Information on your wine cellar.

A wine cellar is a safe environment for the long-tem storage of wine. The use of the word ‘cellar’ reflects the European tradition of storing wine below ground, since cool, moist and dark conditions are ideal for protecting wine.

While the term ‘wine cellar’ is occasionally applied to self-contained wine storage appliances, like dedicated wine refrigerators, it more properly refers to a temperature and humidity controlled room or storage space dedicated to wine storage. Such cellars can range from the rustic, like an ambient cool basement closet, to the extravagant, like a moisture-sealed glass-walled refrigerated room finished with display-quality mahogany racking and tile work. Some cellars may even incorporate a space for tasting and enjoying wine.

Wine is a fragile product, easily damaged when exposed to heat, light and air. Wine bottles and corks can also fail to protect wines when exposed to freezing temperatures, low humidity, vibrations or strong odors. Wines damaged by improper storage may simply not taste their best or may be spoiled so thoroughly that they are unpleasant to drink. Wine drinkers who wish to store wine for more than a few weeks may want to establish a wine cellar.

Wine is one of very few natural products that are deliberately aged, though very few modern wines continue to improve after their commercial release. The vast majority of wines are released to the consumer as soon as possible, and are ready to drink on release. However, a small percentage of the finest wines can benefit from, or even require, further maturation under controlled conditions.

For ideal wine storage conditions, see Wine Storage. For information on shelving for wine bottles, see Wine Racking.

Contributed by: Marnie Old
Marnie Old is the Philadelphia area’s leading wine educator and highest profile sommelier. At 34, she is one of the youngest women to be sought after, both nationally and internationally, as a speaker on wine and beer. She is a member of the wine faculty at the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan and the regional wine educator for Wine & Spirits Magazine. Marnie writes beverage columns for Philadelphia Magazine and Pennsylvania’s Wine & Spirits Quarterly and is a contributing editor for Santé Magazine. She is the only wine professional in the region enrolled in the Master Sommelier program.