Like many, I was in need of a place to keep wine (both finished and in process) in an appropriate temperature controlled environment, especially since I live near the Lodi CA AVA where temps in the summer often exceed 100F but can also go below freezing during some winter nights.
The issue for me, however, was space. Since I don't have a basement, and I don't have enough land to dig a cave (even a small one), that meant I had to look to our house for a place to put the wine room/cold box. We already have 2 wine refrigerators, one filled with whites/champagnes (~120 btls) in our large storage closet (minus the door for improved ventilation) and the other for the reds (~225 btls) in our "office."
So, with no spare room inside, it meant that any cold box I wanted to build would need to be done in our garage. Problem with that remaining option, was that we park 1 of our vehicles inside and the rest of the 3 car garage is filled with lots of other stuff that had already been pared down.
If I wanted to build in the garage, the space I would have to work with would be very small.
After doing some research, which started in 2016 with design ideas from The Homebuilt Winery by Steve Hughes, I began to buy supplies for the build in the summer of 2017 so that it would be finished in time for our first harvest of grapes from our backyard nano-vineyard.
It became apparent to me in the beginning that since my location was going to be tight, I would have to find an alternative to the typical door (or barn door) style entry that swings out. I would go with a pocket door instead.
Here is my version of the ubiquitous "cold box" for which I store the wine I'm making (& will store what is eventually bottled)...
The issue for me, however, was space. Since I don't have a basement, and I don't have enough land to dig a cave (even a small one), that meant I had to look to our house for a place to put the wine room/cold box. We already have 2 wine refrigerators, one filled with whites/champagnes (~120 btls) in our large storage closet (minus the door for improved ventilation) and the other for the reds (~225 btls) in our "office."
So, with no spare room inside, it meant that any cold box I wanted to build would need to be done in our garage. Problem with that remaining option, was that we park 1 of our vehicles inside and the rest of the 3 car garage is filled with lots of other stuff that had already been pared down.
If I wanted to build in the garage, the space I would have to work with would be very small.
After doing some research, which started in 2016 with design ideas from The Homebuilt Winery by Steve Hughes, I began to buy supplies for the build in the summer of 2017 so that it would be finished in time for our first harvest of grapes from our backyard nano-vineyard.
It became apparent to me in the beginning that since my location was going to be tight, I would have to find an alternative to the typical door (or barn door) style entry that swings out. I would go with a pocket door instead.
Here is my version of the ubiquitous "cold box" for which I store the wine I'm making (& will store what is eventually bottled)...
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