Hello, I bought this house a while ago without a cellar. In my previous house I had built up a moderate collection of about 100-150 wines for laying down as well as about 100-150 everyday wines for drinking within a year or so. When I knew I would be moving soon, I stopped buying any new bottles. This has brought my stock down to about 70odd laying down wines and only two dozen everydayers.
My better wine as it were consists of some Australien bottles that benefit from a couple of years or so (e.g. Pirammimma Petit Verdot
2001 or some Margaret River Cab Sauv 1998). I know they are drinkable but I prefer to keep them for a while longer (maybe a year or two). I have some Bordeaux, usually lesser Chateaux which will be drinkable soonish (within five years) as well as a few bottles of Ribera del Duero that needs another year or two.
But not without any form of storage. Realistically, I will probably not have the funds (storage issues aside) build up more than about
150odd bottles for laying down. My wines are usually drinkable within five years of cellaring, so, I would not expect to buy more than say
36 bottles a year for this purpose. Everyday wine I usually stock up on a booze cruise to France. There I usually buy bulk, 60+ bottles per trip easily.
Here is what I have considered: converting an outhouse into above ground cellar. I would require proper insulation (with Kingspan or so, should be moderately cheap), cover with plasterboard and think about the door (I expect the door construction to be the major problem) and then connect some form of cooling machine to it. I looked at FOndis Winemaster which is I think about 2000k pounds - way too much on top of the diy building project.
Buying a wine fridge. I am looking at one of the Liebherrs for 169 I think bottles. They come for round about 900 quid. That would be for the laying down wine, and then convert parts of the understairs cupboard to acommodate the everyday wine. Problem here is that the Liebherr would again have to go into the outhouse as the understairs is not big enough and has no power even nearby. But they aren't built for moderately low temperatures (I have measured temps in the outbuilding as going as low as 5 deg celsius).
I mean the thing to do would be to rent a warehouse, convert it and offer wine storage as a service because other people in my region will have similar problems. Trouble is I am not looking for a new job ;-)
Right, anybody with a good idea out there?
Fred