contact us via our contact form or info@garrafeiras.pt, explaining your idea (material you prefer, measurements and photo of the place, etc.), so that we can present a project proposal. You can also contact us through our customer support line: +351 223 744 090, Monday-Friday from 9 am until 1 pm and from 2 pm until 6 pm.