by Charlotte | Jan 19, 2018 | Rosehill Wine Cellars News
Stock your wine cellar with the wine you most enjoy. (Photo: Wine Cellars from Rosehill Wine Cellars)
A sommelier, or wine steward, is a well trained and highly knowledgeable wine professional. They are normally found working in the finest restaurants where they specialize in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food pairing. Their role in fine dining today is much more specialized and informed than their immediate subordinates, beverage managers and wine waiters. In the entire world, there are only 236 Master Sommeliers. The pass rate for the test earning someone that title is only 8%. It is widely believed to be the most difficult test on the planet. After perusing secrets of sommeliers, a pattern was recently discovered.
Sommeliers Relish Rhone Wines
If purchasing fine quality wines for investment and to stock a wine cellar, most sommeliers will select the best vintages from the best wine regions. Good wines age well, and they gain more complexity after a couple decades in the cellar. When sommeliers stock cellars for their restaurant clients, they select wines from prestigious regions such as the Rhône wine region in Southern France. The region’s major appellation in production volume is Côtes du Rhône AOC.
The Rhône is generally divided into two sub-regions with distinct vinicultural traditions, the Northern Rhône (referred to in French as Rhône septentrional) and the Southern Rhône (in French Rhône méridional). The northern sub-region produces red wines from the Syrah grape, sometimes blended with white wine grapes, and white wines from Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier grapes. The southern sub-region produces an array of red, white and rosé wines, often blends of several grapes such as in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
The bottles should reach their peak one year apart, and you can drink one every year on a special anniversary. At some point during the annual celebrations, take a trip to Rhône valley or wherever your favorite wine is from. That way, the special wine in your custom wine cellar is now also connected to a special memory of traveling to vineyards.
Hermitage Wine: A Rhone Wine
The finest red Hermitage wines from Northern Rhône can age for up to 40 years or more. Other Hermitage wines require up to 20 years to reach peak maturity. The important thing to note is that Hermitage wines should virtually always be stored in a wine cellar for years or decades. These rich, tannic, full-bodied wines evolve beautifully—some say magically.
Hermitage (Rhone) Wine Facts
There have been many outstanding vintages of Rhône wine. A Hermitage wine that is considered by many to be one of the best ever tasted is 1961 Jaboulet La Chapelle. Bottles of this wine have sold for nearly $15,000. Don’t worry, most Hermitage wine is much more affordable; here are yet more facts about Hermitage wine:
- Hermitage in the Rhône wine region has been cultivated with grape wines since 600 B.C.
- The most expensive and in-demand wine on the earth in the 1800s was Hermitage.
- Since 1481, the Chave family has been actively growing grapes for wine in the Rhône region. They are among the oldest families in the wine world.
- Hermitage is often the longest lived wine produced in the Rhone Valley.
- Only one red grape, Syrah, can be used in Hermitage. Only Roussanne and Marsanne white wine grapes are allowed.
- Hermitage wine is versatile with food pairings. The red varieties go especially well with bold, hardy courses, bacon, and many hard and soft cheeses. White Hermitage wine often has rich, thick, oily qualities that match well with lobster, crab, and crudo as well as lighter meats, such as veal and chicken.
From the Vineyard to your Wine Cellar
Enthusiasm for a particular appellation is one of many reasons wine lovers have a custom wine cellar built. Are you ready to create your own wine story? Contact Rosehill Wine Cellars today to discuss the design of your own custom wine cellar that can store your favorite fine wines. You can always consult sommeliers for more of their wine secrets, for guidance on building an exciting wine collection for your wine cellar.
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.
by Charlotte | Dec 27, 2017 | Rosehill Wine Cellars News
Store wine in a custom wine cellar by Rosehill Wine Cellars
What would it be like to live like Royalty in 2018? When it comes to drinking wine, we can do as the British Royals do, since some of their choices have been publicized through the years. It’s always good to adopt new habits at the dawn of a fresh beginning. Why not make a habit of drinking like royals in the New Year? As all oenophiles know, life is better with wine. And the wine itself is better when it has been stored in the perfect environment provided by a custom wine cellar with a wine cooling unit by Breezaire, Wine Guardian, Cellar Pro, or another top wine refrigeration manufacturer.
The Queen’s Wine Habits
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom reportedly has daily habits which include drinking wine several times of the day. She famously enjoys Dubonnet, a fortified wine, with gin just before lunch daily. She garnishes the cocktail with a lemon slice. Dubonnet is a sweet fortified wine produced in France. The alcohol content is 15%. The Queen is onto something because serving Dubonnet with gin is the oft-preferred method. Her Majesty also reportedly drinks wine with lunch and one or two glasses of champagne each evening; the vintages haven’t been named, which may mean that she drinks a variety of wine and bubbly at dinnertime.
Drinking like the Queen of England won’t fit every lifestyle, considering that by UK government standards, she qualifies as a binge drinker. Being sober is a requirement for anyone with a job they’d like to keep.
The recipe for gin and Dubonnet is 1 part gin and 2 parts Dubonnet with the optional lemon or orange garnish. Stir and pour over a generous portion of ice in your cocktail glass.
How a Future Princess Celebrates Her Wedding
The night before Kate Middleton became the Duchess of Cambridge, she enjoyed a meal at the Goring Hotel in the Belgravia district of London. The wine she chose to drink with her salmon and steak Chateaubriand was Casa Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc 2009, which was available at that time for about $50 per bottle. Quite unpretentious for a future royal.
Drink like the Royals!
Probably the best way to drink like the royals is to keep a supply of your favorite wines and champagnes in your custom wine cellar. With the temperature and humidity kept within the perfect range for wine storage by a top wine cooling unit from a manufacturer such as Breezaire, Wine Guardian, or Cellar Pro, every bottle of wine should be jolly good.
by Charlotte | Dec 11, 2017 | Rosehill Wine Cellars News, Wine Cellar Cooling Units
Wine is best enjoyed when it is stored and served at certain temperatures. A wine cooling unit is made especially for the purpose of maintaining the correct conditions for wine storage. There is no way a standard air conditioning unit can provide the right environment for a wine room or wine cellar. The cooling unit is a foundational part of a wine cellar, though many other factors contribute to its effectiveness. There are three basic types of wine cellar cooling units, those being: Self-contained, ductless-split, and ducted-split air handler climate control systems. Is a self-contained cooling unit best for your wine cellar?
Air Conditioning Units Won’t Do
Whisperkool wall-mounted cooling unit
A self-contained through-the-wall wine cellar cooling unit resembles a window air conditioning unit, but they are not the same thing at all. An air conditioner provides cold blasts of air for short spans of time to create a certain temperature in the room. Spikes in temperature are common with basic air conditioning. Wine cooling units, on the other hand, run much more frequently. They keep a room at a much more constant, colder temperature. In addition, self-contained wine cellar cooling units regulate humidity.
When is a Self-Contained Wine Cooling Unit Best?
The most affordable wine cooling unit is the self-contained variety, and it is also the easiest to install. This type of cooling unit is best for use in wine rooms and wine cabinets that have adequate ventilation. These are one-piece, wall-mounted units that are vented through the wall. There are no drain lines for this type of cooling unit. Everything needed is built right in, other than the need to vent, since it contains exhaust. These units are quiet but do make a noticeable amount of noise, same as split systems.
A huge consideration when installing a self-contained wine cellar cooling unit is which wall is best for placement and exhaust. Oftentimes, these systems mount to an interior wall, exhausting hot air and creating fan noise in an adjacent room. The adjoining room must be well-ventilated, in order to contain the heat that the unit vents. The adjoining room should not exceed 80°F. It should also usually be no smaller than the wine storage space.
A down side to self-contained systems is that the manufacturer usually requires that they be uninstalled and shipped in for repair or service. A benefit of a self-contained wine cooling unit is that it allows for maximum racking space in the wine cellar, and it is virtually an invisible feature.
Contact Professionals
When creating an ideal wine environment in your home, it’s best to contact professionals, such as the experts at Rosehill Wine Cellars. At Rosehill, we only focus on wine cellar construction. We can ensure that all components of your wine cellar are appropriate for wine storage, including the wine cooling unit. With help from our experts, you will get the best advice on whether to install a self-contained wine cooling unit or another variety.
