Wines easily spoil and evaporate when temperature and humidity are not right. Proper wine storage is needed to maintain the quality, flavor and aroma of wines as well as preserve the cork and label on wine bottles. Wine is a perishable product that with proper storage can improve with age. Today, wine aficionados build wine cellars in their homes to store their collection of wines, either as investment or for personal consumption.

For the serious wine collector and sommelier who plans to build a wine cellar, basement wine cellars are ideal. A basement that measures 25 square meters will have about 9 usable wall spaces, enough to hold about 495 wine bottles. The total cost for building a basement wine cellar of this size ranges from US$9,900 to US$13,400 including the active cooling system.

Best Basement Wine Cellars

Basement wine cellars depend upon an effective wine cellar cooling unit. Based on Amazon.com, top brands of wine cooling units are the 600 cubic feet Koolspace koolR Plus Wine Cellar Cooling Unit which sells at US$499.95 and the WhisperKOOL Slimline 2500 Wine Cellar Cooling Unit, priced at US$1,645.

Best Conditions for Basement Wine Cellars

The best temperature for wine cellars is 55 degrees Fahrenheit with relative humidity kept at 60 to 65 percent. These figures are ideal if you are planning for long-term wine storage and cellaring. Your basement cellar must have firm and flat concrete flooring to ensure that the wine cellar remains level.

How to Build and Install a Basement Wine Cellar

You can totally convert your basement into a basement wine cellar yourself, hire a professional to do the job for you or you can buy a wine cellar kit. You need to plan for a dedicated power supply outlet, backup power source to take care of power outages and increased wall thickness if part of the basement is exposed to the sun at certain times of the day.

There should be enough space around the wine cellar itself so that warm air cannot be trapped inside the basement. The size of the venting area is specified on the wine cellar cooling unit. If there is a warm side on your basement, this should have a vapor barrier. You can use 6mm poly film for the vapor barrier, which must be done first before you install insulation. If your basement wall for your cellar is large, use R19 insulator. For a smaller wall, such as 2 meters by 4 meters, R13 is recommended and use R30 for the ceiling.

You should cover the insulation with moisture-resistant greenboard drywall which is better than ordinary drywall. Install recessed lighting that will not shine directly on any of the wine bottles for optimum wine cellaring and use a dimmer to control the lighting. Since fluorescent lighting is not advisable, LEDs, which generate very little heat, will work best. And for optimal basement wine cellar sealing, remove the original basement door and replace it with an R16 insulated door with weather stripping. Install a lock to ensure that entry to your basement wine cellar is limited – your cellared wine is going to be THAT good!