Wine cellars : we tell you everything!

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Why is the choice of wine cellars so important?

The temperature of the wine is a key element...
For its conservation, the wine must be stored in a suitable place, ventilated, protected from light, vibrations, with a constant hygrometry at the risk of damaging the corks if it is too low…
The wine must also be stored where temperatures do not vary too quickly.
And as we do not all live in the same climates, the wine cellar is the ideal tool to fulfill all these conditions.

What the wine cellars guarantee for your wine

If we go back to the parameters of wine conservation explained in the introduction, here is what happens in a little detail:

  • It is necessary to favor ventilated places (hence the presence of ventilation in the cellars arranged as such) in order to ventilate and avoid any strong smell that could influence the flavors of the wine.
  • The protection against the light allows to avoid the alteration of the aromas of the wine by the UV. This is the reason why natural cellars are often found buried and poorly lit.
  • A protection against vibrations which are really a risk of Stress for the wine and make it evolve in a negative way.
  • The hygrometry must be between 60 and 75%. It is a very important parameter in order to preserve well the corks of the wine or the Champagne. As cork is a living material, it requires a high enough humidity level to keep all its sealing qualities and avoid that the wine oxidizes in contact with the air.

These fundamental parameters are essential for a good conservation of wine.  A good cellar brings you all these criteria!

There are several types of wine cellars, so how do you find your way around?

The most common model is the free-standing wine cellar.
Whatever its size, a 12-bottle cellar as well as a 100-bottle cellar will bring you the same benefits:
all the criteria stated above plus a constant temperature!
Set it on 12°C for the conservation of all types of wines. It is at this temperature that wines are best preserved.
We will address the serving temperature a little later.

If you have little space, you can opt for a built-in cellar.
Under your countertop, in a closet or placed in any other piece of furniture in your house / apartment, the built-in wine cellar is discreet and well integrated with the furniture that surrounds it …

The smaller 30cm built-in wine cellar can also do the trick if you are really short of space but still a real wine lover who needs to cherish his few bottles.

Preservation cellar vault

This difference in appellation is due to the fact that we consider that we will put in a wine cellar of ageing the wines known as “of guard” that we will leave for 10 years and more.

The conservation cellar , as a difference, is a cellar to put the wines which are about to be served.
These conservation wine cellars, when they have several temperature zones, can also fulfill the function of a service wine cellar.

Wine service temperature

Wines are not served at their storage temperature.
If you set your wine cellars to 12°C, then you will be a little too warm to serve Champagne (recommended between 9 and 11°C) and a little too cold to enjoy a bottle of red wine (served between 14 and 18°C for most).

Therefore, the multi-temperature wine cellar is the best solution to solve this problem.

If you opt for a wine cellar that offers a multi-temperature setting (usually 2 zones) you will be able to put a so-called cold zone with 9°C for your whites and champagnes, and a higher zone like 14°C to serve all red wines that are served at 14°C and above.

The countertop wine cellars fulfill this function perfectly.

A wine cellars for better wine tasting

In fact, as you have understood, there are wine cellars for all wines, all needs, all spaces etc…
They all fulfill almost the same function, that of preserving your wine and allowing you to serve it at the best temperature.

Also, the best wine cellar is the one that meets your needs, your aesthetic criteria too.
You can opt for solid glass, anti-UV glass or mirror glass.
You can choose wooden or aluminum shelves, LED backlighting…
You can choose to install it in your kitchen or in the middle of your living room.

All choices are in nature, provided that the wine is well preserved and that your wine cellar fulfills its essential functions!