Wine Cellar Opinions Needed

Greetings all! New to this forum. I am not a wine maker but I do love wine. I am currently wanting to build a cellar in my basement but need some input.

The way my house is built I have a 'cold' space under my front porch that I would like to convert into a cellar area however I do have a couple of obstacles to overcome as far as an entryway to the cellar.

The door into this area is short - 75" to be exact. I would like a door with a 'view'. I could probably build one and could certainly have one made. My friend drew up a sketch that just uses a gate instead of an actual door. I really like the way it looks but am concerned with temps. I don't keep fine wines and for the most part the the basement stays at ~68 degrees.

So I guess what I am asking for is should I use a gate or go with a door?

I've attached a couple of images of the concept.

I might as well add that the Cellar portion is lined with 2" of foam building insulation on the 3 walls and ceiling. The capacity is ~365 bottles.

I like this idea.. A LOT.

IMO: Optimal wine storage is a constantly cool, dark, dry place. Gradual changes in temp are okay, I suppose, with the other two remaining constant. I just wouldn't want to store wine above 70* myself.

If you put a glass door on that area, what do you suppose your temp/humidity would be?

68 is fine for everyday wines. If you start collecting $100 bottles then I would see about adding a sealed door and some additional cooling. If humidity is an issue you don't want to seal it unless you add a dehumidifier.

jgmann67 said:

I like this idea.. A LOT.

IMO: Optimal wine storage is a constantly cool, dark, dry place. Gradual changes in temp are okay, I suppose, with the other two remaining constant. I just wouldn't want to store wine above 70* myself.

If you put a glass door on that area, what do you suppose your temp/humidity would be?

Click to expand...

Right now with the current door closed it is 58 degrees. The conditioned space is about 68. I would estimate the humidity to be 45-50%

I did some research and I am comfortable storing my wine that I will be consuming within 2-4 years, between 65-68 degrees. One of the things that I have found was not to subjecting wine to swings in temperature can be just as important as the temperature itself.

Welcome to the forum!

If that space would stay cooler or with less temp fluctuations with a door than with a gate then I'd go with the door.


Update: Just saw your post #5. Door!

bkisel said:

Welcome to the forum!

If that space would stay cooler or with less temp fluctuations with a door than with a gate then I'd go with the door.


Update: Just saw your post #5. Door!

Click to expand...

I vote DOOR, as well. Glass door would be awesome. And, maybe get that treadmill out of there and turn it into a bar/tasting room.

mrramsey said:

Right now with the current door closed it is 58 degrees. The conditioned space is about 68. I would estimate the humidity to be 45-50%

Click to expand...

That's darn near perfect with the door closed. Put the gate on, then get a good storm door on the outside so you can see the gate.

Hello from Texas where we do not have any basements. If I had a place to store ~365 bottles at 68 degrees I would do some more thinking on how to cool it down more to recommended wine storage temperatures Reds in low 50's and whites even lower. I don't know if anybody has a graph that shows the warmer the wine is stored the quicker you have to drink it.
I would design it to store less bottles to be able to install a wine cellar cooler unit and more insulation to achieve a better environment for that many bottles. Now for the door what ever you do just make sure that it would have a similar R-value of the walls, double pane glass or what ever, I know a gate looks nice but I wouldn't do it.
Read up on some custom cellars and how they keep from having the wine go bad.
http://www.wineenthusiast.com/custom-cellars/wine-cellar-cooling-units/

Just my 2cents at 68 degrees your wines could go bad in 3 or so years and at over 300 bottles and rotation you might have some go bad on you. Someone gave us 4 bottles that were $40+/bottle that was in his house at 75-78 degrees and all went down the sink, Oxidized bad!!

TXWineDuo

I think I am leaning towards a door as well. I will likely have to just build a custom door. to fit the space. It certainly would lead to more stable temps. The r-value of the door itself will be somewhat negligible in this case due to the lack of direct exposure to heat. Different story if it were on the first floor of the house.

I do have a 54 bottle cooler on the first floor in the wine bar I am trying to do this project without the requirement of a cooling unit but with a door on it it certainly gives me options to add it later if it truly requires it.

So presuming that the insulated "cellar" is the wine storage (currently @58F) and the treadmill area is "basement" (going to be maintained @68F), I think it would be safe enough to go with a gate and maintain a more steady acceptable temp. When Winter is done and Summer rolls around what might the temp in that space get to??? Again the steady 68F of air conditioning might be a plus.. AND what if you happen to expand your inventory??

Floandgary said:

So presuming that the insulated "cellar" is the wine storage (currently @58F) and the treadmill area is "basement" (going to be maintained @68F), I think it would be safe enough to go with a gate and maintain a more steady acceptable temp. When Winter is done and Summer rolls around what might the temp in that space get to??? Again the steady 68F of air conditioning might be a plus.. AND what if you happen to expand your inventory??

Click to expand...

In that area of the basement I can't imagine it getting any warmer that 70 in the summer but if it is 70 in the basement I am fairly certain that the A/C would be on.

Just my 2 cents about the 68* temperature for wine storage. My wine room in Florida is 68* year round. We have 600+ bottles stored there. Some are a 5 1/2 year Apple, and a slightly
older Peach. Also have a few bottles of 6 yr old Amarone. None have oxidized or spoiled in anyway. The room is dark & temp is constant, humidity is 55-65%. Roy

I also store wine between 66-68 degrees and so far no problem with 3-year old wine.

OK I think I have a solution that should (just a guess) keep me in the 58-64 degree range year round. The size of my cellar space is about 190 CU Ft. The wall that is on the exterior I will Insulate with 4" of foam board insulation on the top 4' of the wall. There will be 4" of the same insulation on the two side walls as well as the ceiling. This will leave some 2.5' of exposed foundation wall on the exterior wall to allow the coolest ground temps to passively enter.

The interior wall to the actual basement is block as well but I will not insulate this. I am going to build a door that is a custom fit to the opening with a viewing window. This will be somewhat sealed but not perfect.

Interior lighting will be LED and I plan to add a small fan or two (like the little clip on type 6" fans) and run them on a timer like once an hour for 15 minutes to circulate the air for a more even temp.

As the space sits this morning the outside temp was 32 degrees the inside temp is 68 in the basement. The cellar temp is 57.

The walls and ceiling will be finished with 1/4" tongue and groove knotty pine paneling. The lighting will be simple LED puck lights like you would see under a cabinet or maybe even the LED strip lighting. I will add a temp and humidity sensor with a digital display on the exterior of the cellar.

Sounds like a plan! Temp variation should be minimal. Good luck..

Here is a conceptual sketch - appx 375 bottle capacity

and a plan view of the same...

Opinion 1: if you are at a steady 68 degrees, then go with either a door OR a gate (whatever you prefer). I do not think it can matter too much either way (with respect to the longevity care of your wine).

Opinion 2: ITS WAAAAAY TOO SMALL!!!! (don't take this to heart. I am one of those sick folks out there that feels no basement is large enough)