Winemaking room ... what do I need?
- Thread starter KenS
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Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
Oh, don't forget the obvious: a corkscrew!
Bartman
Senior Member
Well, I think an A/C unit could be set that low, and keep the temperature that low, but they are not as efficient at that lowest setting. I would also add, that keeping wine at 68-70 is not really a problem; keeping the temperature constant is more important than the temperature level (obviously not very cold or very warm).
'Ideal' conditions won't make an average wine age into a great wine, and slightly warmer than perfect temperatures will not ruin a good homemade wine. Point is, don't agonize over it or spend excessive money to reach the lower temperature - if you have an a/c unit available at no cost vs. buying a refrigerating system and leaving the a/c system unused (and you are not trying to impress visitors to your winery), that's a no-brainer - use the available a/c unit.
Also, a humidifier is nice, but the main purpose is to keep the corks from drying out. If you don't plan on aging for 5-10+ years, the humidifier is not really necessary. Won't hurt, of course, but isn't as critical as a steady temperature (and no or very limited vibrations). I have no homemade wines that are over three years, despite my best efforts -
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ColdClimateWines
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There is a device, invented reportedly by a NY farmer, called Cool-Bot. It turns a typical energy star AC unit into a fridge unit. We used one to cool a 12x12x10 box into a walk in. Cooled as low as 33 f. Unit is about $400. Google Cool bot. Also very low energy use.
Actually, I think the replies here are addressing two different things. I had originally asked about a wine making room. Some of the discussion here is addressing a wine storage room. The good news is that I'm doing both . Permits are in process, and the work should start within a week or so.
For the wine making area, I think I've settled on putting in some of the Gladiator Garageworks equipment, like I have in my garage. Very sturdy 8' work bench (3,000 pound load capacity), and some of the various cabinets and drawer systems. I think it will give me a lot of flexibility, and is less expensive than built-in cabinetry.
For the wine storage area, the builder is recommending a unit called N'FINITY 3000 for cooling. That room should end up about 12' x 4', with a double entry door, and two smoked glass windows. I haven't yet arranged for the build-out of the wine racks, but we should end up with a lot of capacity in a room that size. Does anybody have any experience with that cooling unit?
. Permits are in process, and the work should start within a week or so.For the wine making area, I think I've settled on putting in some of the Gladiator Garageworks equipment, like I have in my garage. Very sturdy 8' work bench (3,000 pound load capacity), and some of the various cabinets and drawer systems. I think it will give me a lot of flexibility, and is less expensive than built-in cabinetry.
For the wine storage area, the builder is recommending a unit called N'FINITY 3000 for cooling. That room should end up about 12' x 4', with a double entry door, and two smoked glass windows. I haven't yet arranged for the build-out of the wine racks, but we should end up with a lot of capacity in a room that size. Does anybody have any experience with that cooling unit?
ShtWine
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Metro Shelving might be a good idea too.
Metro Shelving is cool.
At Sams you can get a set of six shelves and four poles for about $100. Then go to Webstaurant and get 4 more poles for about $5-6 each. (probably $30-$35 delivered.) so for around $135 you've got top shelf space for about 21 carboys. (7 on a shelf -or even 8 but it's pretty tight)
If you use a pump of some sort, and don't have to worry about head space for the racking cane, you could probably load up your lower shelf too for a capacity of 42 carboys. I've never tried to load both
The stuff can be rearranged easily. Taken down, stored, and used again like new. It doesn't seem to get ragged the way some shelving does. It has a clean look, It's NSF, and I think each shelf is rated to 600 lbs. With eight six's you're at what? 8 lb gal x 8 carboys x 8 gallons (figuring a carboy weighs in around 16 lbs...) call it 500 lbs, but you will rarely if ever have 8 on one shelf and if they're rated for 600 they'll take more...
btw, i suggested glassboard earlier... that was a mistake its "glasbord." or fiberglass reinforced panel. I think Kemlite in Joliet makes it. -or did anyway.
Metro Shelving is cool.
At Sams you can get a set of six shelves and four poles for about $100. Then go to Webstaurant and get 4 more poles for about $5-6 each. (probably $30-$35 delivered.) so for around $135 you've got top shelf space for about 21 carboys. (7 on a shelf -or even 8 but it's pretty tight)
If you use a pump of some sort, and don't have to worry about head space for the racking cane, you could probably load up your lower shelf too for a capacity of 42 carboys. I've never tried to load both
The stuff can be rearranged easily. Taken down, stored, and used again like new. It doesn't seem to get ragged the way some shelving does. It has a clean look, It's NSF, and I think each shelf is rated to 600 lbs. With eight six's you're at what? 8 lb gal x 8 carboys x 8 gallons (figuring a carboy weighs in around 16 lbs...) call it 500 lbs, but you will rarely if ever have 8 on one shelf and if they're rated for 600 they'll take more...
btw, i suggested glassboard earlier... that was a mistake its "glasbord." or fiberglass reinforced panel. I think Kemlite in Joliet makes it. -or did anyway.
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Hey Ken I thought this thread was going in the wrong direction but since you brought it up now, where is this wine room located? If it's in the basement do you really feel like you have to climate control it? If the temperature stays pretty constant I think I would skip that huge expense of a cooling unit. You may need a dehumidifier at some point though. Depending on your builder he may be able to build you nice racks a lot cheaper then it would be to buy them. My wine cellar is on one outside wall and the temp stay aroung 65* (+-4*) year round.
I keep going back and forth on it. We are doing a complete basement finishing project (about 1500 square feet total), which will include a workout room, TV/Video room, large bar area (like a pub
), the winemaking room, and then the wine storage. Unfortunately, the wine storage is designed in the center of the basement instead of an outside wall. Should have thought about that more.Because overall it's an active living area, we'll probably keep it a bit warmer than just a 'basement storage' room. That's why I think I should do the cooling. Plus, with the investment in the whole project, it just seems like now is the time to 'do it right'. But it's still real money, so I do keep waffling on that last item. At a minimum, I'll have all of the insulation and vapor barrier done; might hold off on the cooling unit itself (about $1,400 just for the unit).
If your storage room is only 4 ft deep I would think your racking could only go on 1 wall. 12ft by 8ft tall? 96 sq ft. if your shelf can hold a bottle every four inches thats 9 bottles per ft. 9x 96 is 864 bottles. Sounds like alot but Im already finding they add up quick. If you added a foot or 2 to the width and your door was at the end yoou could double your capicity. Assumimng a 3 ft isle.
I am also building a wine making room and agree with all of the suggestions. In reference to flooring, I was going to use ceramic/porcelain tiles but then came across new floor coatings from traccoatings.com, that are as nice if not nicer than ceramic. Much less expensive and easier to maintain.
