Wine cellar vibration

I think your friend is far out in left field. Vintage port is some of the toughest wine there is as far as tolerating poor storage conditions. Don't worry about it.

BTW, thermoelectric coolers are very energy inefficient and therefore no good for large, long term installations.

If you're _really_ worried about vibration you need to build a cellar space and refrigerate it via a remote condensing unit. Also, you need to not be anywhere near a freeway or railroad, and certainly not in an earthquake zone. Is this beginning to sound ridiculous? Good! That's my point. :^)

Just go buy a cooler and don't worry about "molecular level" vibration.

Tom S

When you consider how much banging the wines got on their long journeys via truck on their way from the wineries and again to the store, a little compressor vibration is nothing.

I've had a bunch of wines from several restaurants upstairs from subways and commuter rail lines, with no ill effects to the wines noted.

Shaun Eli

Brain Champagne: Clever Comedy for Smart Minds (sm) The website now has video!

I'm definitely with TomS on this one. There are several brands that have gotten high marks from the Usenet and consumers, that I know. The one that stands out, either because a lot of folk have them, or maybe because they are good is Vinotheque, Stockton, CA. They do the WhisperKool units for cellars. Wine Enthusiasts and IWA offer several brands in different sizes, and configurations/finishes.

For a cellar to be constructed, I recommend that you find a copy of "How and Why To Build a Wine Cellar," Richard M. Gold, Ph.D., no ISBN shown. It covers a lot of info on the construction.

I had a passive cellar in CO, that held temp very well, and kept my Ports for ~20 years. Once in AZ, a passive cellar was not possible, so I built one in a

10x10x10 lower room, with earth bermed walls on two sides, and a common to the house third. The fourth was an exterior wall, but facing N under a 20" deck. I just upped the insulation/wall thickness on the common and exterior, and all has been fine. I did up the capacity of the cooling unit, but then the air temp can easily be 115F here in the desert.

Hunt

How about the level of vibration apparent in a cellar in the garage, albeit a wine cabinet? Two cars go in and out three times a day at my friends' home, and this is how they store their wine.

Why would someone sign himself as ........................, Ph.D on a topic that is most likely not his phd field?

Everybody that's anybody has one of the things, but very few flog the issue to that point.

I haven't a clue. The book seems to be self-published, as there is not any publisher info anyplace. This is the third copy of the book that I have owned, having lost one (probably in box marked "very important books - do not discard!" another having been given to a friend, who was building a cellar, and this one, that I acquired, just before construction began on mine.

I don't recall any mention of Dr Gold's field, though it might well be in a prologue, someplace. I'll peruse the book, and post any info.

Hunt

I'm shocked, shocked, shocked, first the VP shoots someone who makes a joke about WMD and now someone sneaks off to their basement to use a vibrator, this is VERY OFF TOPIC......oh you say you're talking about shaking not schtupping, NEVER MIND

I built my own cellar and found that book helpful. Considering that it's less than the cost of one average bottle you'd bother to cellar, if you get one useful hint out of it, you've gotten your money's worth.

One thing he stresses is to insulate as much as possible. I'd second that. Electricity is expensive, and if your cooling unit ever breaks in August, you'll wish you used more insulation.

Shaun Eli

Brain Champagne: Clever Comedy for Smart Minds (sm) Please visit the website for the free comedy video (clean, 6 minutes)

I could not agree more. In July (in AZm no less), my WhisperKool 8000 went out. It took me about a week to really notice it, as all the sounds were correct, and the temp was still near 55F. After almost six days, it had gotten up to 57F, and I knew that I had a problem. The compressor had died, but all else was functioning properly. Rather than wait for a replacement compressor, I just had a new unit air-freighted in - ambient temps were ~115F, so I didn't want to risk it. New unit arrived overnight, and it took two days to round up some big, strong friends (glad I was cellaring one's wine, so he was GLAD to lend a hand), and we inserted the new unit. After more than a week, with highs well above 110F, I had only lost 6F! The wisdom of insulation cannot be stressed too much, especially if one has to deal with extreme heat.

Hunt

The "accepted wisdom" of no vibrations only makes sense to me insofar as you don't want to disturb the sediment of aged red wines and Port. In this case, consistent vibration in storage would be different from major jostling in transit. However, no storage unit is likely to have significant vibration.

Mark Lipton