Wine Storage Ideas: How to Cellar Your Wine If You Don’t Have A Cellar

Judging by the lines seen outside liquor stores each time a snap lockdown has been announced, it would appear that more than a few of us think it’s wise to have a stockpile of your favourite drop on hand so that there’s no danger of running out.

Whether you’re putting aside a few of your favourite blends for a rainy day or you’re a serious collector, how you store your wine is crucial to ensuring that it will only get better with age (otherwise known as the George Clooney effect.)

If, sadly, you don’t have an underground wine cellar crafted by monks from hand-made mud bricks (nor a Tuscan villa to house it), fear not. There are plenty of above ground options for storing and displaying your bottles so that they are at their best when you pop the cork (or screw-top) and pour the first glass.

1. Bespoke Wine Room

If wine is your passion, why not wear your heart on your sleeve and make your wine collection a feature of your home?

Wine rooms, like the one centre-stage in Endeavour Foundation’s Anniversary Prize Home in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, are becoming more popular in high-end new home builds and renovations.

This custom-designed, fully enclosed glass room has been fitted with a floor to ceiling wine racking system by wine cellaring specialists, MacPhees.

Streamlined, modular racking, like the Evolution system can be customised to suit your space and store your bottles horizontally with labels visible, perfectly showcasing your wine and making it easy to make your selection.

Special touches like including a presentation shelf will add interest to your wine wall and give you an opportunity to show-off your most prized bottles.

If you’re serious about your wine, you could also consider installing a climate control system to ensure your wine is stored at the perfect temperature – perhaps something to think about if you are the lucky Prize Home winner? More about climate control next.

2. Wine Cabinet/Fridge

If you’re looking to store your wine so that it ages gracefully with delectable maturity (that’s that ‘Clooney effect’) a wine fridge could be considered an excellent investment.

And we’re not talking about an old fridge out in the garage dedicated to alcoholic beverages and Christmas overflow.

What we’re referring to is a purpose-built fridge designed for storing wine at the optimal temperature, ensuring it not only keeps well but also matures to perfection.

The wine cabinet/fridge was invented back in 1976 by French wine storage leaders, EuroCave and is considered the ultimate way to protect your collection.

In Australia, where our mercury often rises well above European temperatures, if left out in the open, our wine tends to age like a gnarly old fisherman who’s never heard of SPF.

But by storing your wine in a climate-controlled environment, you can ensure that your wine matures in all the right ways.

So what temperature is the right temperature?

Experts agree that all wine, whether red or white, should be stored at 14 degrees.

Any cooler and the wine will take longer to mature; any warmer and the wine may mature too quickly and possibly spoil. Catastrophe.

However, if a bottle of wine doesn’t last long around your place, all you need to do is find a cool spot to keep it (that’s not a standard fridge) until you crack it open

3. Wine Pantry

When you’re looking for a spot to store your wine, try to find a cool place in your home away from direct sunlight.

Generally, pantries tend to tick these boxes as they are fairly dark enclosed spaces that are often a bit cooler than the rest of the house.

Now depending on the size of your wine collection, you can either clear out your staples and dedicate the whole pantry to house it (food is so over-rated), or you can organise the space so that you can set aside a shelf or two for your vino.

Look for some simple wine racks to help organise your bottles, store them correctly, and make the most efficient use of space.

Built-In Wine Racks

If you’re building or renovating, consider including a built-in wine rack that’s big enough to house a case or two for a streamlined storage solution. You could locate it in a discreet place, like under the kitchen bench, or make a feature of it in your living area as long as it’s away from windows and any other sources of direct sunlight.

Mini Cellar

If you have internal stairs in your home, the space under the staircase is ripe for a mini cellar transformation. This often under-used location is potentially one of the cooler spots in your home. Add some custom-built wine shelving or tailoring a modular racking system to suit and, voila, you have your very own wine cellar.

DIY Wine Rack

Whether you just want to have a few bottles on display or have a large collection to house, making your own wine rack can be a fun and satisfying project. You can either find a ‘how to’ tutorial online or sketch up your own creative idea. So, why not, pour a glass of vino, kick back, and explore Pinterest for some inspiration.

Imagine Entertaining in Your Own Wine Room

For a wine lover, it doesn’t get any better than Endeavour Foundation’s $1.4 million Anniversary Prize Home in Maleny, with a custom-designed wine room as its stunning centrepiece. If you’re not already a wine collector, it’s enough to inspire you to start.

This spectacular, architecturally designed, modern farmhouse is open to explore from 10am to 5pm, seven days a week until 3 June 2021. Turn a daytrip to the Sunshine Coast hinterland into a tasting adventure and explore the wineries and breweries you can find along the way.

Or if you can’t make it there in person, take an armchair virtual tour right now.

For your chance to win this amazing modern farmhouse, buy your tickets now.

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