Need help...with wine room design

[acallan921]

Hi! My husband and I are building a barn and one of my wants is a wine room in order to make my own wine. I am planting vines, but we all know how long that will take, so I will be practicing making wine using a lot of other kits, fruits, etc. My question is - what do you think is important in a wine room to make it easier on the maker (me) and what is essential. The room will most likely be about 8x8 (maybe slightly larger). I so far have decided I need a deep and large sink (with water of course), crate area for carboys, a good countertop, a good tool type holder for all tools, but what am I missing? Thanks for your help in advance, just trying to not miss anything.

Would you put a window in this room?
It will be air conditioned, but would you put a separate thermostat in there to keep it cooler (we're in Texas so it gets HOT)? It will be well insulated and a metal type building.

Help! Please! There are just so many things to think about and I don't want to miss something important.

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR READING AND MAKING SUGGESTIONS!

 

[GSMChris]

A few questions rather than any answers:

What activities will you be doing in this room? Crushing grapes? Primary Fermentation? Secondary fermentation? Bottling? Storing bottled wine? Performing tests? Storing wine making equipment? Cleaning?

 

[David Violante]

Those are some great ideas, also take a look at this thread from Raptor99 that has a bit of discussion on the topic.

I'm in the process of reworking a similarly sized space that has a window but no AC. Nearby is a boiler room that has some counterspace and a sink. I have been fermenting/cleaning in that room and then storing in the (to be developed) space that is currently a combination cellar, office, storage... In the checklist in my head is the option of venting the room when fermenting, predominantly because of the CO2 production and smell. Also, when cleaning and using potassium metabisulfite. To that end, you may want a window unless you can vent it. You will have to weigh this against the sunlight that can come in. You'll need to cover your carboys then. In my space I'll put in a window AC unit for some of the summer to try and keep the room closer to a constant temperature.

I like the idea of some organization of equipment and supplies, empty carboy storage, empty bottle storage, perhaps a fridge or converted refrigerated space for cold crashing, or keeping yeast, or settling lees. Of course you're going to want space for full carboys that has enough room for lifting/moving/transferring them.

Your space design will also be dependent upon how much you're going to make, if you're going to store in the same place or a different one, will you have barrels, etc... If you're going to use this space for making / creating / documenting / fermenting, and then move to a different area for storage, you will have more room and be able to design it differently than if you were storing there also. My room will have to be both so I will have to design it accordingly.

I currently have design/documentation in the office, equipment for crush/press in the shed, fermentation in the boiler room, and storage in the office.

I'm looking forward to what you come up with!

 

[Vern]

Hi! My husband and I are building a barn and one of my wants is a wine room in order to make my own wine. I am planting vines, but we all know how long that will take, so I will be practicing making wine using a lot of other kits, fruits, etc. My question is - what do you think is important in a wine room to make it easier on the maker (me) and what is essential. The room will most likely be about 8x8 (maybe slightly larger). I so far have decided I need a deep and large sink (with water of course), crate area for carboys, a good countertop, a good tool type holder for all tools, but what am I missing? Thanks for your help in advance, just trying to not miss anything.

Would you put a window in this room?
It will be air conditioned, but would you put a separate thermostat in there to keep it cooler (we're in Texas so it gets HOT)? It will be well insulated and a metal type building.

Help! Please! There are just so many things to think about and I don't want to miss something important.

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR READING AND MAKING SUGGESTIONS!

I made mine 12 x 16 with a double sink, 8 ' counter top and cabinets above, room. For a desk and file cabinet for keeping notes. Also racking to store carboys and empty bottles. Hopefully this will help you.

 

[acallan921]

A few questions rather than any answers:

What activities will you be doing in this room? Crushing grapes? Primary Fermentation? Secondary fermentation? Bottling? Storing bottled wine? Performing tests? Storing wine making equipment? Cleaning?

Hi, Most of the above I think, although storing is more likely a different area, definitely fermentation, bottling, tests, cleaning. Generally experimenting with all kinds of fruits.

 

[ratflinger]

Well, I have a window in mine, but it always stays curtained. Metal building in Texas - yeah you want a thermostat in the there.

My wine room is 10' x 8' and it is not enough, can I get by - yes, would I like bigger - oh yes.

 

[BigDaveK]

Most countertops are 2 ft deep. Assuming it takes up one wall (with a sink), you're at 8x6 floor space. Another big shelf would be handy and 16 inches deep would easily hold 2 rows of jugs or carboys. (Gotta think about that bulk aging!) Now we're approaching less than 8x5. Add maybe 2 bodies trying to move around.....

I would put tape (or something) down to get a visual idea of the layout.
And then I would make it bigger. I think down the road you'll be really glad you did.

 

[vinny]

I would try to squeeze another couple of feet in. You want lots of counter space. When I am bottling I end up with stuff on the floor, the counter is jammed full, and the freezer behind me gets loaded up too. 8x10 or 12 might be nice if you had a u shaped counter to work around with the sink farther down.

I would make rolling dollies and store carboys under the benches, then you can roll them all out to taste, top up air locks, etc. If you get a vacuum pump there is no need to lift a full one. otherwise I would incorporate a lift table into the design.


A motorcycle lift would work well.



A deep sink is not as convenient as a tall faucet. I wouldn't want to use a deep basin sink. My sink is 10 inches deep. I have a spray wand, and faucet, and I am still considering adding another so I can have a washing wand attached and still have full flow to fill things.

I love my bottle washer. It is just a glass washer with the base taken off and a larger hole drilled in the top.

The one thing I could use is more storage for chemicals, mixing spoons, hoses, racking canes.. etc. etc.

I really like the grate in the bottom of the sink. Carboys don't beat it to death.

Lastly, make it bright. Lots of lights so you can see well.

 

[Hazelemere]

motorcycle lift idea is perfect. I use mine all of the time. Consider stainless sinks with a sink trap that you can disconnect to clean it out.. Try to be close to a toilet (mine is connected to a septic tank so I can dump sludge without plugging drains. I have a shower chord with a pressure gun on the end for rinsing carboys when they are upside down. You don't need the window, just good lighting. Use all of the walls e.g. one wall can be a floor to ceiling wine rack. I stack empty bottles on shelves between 2x4 studs.

 

[Hazelemere]

This is a stainless steel restaurant sink with the shower fitting and water gun. There is a toilet on the right with a sliding door.

 

[Hazelemere]

wine rack I use for empty bottles left of a door on the right and then the sink on the right in the above photo built between the 2x4 studs

 

[Hazelemere]

on 8x8 try to use all 4 walls floor to ceiling leaving out the window. My room has a window but I've covered it up with a peg board. The next picture shows my wine cooler which can hold 400 bottles plus 36 carboys e.g. 12 on each of three shelf levels plus another 6 to eight on the floor plus carboard boxes full or empty on the shelves instead of carboys.. The cooler uses a Cellarpro air conditioner built in above the door set to 58F. It has built in humidity control. My wife built the racks using a jointer from 2 x 12s. Bottles are separated by triangular strips. I also mounted 4 vertical wooden wine boxes on the end of each rack that hold 15 bottles each plus 2 thirty two bottle wooden wine racks on top of each wife built rack so I can sore bottles from floor to ceiling.

 

[SLM]

With limited space it's nice to be able to move stuff out of the way. I make wine in my garage so I like everything to be portable (except for the storage shelves). I got a deep plastic sink and I quick-connect my water and drain with hoses. It's light and easy to move, as is my folding work table.

 

[vinny]

With limited space it's nice to be able to move stuff out of the way. I make wine in my garage so I like everything to be portable (except for the storage shelves). I got a deep plastic sink and I quick-connect my water and drain with hoses. It's light and easy to move, as is my folding work table.

View attachment 95582

Smart, but you guys are making me think I need to get more batches on the go seeing all the stock you have.

 

[winemaker81]

@acallan921, storage of items will require a LOT more space than you are expecting. You need space to store carboys, primary fermenters, empty bottles, various equipment, etc.

Regardless of space, plan for storage beneath your counters and above the counters as well. You will never have too much storage space.

My wine area is 5' 3" (1.6 m) wide by 10' 3" (3.1 m) deep, and the counter is 8' long. The picture illustrates how tight the space is. I have about 54 square feet, while 8'x8' is 64 square feet. The barrels and the carboys (obscured by the bottle tree) currently hold 75 gallons of wine. Not in picture are 2 other carboys, 2 demijohns (25 and 54 liters), 3 more 32 gallon Brutes, and a stack of 6 to 8 gallon primary fermenters.



In the foreground is 9 cases of wine I need to put in a closet (to the right of the wine area, and I have 20 cases of empties in another closet.

How many vines are you planning? There is a grape grower's forum -- I suggest you participate there. Numerous folks have started vineyards in the last couple of years and you can learn from their experiences.

Explain to your husband that this barn is yours, and if he needs space, he needs to build another one!

 

[Mcjeff]

If you haven’t seen it, here is a link to my winemaking area discussion with feedback/ideas from other members.
3rd Iteration Winemaking Room

 

[TechAdmin]

My question is - what do you think is important in a wine room to make it easier on the maker (me) and what is essential. The room will most likely be about 8x8 (maybe slightly larger). I so far have decided I need a deep and large sink (with water of course), crate area for carboys, a good countertop, a good tool type holder for all tools, but what am I missing?

Hey, welcome to WMT. Any progress on the wine room design? Hope everything has been considered.

Welcome!

 

[Obbnw]

I'm following because I want a dedicated room too. I think a deep sink is really useful but I didn't even know a glass washer attachment existed. Definitely adding that to my wish list.

I will say you can make do without a dedicated room. You just steal space where you can. Luckily we have a basement, and my kids have moved out. My wife did give me the "no you won't" look when I told her I wanted to convert my daughters room to the wine room ; )

Good luck with your grape growing, I love mine.

 

[vinny]

How big are the flies down there?