Wine Storage 101 Week #1:
To Cool or Not to Cool that is the Question?
Collection / Consumption Habits
What I always tell clients from all over the world when we get asked this question several times a day is of course it all depends… This is more of a series of questions to ask yourself (Be Honest or you will be very unhappy with the results); the following are some critical questions to ask yourself about what your wine purchase, consumption and collections habits are:
- Are you a consumer of current wines meaning red blends and whites that are early drinkers? Or do you prefer Cabernet and Bordeaux style wine that may take several years to mature into even early drinkability?
- Do you belong to wine clubs that make you buy wines you need to lay down for at least a few years before they drink well?
- Do you love wine and tend to accumulate more than you consume?
- What is the lifespan on the wine you purchase is it meant to be cellared long term or drank within 18 months?
- How much wine do you currently have and how long will it take to consume?
The answers to these questions will lead you toward the correct path of whether or not you need a climate controlled wine cellar. It can be a sizable investment but normally its much less than your investment in your wine collection. Nevertheless it’s a legitimate discussion point. If you have found that you have got about 50 decent bottles of red’s and you drink whites out of the fridge then you probably all set without a cooling system or a wine cellar for that matter as long as you don’t expect to lay any of the wine down for over about 24 months. Anything beyond that point (This being the time a wine shop may keep a bottle on a shelf before you buy it) and you will likely be very unhappy with the result.
Draining a highly anticipated and saved special bottle of wine is one of the worst feelings a self indulgent wine coinsurer can have. Believe me, even with proper storage, a serious wine collector drains a lot of wine that is cellared properly from simply opening it at the wrong time in its aging process or sometimes a wine just doesn’t age well.
Do I Need a Cooling System?
Back to the question at hand, if you do have wine even a small collection of 100 bottles or more, or wines that aren’t drinkable for several years, wines that increase in value substantially with proper again or are collectable then YOU NEED A COOLING SYSTEM.
Passive Storage Myths
Passive storage is for the birds – Well OK actually Frenchman as well with wine caves where bottles are pretty much laid in moldy and muddy conditions, where no care is paid to the label or condition of the bottle. Not to sweat the French Technique I have several cases of 1st growth Bordeaux in some of these very same moldy caves; however, the best thing about the French collectors I know is that they love to consume wine. It’s for pure consumption and enjoyment, never for show, trade or to resell. This style in wine collecting in consumption is dramatically different in North America and Asia where wine collecting is just as much about art and display as it is cellaring wine properly.
Everybody has a basement that is just perfect for wine storage never gets over 60 degrees even in the summer. Well unfortunately less than about 10% of homes in the US, even ones that plan on a passive cellar below grade actually have suitable long term wine storage conditions.
FOR NEXT WEEK IN THE WINE STORAGE 101 SERIES
Next Week we will talk more about types of cooling systems, including self contained, split cooling systems, fan coil systems, ducted systems and geothermal systems both closed loop and open source (Swimming pool) systems. Lots more technical info but we will break it down so you can understand in plain terms what type of system you may need for your cellar.
Wine Cellar 101 Series Brought to You By Luxe Wine Cellars
Content Contributor this week:
Jon Parsons
Jon is a renowned Wine Cellar Consultant, Cooling System Engineer, Designer and Wine Storage Expert. Mr. Parsons travels the world for consulting on wine storage projects and highly specialized cooling system applications for high value collections (In the millions of dollars).
https://www.luxewinecellars.com for more
