by Charlotte | Feb 21, 2018 | Rosehill Wine Cellars News
A fundamental of wine storage is placing wine on horizontal racks, to protect the cork. (Photo: Wine Racks from Rosehill Wine Cellars)
Wine storage is widely known to be best in cellar-like conditions, but far fewer wine drinkers understand the importance of the cork. The idea behind creating a wine cellar is to provide the perfect environment for wine to be stored so that it ages properly. For storage of a year or more, natural cork in a wine bottle is a crucial component in the process of wine maturation. The fact that most wine racks are built to store wine horizontally has to do with the cork, but that’s not all. The cork takes the spotlight in wine cellars in several ways.
Horizontal wine racks
For a cork to perform the way it is meant to, it must stay wet by maintaining contact with the wine. Horizontal wine racks are ideal because they keep the cork wet. If the cork does not stay wet, the result will be that the cork dries out, shrinks, and allows oxygen to get to the wine. This results in oxidation. Oxidized wine turns into vinegar, totally spoiling the anticipated flavor and enjoyment of the wine.
Constant Wine Storage Temperature
An essential part of wine storage is maintaining a constant temperature that rarely fluctuates. When there are swings in temperature, the wine will continuously expand and contract, which ultimately damages the cork’s integrity. As the cork is pulled in and out by the effects of changing temperatures, eventually, wine can seep along the outer edge of the cork, between the bottle neck and the cork. This allows air in, which is another way wine becomes oxidized. Due to the importance of maintaining a constant temperature, wine cellars are best built by professionals who understand how to properly insulate a wine cellar and how to choose a wine cellar cooling unit of the correct size for the space.
Clean Environment
Another fundamental aspect of proper wine storage is keeping the environment clean and free of foodstuffs and other items that introduce strong smells. Odors can permeate corks and contaminate the wine. Don’t store bleach or foods such as cheeses in your wine cellar, since they can ruin the wine through the cork. If mice and insects are drawn to the cellar because of the presence of food, they also tend to chew corks and gnaw on wine labels.
Experts in Wine Storage
The professional builders at Rosehill Wine Cellars know all the details of proper wine storage, including the significance of wine corks. There is an undeniable connection between wine storage and corks, just as proper wine storage is linked to enjoying the taste of fine bottles of wine.
by Charlotte | Feb 13, 2018 | Thirsty Thursday
Is a traditional wine cellar your style preference?
A practical step involved in building a wine cellar is to determine if a traditional wine cellar has the desired features or if you prefer a modern or transitional style. Other aspects of your custom wine cellar can be left to professionals, as long as builders are experienced with the precise requirements of proper wine storage. For wine cellar construction in Toronto and the surrounding area, contact the experts at Rosehill Wine Cellars. We can create the high-quality modern, transitional, or traditional wine cellar of your dreams. Our inventory includes a broad selection of wine cellar cooling units by top manufacturers as well as wine racks and racking systems that perfectly complement your design choice.
Attributes of a Traditional Wine Cellar
What features do you have in mind for your wine cellar? You lean towards traditional design if you like warm woods intricate in detail. Common attributes of a traditional wine cellar also include natural stone, wood floors, tile, brick, rolling ladders, and barreled ceilings. Wood wine racks may be made with redwood, African Mahogany, Toasted Maple, or another type of rich wood that holds up well in the wine cellar environment.
Features in a Modern Wine Cellar
Modern wine cellars demonstrate a clear departure from the rich woods essential to traditional wine cellars. Features are sleeker, with cleaner lines. If you like a wine cellar with stainless steel, acrylic, and/or frameless glass, a modern cellar is more your style. Modern wine storage is sometimes contained to cabinet space, as opposed to occupying a cellar. An Evolution Series wine rack, for example, is more suited to a modern wine cellar than wooden racks might be.
A Transitional Wine Cellar
If your taste in wine cellars falls somewhere between a modern and a traditional wine cellar, then a hybrid, or ‘transitional design’ might be a better choice. Transitional styles combines the best features of both a modern and more traditional wine cellar design. For instance, you may want wooden wine cabinets below and metal racks on the upper portion of the walls.
Finishing Touches
No matter the style of your wine cellar, certain features may be chosen to perfect the storage space. Lighting is standard, though you can get as elaborate as you like in highlighting the wine with your lighting system. You can choose to have a tasting nook with or without seating. A sound system is a nice touch, especially if your modern, transitional, or traditional wine cellar is meant to showcase your wine collection for guests.
by Charlotte | Jan 26, 2018 | Rosehill Wine Cellars News
Custom wine racks from Rosehill Wine Cellars can include large format wine storage. (Photo: Rosehill Wine Cellars)
Large format wine bottles offer notable benefits over standard 750mL bottles, making large format wine storage important. The standard size, equal to about six glasses of wine, is by far and away the most commonly distributed wine. Perhaps surprisingly, the standard wine bottle is only one of at least 17 available sizes—3 being smaller than standard and the rest larger. Many wine collectors recognize that large format bottles of wine offer coveted benefits. Sizeable bottles, however, don’t fit on standard wine racks. With a custom wine cellar, you can choose wine racking that accommodates bottles of all sizes. The decision to make special wine storage considerations is duck soup for those who invest in large format bottles of wine for any of the following reasons and more.
1-The Wine Tastes Better
For various reasons, wine in large format bottles usually tastes better than wine stored in smaller counterparts. There is less oxygen relative to the volume of wine, for example. As a result, the wine oxidizes more slowly, resulting in a longer aging period and improved maturation. Overall wine stability and aroma are among the characteristics of the wine that are improved when properly stored in a large format bottle. The wine should be maintained in ideal cellar conditions, which can largely be achieved with a wine cellar cooling unit from a top manufacturer, such as WhisperKOOL, Koolspace, or Wine Guardian. Large format bottles are also more resistant to irregularities in temperature that may be caused by moving the wine to a different wine cellar or by power outages.
2-Communal Enjoyment
Large bottles of wine provide delightful “wow moments” at large gatherings, including anniversaries and weddings. Everyone gets to share in the experience of drinking from the same bottle containing wine that has aged gracefully and has better maturation than wine in smaller bottles. Bringing out a large format bottle of wine is an upgrade to any event.
3-Rare = Valuable
Small production historically increases wine value. There are usually very few large-format bottles of any vintage that wineries produce. Whether a Magnum bottle with double the standard volume or the massive Melchizedek, equal to 40 standard bottles of wine, large format bottles are rare. They are usually reserved for special occasions, such as a winery’s anniversary; charity auctions; special collectors; winery displays; or private collections, whether for proprietors or their family and friends. Although large format bottles of quality wine tend to be very expensive, they are also sometimes offered at prices friendlier to those less wealthy.
4- Showpieces
The wine in a large format bottle isn’t the only part of the bargain. The wine bottle itself can be considered a real treasure. It’s not unusual to see large bottles of wine on display in fine restaurants and as dinner table centerpieces. There are many craft and décor ideas for large format wine bottles on Pinterest, in which the bottles are used as gorgeous lamps, vases, candle holders, and much more.
Don’t Forget Large Format Wine Storage
Some consider the size of large format wine bottles a downside, due to potential storage challenges. Rosehill Wine Cellars specializes in wine cellar construction and can help with all wine racking needs, from custom wine racking to adaptable wine kits. Rosehill also offers wine cellar cooling units from all of the top manufacturers, such as Koolspace, Wine Guardian, and WhisperKOOL.
by Charlotte | Jan 18, 2018 | Rosehill Wine Cellars News, Wine Cellar Design, wine racking
All true wine lovers dream of having their own wine cellar; it’s only natural. Although wine cellars don’t come cheap, it could make sense to invest in one for your home.
Adding Custom Wine Cellar Can Add Value
There always seems to be a way to do those things that mean the most, and sometimes you never know until you take steps in the right direction. Focusing on perceived hurdles such as the cost of a quality wine cellar cooling unit from a top manufacturer like Wine Guardian or WhisperKOOL could keep you from realizing your dream. Start, instead, by checking out the following five good reasons to invest in a wine cellar.
A custom wine cellar is an excellent investment. (Photo: Rosehill Wine Cellars)
1. Protect your Wine Collection
A properly built wine cellar provides the perfect environment for wine to age and reach its peak. The components of a wine cellar include the following and more:
- Insulation from ceiling to floor
- A wine cellar cooling unit that provides the correct temperature with minimal fluctuation
- Wine racks
- Lighting with no UV rays
- Protection from vibration, to keep wine bottles still and stable
2. Organize your Wine Collection
When a wine collection begins to grow, it can be difficult to keep track of and find a particular bottle you may be looking for. Lack of organization often means forgetting about wine you’ve purchased. It’s not unusual for wine bottles in a state of disarray to be neglected past their time of peak enjoyment.
Wine racks, display shelves, and areas for bin storage are among the choices you have, as far as how to store, organize, and display your wine in a wine cellar. With a shelving system, you can more easily manage your wine and make sure you pop corks before the best drinking date has passed.
3. Enhance the Enjoyment of Wine and Food
When you get down to it, the true purpose of a wine cellar is to make it possible to safely store bottles of wine and then open and drink them at exactly the right time. Wine goes through a chemical process that can take years or decades. Oenologists and sommeliers have gone before us to make determinations about just how long particular vintages should be stored before being poured into a decanter and served with a complementary meal. It’s tough, however, to quickly grab that perfect bottle of wine when it’s needed if you’ve been unable to store it an organized way in a wine cellar.
4. Increase Home Value with Wine Cellar
The resale value of your home can be increased significantly if you have a custom wine cellar. Many realtors have learned by experience that wine cellars can be of more value than kitchen upgrades during resale. One of the challenges when selling a home is standing out in a way that snags buyers, and a wine cellar is one of the features that attracts the right kind of attention.
5. Wine Cellar Showpiece
It is highly fashionable, not to mention fun, to bring friends for a tour of your wine cellar. With a tasting nook and great lighting, it can be a truly memorable experience. Show off your wonderful wine collection and beautiful wooden wine racks with confidence. Wine cellars have secure entrances that can keep out teens, on-site workmen, and drunk friends.
Custom Wine Cellar Construction
Get started with the process of possibly having the wine cellar you really want for your wine collection. Contact the dedicated wine cellar construction experts at Rosehill Wine Cellars. They specialize in wine cellars; in fact, that’s the only type of construction they do anymore. Rosehill offers a selection of the best wine cellar cooling units, including WhisperKOOL and Wine Guardian. Due to their experience and knowledge, there’s no one better to help you determine whether a wine cellar is the right investment for you.
by Charlotte | Jan 4, 2018 | Rosehill Wine Cellars News, Thirsty Thursday
A custom wine cellar makes organization of your wine collection easy (Rosehill Wine Cellars Custom Wine Cellar)
It doesn’t take long for a disorganized collection of wine bottles to feel unmanageable, especially if your storage space doesn’t have wine racks. If you are a wine lover with a growing number of favorite vintages, then constructing a custom wine cellar may be just what you need to simplify your life and better enjoy your collection. A wine cellar cooling unit from a leading manufacturer will help to ensure that your wine is properly stored. Wine racks will provide you with a system for organizing your wine and storing it so that the corks don’t dry out. Anyone who has crates and many individual bottles of wine will benefit from a well-organized custom wine cellar.
Wine Bottle Organization Tips
A wine collection may begin with a few favorite vintages and surprisingly grow to the point that you don’t know exactly what you have or where to find it. The worst part about it is that some of the wine could be at its peak or going beyond the best time to drink it. This defeats the purpose of a wine collection. Wouldn’t it be nice to have all the wine nicely organized so that you know where to go for that perfect bottle for a particular meal with dinner?
There are many ways to categorize a wine collection in a wine cellar. The best way to organize largely depends on the types of wine the collector purchases. The following are a few helpful ideas:
- Put all of the bottles of a particular wine type in the same row. This could mean rows for red wine, white wine, champagne, other sparkling wines, and dessert wine.
- Place bottles in rows according to the type of grape, such as Bordeaux, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and Pinot Noir.
- In the various categories that you set up in your wine cellar, order the wine bottles according their drink date.
- Another approach is to keep a “drink now” section with all the different varieties in your collection.
The Right Atmosphere
Organization is important, but nothing about a wine cellar is as essential as the fact that you can rely on the wine being properly stored for many years. Simply placing wine in a room with a wine cooling unit doesn’t provide the right kind of protection against potential temperature fluctuations. A wine cellar has insulation from floor to ceiling. Bottles are also protected from harm caused by UV rays and vibrations. The fact that you have many bottles and crates of wine is proof enough that a wine cellar could be a daily asset that simplifies your life.
