What to Consider Before Building a Wine Room

Before you start building a wine room, there are several important factors to consider, including its purpose, the available space, the cooling unit, the number of bottles, storage time and storage conditions.

Number of Bottles

Start by considering how many bottles you own today and how many you expect to have in the future.

Some people are already considering buying their third wine cabinet because they need more space. Others are just getting started with a collection of 14 bottles, while some collectors own several hundred.

The Purpose of the Wine Room

Consider what you want from your wine room.

Do you want a practical wine storage room that can hold the maximum number of bottles under favourable conditions in a dark, cool environment?

Would you prefer an elegant wine feature beneath the staircase, in the basement living room or in the entrance hall?

You could also consider a glass floor hatch that allows you to look down into your wine collection.

Available Space

Walk through your home and identify two or three possible locations for the wine room. Compare these spaces with the purpose of the room and the number of bottles you want to store.

The room should ideally be cool and dark, with a stable temperature. A basement or separate room is often the best solution.

Storage Period

Short-term storage: Mainly wines intended for regular drinking.

Medium-term storage: Storage for a few years.

Long-term storage: Ten, fifteen or twenty years and beyond.

Storage Conditions

Wine can tolerate gradual changes in temperature and humidity, provided these conditions do not continue for long periods.

The recommendations for wine storage are intended to optimise the conditions, protect the wine and prevent its quality from deteriorating. They also give the wine the best possible environment for ageing and development.

When investing in wine for long-term storage, you should pay particular attention to these factors. However, if you do not intend to store wine for many years, slightly higher temperatures can be acceptable without damaging the wine.

Key Guidelines for Wine Storage

• Stable and cool temperature: 10–18°C

• Relative humidity: approximately 60%

• Lighting: as dark as possible, with no exposure to ultraviolet radiation

• Vibrations should be kept to a minimum, particularly for long-term storage

• Avoid paint, stains and other products that release strong odours over time

• Maintain a stable climate and good air circulation

Temperature

The correct temperature normally depends on what you are storing and how long it will be stored. This is why you may find different answers to the question of ideal wine storage temperature.

In general, 12–13°C is considered a suitable storage temperature for both red and white wine.

When wine is stored at temperatures that are too low, the ageing process slows down. When temperatures are too high, the wine may mature too quickly and could eventually develop unpleasant flavours resembling vinegar.

The expected storage period is therefore an important part of deciding the correct temperature.

Humidity

Humidity in a wine room is important, but there is some flexibility. The type of bottle, cork and wine, as well as whether the bottle is stored upright or horizontally, should all be considered.

A safe relative humidity range for wine storage is between 50% and 75%. Approximately 60% is considered ideal, although short periods at 40% or 85% are unlikely to have a significant effect on the cork.

One of wine’s greatest enemies is oxygen entering through the cork. The air should therefore contain enough moisture to prevent natural corks from drying out.

Lighting Conditions

Lighting can affect how long wine can be stored successfully.

Ultraviolet radiation from sunlight is particularly harmful to wine, but artificial lighting inside the wine room may also affect bottles stored over long periods.

Large glass walls and glass sliding doors are becoming increasingly popular. In these cases, wines intended for long-term storage can be kept inside wooden or cardboard cases, or covered in another way, rather than displayed on open shelving.

Vibrations

There are many different opinions about vibration and wine storage. Vibrations over short periods are unlikely to cause serious damage, as wine is regularly transported by boat and lorry.

However, many experts believe that vibration may influence wine stored at home for extended periods.

One experiment found that vibration resulted in a slight reduction in tannins and an increase in pH. The wine exposed to vibration also had slightly lower acidity than wine stored without movement. The test did not determine whether there was a noticeable difference in taste.

Odours

The effect of odours in wine rooms is also debated. Some believe that smells in the room can influence the wine, while others argue that odours cannot enter bottles that are properly sealed.

To remain on the safe side, avoid treating walls, ceilings and wine racks with strong oils, paints or stains that release odours over an extended period.

Treated wine racks should be allowed to air out fully before they are placed inside the wine room.

Climate and Air Circulation

A properly constructed wine room will normally have a stable and healthy climate. This reduces the risk of mould developing on corks and labels.

There are noticeable differences between wine rooms. Rooms constructed using insulated panels, or timber structures built in the same way as cold rooms, generally maintain a stable climate.

Traditional wine cellars with poorly insulated masonry walls and insufficient moisture barriers in the floor, ceiling or walls often have more variable conditions. These rooms may require additional equipment to regulate humidity.

Timber, Insulated Panels or Glass

You can build a wine room yourself using timber, insulation and a vapour barrier, or purchase a prefabricated panel room made to measure.

A prefabricated panel room is normally the simplest and most efficient option, although it is also possible to build the room yourself.

Both solutions can be combined with a glass door or glass wall.

Insulated Cold-Room Panels

There are several advantages to ordering a standard or customised wine room made from insulated panels, typically around 50 mm thick.

The room becomes highly insulated and airtight. It can also be dismantled, moved, sold or extended later.

Insulated panels provide excellent control over the climate and help reduce energy consumption.

Depending on the room’s size and design, many panel-based wine rooms can be assembled in a single evening and used immediately afterwards.

The panels are normally connected without screws. A supplied locking key is used to secure the walls, floor and ceiling together.

Building a Wine Room in Timber

It is possible to build a wine room yourself using timber, although many people choose to work with a carpenter.

In simple terms, you are building a separate room inside an existing room.

The structure should have a small ventilation gap between the new walls and the existing walls. For example, when building a wine room in the corner of a basement, you should leave a small gap between the construction and the two existing walls.

The floor, walls and ceiling are then constructed with a vapour barrier on the warm side, insulation between the timber studs and a suitable interior finish.

Building in timber requires more work and normally takes up more space than other construction methods.

Certain materials should not be used inside the wine room, including standard plasterboard, MDF or ordinary chipboard, as the materials must be able to tolerate high humidity.

Glass Walls

Images of wine rooms built almost entirely from glass are becoming increasingly common on social media. However, many of these rooms do not have active cooling.

Some glass wine rooms use highly insulated glazing with a low U-value and can therefore be cooled, although they normally require a powerful cooling unit.

Many of the glass wine rooms seen in restaurants or on social media are designed for wines intended for regular drinking. The wine is stored at a serving temperature of approximately 16–18°C, often using specialised air-conditioning units that can operate in outdoor temperatures as low as –25°C.

If you want to maintain a temperature of 12°C in a glass wine room, the cooling system must be calculated and sized carefully.

It is therefore advisable to contact a specialist who can calculate the cooling requirements and recommend the correct unit. You may also want to consider using smaller glass sections or glass doors instead of full glass walls.

Choosing the Right Door

Before construction begins, you should decide which type of door and cooling unit is most suitable.

Insulated doors can generally be divided into three categories:

• Integrated doors

• Surface-mounted doors

• Sliding doors

Integrated Doors

An integrated door is fitted into the wall and is often used when the wine room is located in a kitchen or hallway, where the door needs to match the surrounding interior.

An integrated door can be fitted with a furniture panel supplied by your kitchen manufacturer. A stainless-steel front may also be available.

Surface-Mounted Doors

A surface-mounted door is a simple and practical solution that sits on the outside of the wall.

Four plastic brackets with metal inserts are installed around the opening, allowing the magnetic seal to attach securely.

Surface-mounted doors are also available with glass panels.

Glass Sliding Doors

Glass sliding doors are a popular choice because they provide a clear view into the wine room.

These doors are normally made to measure. Make sure the insulated glass has a suitable U-value for the temperature you want to maintain.

Choosing the Cooling Unit

Several factors should be considered when selecting a cooling unit:

• Energy consumption can vary significantly between models

• Consider how the unit will be installed

• Decide whether you want a plastic cover on the rear or built-in ventilation grilles

• A dust filter makes cleaning and maintenance easier

• Noise is important, so the unit should have quiet fans

• The construction should minimise vibration

• A built-in electrical outlet for wine-room lighting can be useful, as it reduces the need to install a separate electrical supply inside the room

• The cooling capacity must be correctly calculated

Cooling units for private homes are often labelled according to the maximum room volume they can cool, measured in litres or cubic metres.

When the wine room is self-built, the quality of the insulation must also be considered. A specialist or supplier can normally calculate the U-values of the walls, floor, ceiling and glass sections.

Compact or Split Cooling Unit?

You can normally choose between a compact cooling unit and a split system.

Compact Cooling Units

Compact, plug-and-play cooling units are complete systems installed through the wall. They require ventilation on the rear side and are connected using a standard electrical plug.

These units are generally straightforward to install, and many homeowners can complete the installation themselves.

There are several models available. Most small compact units include automatic evaporation of condensation water, which is a major advantage because it removes the need for a drain inside the wine room.

Split Cooling Systems

A split system is primarily suited to customers who want the compressor installed in a different room from the wine room.

This may be useful when you want to use the heat produced by the compressor in another space, such as a basement or garage. Another advantage is that the compressor noise is moved away from the wine room.

Split systems involve additional installation costs because an authorised refrigeration engineer is required to install the pipes, fill the system with refrigerant and commission the unit.

Much of the installer’s cost is related to the time required for pipework. By preparing openings through walls, floors or ceilings in agreement with the installer, you can reduce the installation time and save money.

A split-system compressor can also be installed outdoors or in a cold room. However, if the surrounding temperature may fall below 10°C, the system must include a winter-operation function.

One disadvantage of a split system is that the indoor cooling unit normally requires a drain for condensation water.