Best style house for winemaking

[joea132]

This question is aimed more at the experienced winemakers from grapes than kit winemakers. I have been house hunting for a while now and one of my biggest stipulations is having room for winemaking. I like the idea of a raised ranch because the basement is wide open and gives alot of room for winemaking. Also it typically is cooler in the wintertime than the upstairs and I figure its better for aging wine.

I make about a hundred gallons a year from Chilean and Californian grapes and have all the major equipment, motorized crusher/destemer, basket press, stainless steel vessels, lab equipment, etc. I was wondering what style house everybody has and how it works for making wine. If there is anybody in a condo that makes wine from grapes I would love to hear your comments on that as well. I keep thinking maybe I should be looking into a house with an underground cellar but I get very worried about flooding and moisture. Any comments are appreciated!

 

[Runningwolf]

Joe I have a regular two story with a full basement. I also have 3/4 of it dedicated for wine making. It stays between 63-68* year round which is perfect. The beauty of a raised ranch is you can carry product right into the basement without carrying it up and down the stairs al the time. The down side is you probably don't have use of the whole basement as part of it is usually the garage or a finished room. A finished room could be cool though making it a party tasting room. I like having my basement as an all production area and not really an entertaining area.

 

[FTC Wines]

Joe, I'm also house hunting. Sold our mountain home, with full walk out basement, finished wine area in one corner. My problem is we want to move back to Fl. & need to address the wine storage problems & wine making room. Looking for a spare bedroom that backs up to bathroom plumbing so I can tap in & add a SS sink etc. in the dedicated "Wine Room". Also thought about a condo, but think the "condo commando's" would frown on my obsession. Any condo wine makers out there? Roy

 

[winemaker_3352]

I have a ranch with a finished off bsmt - but there is about 700sq ft unfinished that backs up to a bathroom.

I use that for my winery - i tapped in the the plumbing and put in a utility sink. I also have a drain a few feet away so i can expand to larger vessels in the future (i would use the drain for cleaning out the sludge in the large vessels).

The temps stays between 68-73 year round.

 

[JohnT]

I have a colonial 4 bedroom house. The grade of the property is such that I have the front half of my basement under-groundm and the front is at floor level. In other words, I can get the cooling effects of a basement, while also being able to walk outside without any stairs.

The fella I got the house from had half of the basement finished off (with a fireplace and wetbar) and the other hald partitioned off for a wood shop. The shop was wired for many outlets, and has a double-steel door to the outside.

For me, this was the perfect setup.

 

[joea132]

Thanks for the responses guys. Good information here. I'd like to get a little more feedback. I know there are alot of die hards here who have some more insight.

 

[phat]

Any comments are appreciated!

A small house with a small yard, and a big cool underground basement.

Small house and yard so you don't have to spend all sorts of time doing cleaning and yardwork, and can just concentrate on making and drinking wine