How To Cool Wine Cellar

Most Air Conditioners Cant Reach Wine Storage Temperatures

WhisperKOOL | How To Build A Wine Cellar

When storing wine, maintaining the optimum temperature is perhaps the most important consideration. If wine sits at an ambient temperature thats too high, it will cook. Imbibers can expect an overall flattening of the wines flavor and aroma. And on the flip side, wine thats kept too cold can suffer from similarly detrimental effects.;

That ideal temperature for wine is typically around 55 degrees. Most regular home air conditioners cannot reach temperatures below 60 degreesand some ACs cant even get below 65!;

Temps in the 60s may feel cool to us, but its a little too warm for that special Cab youve been saving. Consider that the main goal of effective wine storage is to minimize the aging process; excessive heat is largely the number one factor that contributes to the aging of fine wine.;

For more on this, check out our article on Proper Wine Storage Temperature.

Eurocave Inoa 600 Wine Cellar Cooling Unit

This unit is unique in that it can be an in-wall unit or you can use ducted installation with it, giving you multiple options for how you chill your wine. It cools 850 cubic feet, so it’s good for larger wine cellars. Reviewers like the versatility, which gives them more options when designing their wine cellars. They also report it is quiet and reliable.

N’finity 3000 Wine Cellar Cooling Unit

dependable and affordable medium-output system.
Working with America’s leading electrical engineers, Wine Enthusiast has developed a precision digital cooling system for through-the-wall applicationthe N’FINITY Wine Cellar Cooling Unit.
Adjusts to ambient temperatures to maintain ideal storage conditions

Cools a wine cellar up to 650 cu. ft.

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Wine Cellar Materials & Equipment Considerations

unique wine cellar storage ideas that will inspire you to ...

Wine Cellar Cooling Systems

If a climate controlled cellar is required, you will need to provide a wine cellar cooling system to properly keep the cellar at a temperature of about 55-58 degrees and humidity of 50-70%. Remember that a properly built and insulated wine cellar will allow you to use the smallest possible cooling system. Learn more about wine cellar cooling systems in our education center, or browse our selection of wine cellar cooling units. We carry both self-contained systems and split cooling systems, which allow you to place the noisiest parts of your cooling system outside your cellar. Many cooling systems come with built-in humidity management, but if yours does not or you live in a very dry climate, you may want to consider a humidification system.

Wine Cellar Racking

Common woods for wine racks include redwood and mahogany. Both are resistant to rot in the cool, damp cellar environment. Clients usually choose one over the other due to matching decor colors in the cellar design. Cedar should again be avoided due to its strong odor. Wine racking can also be found in other materials such as wire lattice. You can choose to use modular wine racking to build a semi-custom racking system, or we can help you to design and build a fully custom wine rack design. Wine stores will want to use commercial wine racks for the best storage and display for sales. Learn more about wine rack materials and construction in our education center.

Cellar Wall & Ceiling Covering

One Wine Cellar Refrigeration

Many times hear this question, Do I need to add a cooling unit or climate control system to my wine cellar? In order to make a decision about this, there are several things you should think about. This is the first of three blog posts where we will attempt to answer this question.

1. What is the ambient temperature of the areas surrounding my wine cellar?

If your wine cellar is below ground level, in a basement, you are more likely to have a cooler environment than an above-ground cellar would have. Knowing the year-round temperature and humidity is important. If you are attempting to build a passive wine cellar , you need to make sure both the temperature and humidity are consistent and within the required limits year-round.

The temperature in a wine cellar should stay between 55-60 degrees and the humidity should range from about 50-75%. Fluctuations in temperature and humidity are some of the biggest factors that can destroy your wine collection. If your environment does not lend itself to a passive cellar, you may want to consider climate control, technically described as a wine cellar refrigeration system.

Have you measured the day-night variance in your Wine Cellar? Wine Cellar Refrigeration Variance

Natural seasonal and in particular, day/night cycles generate surprising variations in temperature. These often vary more than most people realize. Wine Cellar Refrigeration may be vital to the long term stability of your wine collection.

Actively Cooled Wine Cellars

Actively cooled wine cellars, typical for most people, use cooling units and insulation to keep the room refrigerated at an ideal wine storage humidity and temperature. As part of construction, these rooms need proper insulation, a vapor barrier and properly sized cooling unit. As you might expect, there is ongoing maintenance costs associated with operating an active cellar such as electricity and cooling unit replacements.

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The More Insulation The Better For Your Wine Cellar

Building a wine cellar without adequate insulation is also a common problem. Without sufficient insulation of the wine cellar ceiling, walls and floor, temperature changes will occur more frequently and tend to mimic the temperatures of the air surrounding the wine cellar.

In poorly insulated wine cellars, the refrigeration units will spend much more time on and cycle much more frequently, leading to higher electrical costs and more rapid temperature changes and larger temperature range swings.

Also, insufficient insulation will make it less likely you will be able to reach a reasonable target temperature for your cellar. Individual wine cellar refrigeration units typically have published thermal performance data each unit for cellar size, based on insulation, and ambient and desired target temperatures. Below is an example of such a chart for the CellarPro 1800 series of wine cellar cooling units .

Wine Cellar Cooling Terms To Know

How to Build a Wine Cellar | WhisperKOOL

There are a lot different types of cellar cooling units though, and they all have specific areas they excel in. Its important to know what type of cellar cooling unit will properly cool and humidifier your storage area. Keeping up with the terminology and vernacular of the wine cellar cooling world wont just help ensure your collection is properly and efficiently stored, but it will also help expand your appreciation of wine in general. Take a moment to learn and understand these terms. Even if youve been storing wine for years, brushing up on the language can only help you and your collection.

Air Filters: Any sort of air conditioning unit is going to utilize air filters that will need to be replaced every now and again. These are used to help dust and debris from clogging up your cooling unit. Air filters for cellar cooling units are especially important since theyre a part of a cooling system that is operating in an area that may not get clean and dusted regularly.

Bottle Probe: Some wine cellar cooling units offer temperature indication through bottle probes. Bottle probes read the internal temperature of actual liquid in a wine bottle. This way you get a fairly accurate reading of the temperature of all the other wine bottles in your cellar. Since liquid temperature fluctuates at a lower rate than air, a cellar cooler with a bottle probe allows your unit to perform at maximum efficiency.

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Wine Cellar Refrigeration Cooling Units

If you plan on actively cooling your wine cellar you will need to acquire a wine cellar cooling unit. As tempting as it is to use alternate methods to cool your wine cellar, it usually makes sense to invest in a cooling unit designed specifically for wine cellars. Using central air conditioning ducts to cool a wine cellar space tend to lower humidity levels too much, be difficult to control and may not deliver cool enough air for ideal conditions. Window unit air conditioners generally do not work well as they are not designed to maintain wine cellar levels of cooling.

Cooling units made specifically for wine cellar cooling are designed to efficiently produce proper wine cellar temperatures and help maintain higher levels of humidity. If you are building a wine cellar that needs cooling, I highly recommend purchasing a wine cellar cooling unit.

There are several different makes of wine cooling units. I bought and really like my CellarPro 1800XT unit. This was the first and only cooling unit I have purchased. Ive had it since I bought it new in 2010 and used it without any problems since. I highly recommend CellarPro units.

Most wine cellar cooling units are designed as one of two basic configurations: 1) Self-contained Through The Wall units and 2) Two-part Split Systems.

Through The Wall Wine Cellar Cooling Units

Split System Wine Cellar Cooling Units

Qualtiy Wine Cellar Cooling Units

Sleek Wine Cooler Designs

Wine coolers are a great idea for any true wine lover, keeping bottles at a set temperature to ensure they keep well over time. Some models are dual-zone, meaning that you can store both red and white wines at different temperatures. Consider adding a wine cooler to your kitchen island, wet bar, or even outdoor entertaining area.

This unique wine cooler design is perfectly suited alongside the main refrigerator. The matching stainless steel appliances are the perfect complement to the kitchens traditional wood cabinets.

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Why A Wine Cellar Cooler

If your basement is already finished and insulated, chances are youre ready to convert it into a wine cellar. And depending your location, the only thing missing might just be the wine racks and a cooling unit to keep it all at the right temperature and humidity.

Lets take a look at three top brands for wine cellar cooling so you can learn more about the company and products that are right for you and wine collection, no matter the space, size, or type.

Can I Use An Air Conditioner To Cool My Wine Cellar

Wine Cellar Design for Artistic Elegance

Its a question our Wine Storage Consultants get a lot here at Wine Enthusiast: Can I use an air conditioner in my wine cellar? Sure, you canbut we wouldnt recommend it! There is a special type of appliance for the job, and its called a winecellar cooling unit. Think of it as your wine rooms air conditioner.

Aspiring wine collectors often consider routing their homes central AC to their wine cellar or simply installing a window AC unit in their wine room. It makes sensethe idea behind a wine cellar is to maintain a constant temperature, and thats exactly what air conditioners do, right?;

While that is true, there are fundamental differences in the functions between standard air conditioners and wine cooling units. These differences make wine cooling units the clear choice for both short and long-term storage of fine wines.;

Heres how the two appliances differ:

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How Far Away Can The System Be From The Wine Cellar

A: When using the insulated flex ducting, the length of duct running from the wine cellar to the system should not exceed 25 feet. If a longer duct run is necessary, the use of rigid ducting can increase the length of the run from 40 to 50 feet. In both cases, if there are numerous bends in the ductwork, that figure decreases.

How Powerful Of A Wine Cellar Cooling System Do You Require

You may have been doing some research on wine cellar cooling systems and noticed they are rated based on the cubic footage of your wine cellar. This information is helpful, but only if your cellar is properly insulated and vapour barriered in the walls, floor and ceiling and is fully sealed with an exterior grade, insulated door. Learn more about how to build a wine cellar in this tutorial video. If your wine cellar meets all of these criteria then feel free to choose a unit based on your cubic footage .

Tip: There may be at least one variable that affects the temperature of your cellar that you are not aware of. We always recommend sizing your cooling unit with a little wiggle room. For example, if your wine cellar is 500 cubic feet, dont choose a unit rated to a maximum of 500 cubic feet. Instead, choose a unit rated for 600 cubic feet or more. Better to be safe than sorry.

So what if your cellar has a window, glass wall or a non-insulated door?

First of all, consider how important these non-efficient features are to you. For example, single pane glass has an R-value of 0. When talking about wine cellar insulation, we are aiming for R-20 in the walls. Were not saying you cant build a climate-controlled wine cellar that has glass walls, but your cooling system will need to be significantly up-sized to compensate for it. This will result in a more costly system, less efficient cellar and higher operational costs.

1,400 2,500 BTUh :

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Begin Furring The Walls

In construction,;furring; are thin strips of wood or other material used to level or raise surfaces or to prevent dampness, to make space for insulation. Furring refers to the process of installing the strips and to the strips themselves.

Use either 2-inch by 2-inch strips or a 2-inch by 4-inch strips of foam and begin furring the walls. Its best to use the so-called rigid foam board version for insulation.; Here at Rosehill, our installers insulate the wine cellars wood framed walls with R-22 batt insulation for 2 x 6 framed walls. This is installed after the vapour barrier in-between the wooden studs.; R-32 batt insulation is very often installed in the ceiling.

You should make sure that the cracks on the walls are treated with a spray foam. Take note that when the walls become thicker, the more likely will it be to provide insulation to the wine cellar. It will help the cellar adhere to varying temperature and humidity levels of the room.

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Installing a Split System Cooling Unit in a Modern Wine Cellar

When selecting a wine cellar cooling unit, it’s important to pick a unit that is correctly sized for your cellar. An installed wine cellar cooling unit that is too small often runs excessively and can struggle to keep the space at a consistent temperature. Variations in temperature negatively affect the aging process. Constant cooling can also dry the air and lower the relative humidity of the room to undesirable levels, drying the corks.

An installed wine cellar cooling unit that is too large may cool the cellar too quickly, preventing the room from dehumidifying sufficiently. When cellar humidity is too high , labels may peel and mold may grow. Making sure the unit is correctly sized for your cellar is vital for preserving your fine wine investment. While the calculator below is a good guideline, be sure to perform an in-depth heat load calculation and do not size purely on cubic feet. The heat load calculation should take into account other heat-bearing objects such as windows, type of lighting, number of door openings per day typically higher in commercial applications and more.

Picking a wine cellar cooling unit that is correctly sized for your wine cellar will provide optimal storage conditions for your wine collection, while avoiding the common problems you may experience with a unit that is too small or too large.

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What Do I Need To Do To Prepare My Space For Active Conditioning

A: The most important component in a wine cellar is the wine cellar cooling system. However, there are steps that need to be taken with regards to the preparation of the room before a cooling unit can be installed. View our How To Build a Wine Cellar webpage for the main wine cellar construction considerations and recommendations.

Supplies To Build A Wine Cellar In Your Closet

Looking through some online sites, I came across the great idea of a wine barrel sink. However, pricing is upwards of $1000 for this type of sink. Now, if you have that kind of budget for a small room, heres a link to one on Amazon. As an Amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if youre sporting that kind of budget feel free to click on the Amazon link below!

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