Creating A Wine Cellar In Your Basement: How To Do It?

Regardless of how long you waited before you appreciated fine wines, you’d need a cellar to store them if you have a collection of wines.

Depending upon the size of your collection, you can create a small, medium, or large cellar.

But, before you create or build a wine cellar at your home, there are a few things you must know.

• Your cellar should have a moderate temperature between 45-65 degrees.
• Humidity levels should not exceed 70 percent.
• Wines are best stored in dark rooms.
• Proper racking would ensure the safe handling of your wine bottles.
• Racks should be resistant to vibration.

Keeping these factors in mind, you may find it easy to understand why most wine connoisseurs prefer to build their wine cellars in the basement.

So, now that you know where to build your cellar let’s get to the building process.

Step 1. Sealing Off The Surroundings

The first step is sealing off the floors, walls, and any other exposed area in your basement.

If you have concrete flooring, you should consider sealing it off with a concrete sealer. It is to prevent any moisture from passing through the concrete.

Likewise, you should also seal off your walls by installing vapor barriers. You can use duct tape, plastic sheeting, and pressure-treated lumber for this purpose.

Step 2. Installing UV-Free Lights

Before bringing in your wine bottles, make sure you cover up all the windows to prevent any UV rays from coming in. You should know that UV light can cause your wine to age prematurely.

If you have subscribed to a monthly wine club, ask for any specific lighting conditions from the Sommelier.

Nonetheless, consider it a rule of thumb to avoid any UV lights in your cellar. And that includes avoiding fluorescent lights, which emit a significant amount of UV rays.

Step 3. Mounting Racks And Installing Door

The next step is mounting racks and installing a door to your cellar.

Make sure you mount your rack a few inches above the ground to provide proper temperature regulation in your cellar. But, remember you don’t want to allow any air to seep in or out of your cellar.

To prevent air leakage, you can use a 1 ¾ inches thick wooden door. Or, if you are using a glass door, make sure you use double or triple-paned tempered glass. It should seal in any air and help maintain humidity and temperature inside the cellar.

Step 4. Finishing Up With Air Conditioning Unit

Lastly, you need to finish up your cellar with VOC-free paint and an air conditioning unit.

VOC-free paint would ensure that there are no toxic fumes inside your cellar. And the AC unit will provide the temperature is constantly maintained inside your cellar.

To keep a check on temperature and humidity conditions, you need to install thermometers and hygrometers too. 

Closing Note

You must have seen cellar racks stacked vertically and bottles racked horizontally over each other. This is to keep the cork moist and prevent it from shrinking or expanding with changes in temperature and humidity conditions.

So, when creating your cellar, make sure you keep this critically important point in mind.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates