Adding a Wine Cellar or Wine Room to your Refurbishment Project
A popular luxury addition to many whole-house refurbishments is a wine cellar or wine room. Here we look at the possibilities for adding a touch of indulgence to your entertaining repertoire.
Why Have a Wine Cellar?
A dedicated, purpose-built wine cellar - whether it’s a new structure or a newly-built or converted room - has a very specific purpose. The concept is to store and maintain bottles of wine, whether red, rosé, white or champagne, at their optimum conditions. A wine cellar has very specific requirements, so our team members will use their own knowledge as well as conferring with our expert partners if necessary, depending upon the size and scope of the project. The finished wine cellar will provide temperature and humidity control, address any vibration issues, and provide appropriate lighting that will not influence the condition of the bottles. Our design team will also prioritise safe access and of course, the necessary security systems.
What are the Options?
An existing underground storage space, basement area or cellar can be converted into a wine cellar if the aforementioned temperature conditions and so on can be implemented. One option is a spiral cellar, which can in many cases be installed beneath the current ground floor kitchen or dining area. Our teams have worked with Spiral Cellars (above and below) on several occasions to create beautiful bespoke wine cellars, accessed from a trapdoor-style opening in a ground-floor room. A dedicated Wine Room can also be created, perhaps near to a new kitchen, alongside a walk-in larder, or next to a dining room. It will also, ideally, need controlled temperature, humidity and lighting controls. However, a newly designed Wine Room can benefit from a more flexible approach in that it could be the entire room that is dedicated to wine, with bespoke shelving and racks, or it could house wine storage appliances, such as those from SubZero-Wolf, which are available as built-in or freestanding models. These can be positioned behind bespoke built-in cabinetry, if our clients want a specific look throughout the home. Wine Walls are also a popular solution, and can be a way of making good use of wall space – perhaps in a new project with corridor or hallway space. Wine Walls can also be thought of as more ‘storage space’ for wine purchases before the wine is moved to a temperature-controlled wine storage appliance.
Cooling Appliances
For our clients who are not wine collectors per se, but want to be able to provide guests with wine served at precise temperatures, a wine cooling appliance is often a very good addition to their project. A wine cooler can be included within the overall kitchen layout in a new project, or assigned a separate area – perhaps alongside a cocktail/drinks cabinet that can embrace shelving for glassware, ice maker or ice buckets, a prep area and a small sink. Wine cooling appliances may have several temperature zones within a single or appliance, or clients may choose separate chillers for their favourite wines. A beer and soft drinks fridge can be a fun inclusion within a large kitchen, and we can also design dedicated spaces within a walk-in pantry or utility room for drinks storage. Wine cooling appliances have tinted glass doors to protect bottles from UV light which will cause deterioration in cellared wines. The shelves will be angled to maintain the optimum storage conditions, and are usually made from oak because of its anti-vibration qualities. Cooling appliances that are specifically designed for wine storage will also have low-vibration technology, Fisher & Paykel has an extensive range that covers all eventualities.
Our designers will offer wine cellar solutions to suit each client’s requirements, whether it’s to provide just the right amount of wine storage at optimum temperatures for occasional entertaining and parties, or for connoisseurs and investors or collectors who require a dedicated cellar with secure storage and precise temperature control.
