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Wine Cellars -

I am located in Hamilton, Ontario. My current "cellar" consists of 2 72 bottle Ikea wine racks against a below grade outside basement wall with room for case storage right next to them. Ambient temperature year round is quite stable and stays within a couple degrees of 68F. Winter humidity is kept well up in the human comfort zone by use of a free standing home humidifier.

My problem? I am going to build a "real" wine "cellar/storage" area in the basement that will be both functional and decorative. Given that I BUY only Canadian, primarily Ontario, wines, some of which might age 6 - 8 years at most and with the increasing popularity of screw cap closures do I really need to enclose and insulate it and buy a unit to more closely regulate temperature and humidity?

Informed opinions and advice solicited. TIA.

Reply to
Chuck Reid
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I am literally as we speak in the process of excavating at the rear of our home a 8m x 4.5x x 3.6m (deep) cellar. Whilst this is perhaps a little more than what most people will attempt, let's just say that good cellaring is worth every penny..

Reply to
Peter White

There's no reason to worry about humidity if you're storing screw capped bottles. In fact, I don't think humidity is all that terribly significant with cork finished wines either - but that's a much more controversial issue.

Tom S

Reply to
Tom S

high humidity is certainly issue where mould is concerned. I was sitting at about 90% humidity for 3mths, and the labels on perhaps 8 dozen bottles were quietly being covered by black spots. I have since put in a dehumidifier which has curtailed the mould, but has in turn led to increased temperatures in the cellar.. Hence the need to build a belowground cellar, which is now halfway done (excavation done, concrete is poured next Monday).

Low humidity has in my experience led to crumbly corks, which can be most difficult to extract. Whether this also increases the likelihood of oxidation or not, I'm not in a position to comment.

Reply to
Peter White

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