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How To Build Your Own Wine Cellar

By Brian on Monday, November 21st, 2011 | No Comments

By Jim Roberts

What does a wine cellar do? Think before you answer, because you need to be absolutely certain of the purpose of a wine cellar before you begin to build a wine cellar of your own. Increasingly, given the rising number of wine aficionados around the world, a residential wine cellar is gaining ground as a status symbol for both the mature connoisseur as well as the entry-level enthusiast, but its utility extends far beyond that.

Essentially, a wine cellar is a storage space that protects wine from potentially damaging external influences. Because wine is a natural, perishable food product, it is vulnerable to exposure mainly from heat, light, and humidity. However, if stored properly, wines not only retain their quality, but also improve with regard to aroma, flavor, and richness as they mature.

Building your own wine cellar

Before you begin, remember that the ideal wine cellar must provide constant temperature, humidity, and darkness. Add to that well-ventilated and clean surroundings, and your favorite Chardonnay and Cabernet are in good hands. So what are the basic steps to keep in mind?

- The more you research, the better your chances of building the perfect wine cellar. The Internet offers a vast number of sites that offer wine cellar kits. Prices for these kits may range from USD 2000 to about 4000, but that’s a slightly conservative estimate, and process can increase depending on the quality of your wine cellar racks. Bottom line: don’t scrimp on costs because ultimately, your expensive wines will suffer.

- Depending on the size of your house, you may choose to place your wine cellar below or above ground. Obviously, those with larger houses can accommodate wine cellars above ground, but the basement is the safest bet because it will support the combined weight of the cooler and the racks.

- Your area selected, begin work on insulation. All inner walls must have at least R-11 insulation while outer walls and the ceiling must have at least R-19. If you choose the basement, a vapor barrier with a concrete sealant over it will be adequate for the floor. The vapor barrier – usually a 6mm polyethylene plastic sheet – should face outward (the ‘warm’ side of the cellar), as opposed to the ‘cold’ side. This is something you have to be careful of: if the sheeting faces inward, damp will set in and damage the walls.

- Next, install a door. The ideal door must be solid, windowless, and insulated – NOT wooden, because they are not adequately insulated. Also ensure that the weather stripping is adequate and the door is airtight.

- A very important step is to place the cooler, which is ideally placed at the back of the area for aesthetic purposes! Typically, the cooler should be placed between crosswise boards about 6 inches down from the ceiling.

- Finally, finish the walls and lights. Use a drywall to finish off the walls and cover up with durable strip paneling. When installing the lights, avoid recessed lights because they make the cellar less than airtight. Aim for simplicity and you’ll be ok. But remember, light switches are best placed outside, or else they get in the way of your wine racks.

About the Author: For more wine tips and top of the line wine accessories visit the best wine gift store on the web, The Wine Standard. There you can find accessories such as rabbit corkscrews and Riedel wine glasses.

Source: www.isnare.com

Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=153202&ca=Food+and+Drinks

Excerpt from: How To Build Your Own Wine Cellar

On Aging California Wine

By Brian on Sunday, November 20th, 2011 | No Comments

By Nicole Martins

With a small collection of wine the logical solution is to drink up! But if the intent to collect and preserve wine, a clear distinction is made between those bottles that are drinkable today and those that should be cellared to enhance the wines complexity. But how do you know which wines to cellar and which ones to drink say within a couple of years? In learning more about wine, I came to understand that most wine, California wine that is, is meant to be drunk right away: Very different from storing a bottle away for 15 years. While those bottles of white wine like Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are great for tomorrow’s dinner party; preserve them for a dinner party in 2015, and you’ll wind up pouring money down the drain. However, it is possible to find white wines that can be cellared for a decade or so, such as white Burgundy, Chardonnay and some German Rieslings but exactly which wines and for how long is a question not easily answered.

What about Cabernet Sauvignon?

Here’s the juxtaposition: red wine like a Cabernet, may taste better years down the road than it does today. Again, how well a wine ages depends on multiple factors such as tannins, quality of production and the method of storage. The constancy of temperature is very important, more than the actual temperature itself, as extreme fluctuations in temperature will destroy the wine. If the plan is to create a very serious wine collection then a very serious wine cellar is a must to be able to control temperature, humidity and light. Thankfully it is no longer necessary to dig a huge cave under your house as there are plenty of fantastic wine refrigerators on the market that hold hundreds of bottles.

Keep in mind that many California wines are made to drink young although most will age no problem for 3 – 5 years, and more, depending on the varietal. If you decide to store several cases of a favorite vintage, be sure to test a bottle every 6 months to a year so a not to pass by the peak of perfection. Now the fun part, doing the research. You’ll need to start reading industry magazines and tasting to find wines that have potential to age well. Take for example a few notable California wines from the Napa Valley made from either 100% Cabernet grape, or a varietal, with the predominant grape being Cabernet. Consider Rubicon Estate 2002. This bottle contains 90% Cabernet Sauvignon with small percentages of Cab Franc, Merlot and Petite Verdot. According to Wine Spectator Magazine, this wine “has the tannic elegance and balance that cellaring will be no problem at all over 20 years.” But if you fall into the category of an impatient collector, try a bottle of wine such as the Shafer 2002 Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon, which can develop nicely in just under 15 years.

About the Author: Nicole Martins is a senior editor at http://CellarYourWine.com. Read more about wine storage by visiting this site at: http://www.cellaryourwine.com

Source: www.isnare.com

Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=158611&ca=Food+and+Drinks

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The Delights of Wine

By Brian on Thursday, November 10th, 2011 | No Comments

By Allison Ryan

For all its snobbish reputation, wine can be fun. The fun is in making the selection, buying by the case, opening a bottle from time to time and discovering the exact moment at which such a wine blooms, so to speak, with its maximum bouquet and mellow goodness.

An example of the heights to which this art of selection can develop was furnished one spring day by that California oenophile, Dr. Salvatore Pablo Lucia. He was visiting a few cellars in the Santa Clara Valley, sampling the newly fermented, still yeasty-tasting Barbera wines from the casks. Lucia asked one winemaker whether he had ever entered wines in the State Fair. The answer was negative. “Enter this one when it matures,” said the doctor.

Two years later his advice was followed. The wine won a gold medal. One of the diversions of the kings of old was to similarly tour the vineyards, taste wines in the wood, and select those to be aged and bottled for their cellars. Today this is still being done by the brokers of Burgundy and Bordeaux. (“Broker,” by the way, originated from the French broquier, who tapped or “broke” a cask to draw wine.)

Every wine ages differently; in fact, among very old ones each bottle is likely to be different. Pinotage wines are temperamental, and should be handled gently. When carried for any distance or even shaken, they sometimes sulk for a time and need to rest before serving.

If you keep a table wine ten years or more, watch it, because some corks grow soft and shrink with age, and excess air gets into the bottle as wine evaporates. You can re-cork old wines after ten years or so, or reseal the bottle by removing the foil and dipping the bottle neck into melted sealing wax.

All of this, of course, suggests having a home wine cellar. It need not be a vast vaulted cavern; the dark end of an apartment clothes closet can hold a dozen or more cases of wine. All that is necessary is to choose a cool spot that won’t get too warm, yet won’t freeze, where the temperature is as even as possible.

While millionaires can afford air conditioning and temperature control for their Tempranillo, you can convert a spot in even a warm cellar by lining it with insulating wallboard.

Although in the past connoisseurs have recommended building scalloped racks to fit individual bottles, many now favor one kind of storage arrangement above all others–diamond-shaped bins. These are simply constructed of parallel 1″ by 12″ boards.

Lean them at a 45 degree angle between uprights, with short dividing pieces nailed 16″ apart to form the square compartments. Such bins hold the most wine in the least space, and the bottles don’t roll about.

A cellar provides the opportunity to keep a cellar book. In it you can keep a record of your wines, of the foods you served them with, and how they tasted–a fascinating diary of pleasures. Some hobbyists keep label collections. Some people even have all their guests autograph the label of a wine they have enjoyed, as a memento of a pleasant dinner.

About the Author: Allison Ryan is a freelance marketing writer from San Diego, CA. She specializes in viniculture, viticulture, and Barbera wines. For various varietals such as Tempranillo and Pinotage, check out http://www.wineaccess.com/.

Source: www.isnare.com

Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=370192&ca=Food+and+Drinks

Read the original here: The Delights of Wine

A Guide To Storing & Enjoying Wine

By Brian on Thursday, October 13th, 2011 | No Comments

By John McElborough

No matter what you tipple is; white, red, pink or sparkling, storing your wine correctly is essential. Simply putting your favourite bottle above the fridge and forgetting about it for a year could drastically alter the taste, then, when you come to enjoy it at that special occasion, it might not be as favourable as you hoped.

Despite wines being a perishable commodity, properly caring for and storing your wine can actually improve its’ aroma, flavour, texture and complexity over time.

Step 1: How long are you storing your wine for?

The first decision to make is how long you are planning to store your wine for. Generally short term storage means 3 to 6 months and should be your cheaper, less cherished wines, where as long term can mean decades and should be reserved for your quality, precious wines.

Step 2: Correct storage conditions

Whether it’s short or long term storage the same rules apply, firstly and most crucially the bottles should be laid horizontally instead of upright, this ensures the cork remains moist, to stop it drying out.

It is essential to keep the wines in a vibration free environment so they can not move about, therefore on top of electrical appliances or a place subject to external forces (i.e. from a subway) should be avoided.

Wine can be greatly affected by its surrounding temperature; the ideal temperature is roughly 55 degrees Fahrenheit (12

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