Let’s go wine tasting... on the couch!

Wine tasting on the couch?  Yes!  Build yourself your very own wine cellar and own these beautiful words.

Wine is a lifestyle – once you have established a relationship with it, you will find it is so much more than just an alcoholic beverage.  By the time your knowledge of this delicious substance evolves, you establish your likes and dislikes and learn more about its complexity. Then, without even trying, you start building your very own collection. The collection grows as you grow. A local visit to your speciality wine shop has delightful finds. Who can resist buying a bottle or six? Your travels automatically include vineyard tours where you buy not only the wine but lock in wonderful experiences and stories in every bottle or twelve. Rumour gets out to your friends and family that you love wine and before you know it your collection grows even further as your Christmas stocking includes a bottle or three or the gifts on your birthday makes your precious wine collection grow even more.   

As the relationship evolves, commitment follows.  It is time to get real. Put a ring on it and build your wine the house it deserves – its very own wine cellar. If love is all you have to give, you can still make it work. But if you have a little bit of money to spend on this special relationship, it will surely make things a lot easier!

Let us start with the very basics. When storing wine, two crucial conditions must be taken into consideration. Store between 10-15 degree Celsius and if you like a cork as a closure for bottles, you should ensure high humidity is in the order of their day in your wine cellar.

Small budget, limited space?

One of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to wine storage is that you must devote an entire room. A closet or that odd space underneath your staircase is perfect!

The wine closet.
A normal closet, a corner closet or a storage area that is difficult to access, could easily be transformed into your very own wine cellar. Remove the doors, insulate or build in a wine fridge and shelving and voila - an amazing way to add a wine cellar to your home.
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The wine cellar under the stairs.
Usually an uncomfortable, unutilised space in any two-storey home – this is exactly what Jaime Cittadino, the creator behind the lifestyle blog Sunflowers and Stilettos did. She documented their wine cellar built it in this 3-minute video: 

As with any custom home wine cellar, you can suit the style to your tastes and your home, whether you’re looking for a rustic, traditional look or a bit modern and minimalist feel like Jaime’s under stairs wine cellar

Enough budget, not enough space?

Heard about an underground spiral cellar that can hold up to 1900 bottles of your favourite wine? The Wine Room is the exclusive distributor of such Spiral Cellars in South Africa. It can be installed between three and nine days under any ground floor room in your house! The benefits are endless and the result jaw-dropping, check out this video from The Wine Room.

Enough budget and space?

Lucky you! Let us indulge.  If you have the space for it, you can create a jaw-dropping at home wine cellar and utilise it as an extraordinary entertaining space in your home. For this project, we suggest you make use of the specialists and many South African companies do just that. Before consulting with them, here are a couple of pointers to get clarification on to assist you in the process:  

• Establish the use of the cellar.  Why are you building this cellar?  Will it be used for entertainment or to securely store your wine.  
• Ensure the wine cellar builders cover the three most important aspects for wine storage: 

1. The wine cellar should have an airtight seal. It is vital to use a moisture or vapour barrier when constructing a wine cellar and the walls must be insulated correctly.
2. Ensure installation of the correct cooling system.
3. Wine racks will not only hold but also showcase your wines. Your builders should give you options to choose from: Case storage, tabletops, diamond bin storage or individual bottle storage.

There you go - ready to indulge in the wine tasting experience at home.

I once heard a sommelier say  “Of all the endless combinations of words in all of history, the cellar door is the most beautiful.”  I just smiled...

Sam Crawford*
South African wine lover