Are you a wine lover who dreams of having a wine room or wine cellar? If you have a large collection of wine or plan to begin growing one, having a wine room or cellar in your home is a good idea. While it makes it easier for you to store your wine, and it is impressive to your guests, truly having a wine room is important because you can use it to maintain the right temperatures and humidity for the wine to keep. That is why we have put together this guide for you on how to create a wine room in your cellar.
Where should I create a wine room?
When choosing the right area in your home to create a wine room in, you should first consider the ideal conditions for storing wine, especially if you plan on creating this for long-term storage.
A wine room should be between 45 and 65 degrees, with 55 being the optimal temperature. It needs to have a humidity level between 50 percent and 80 percent.
You also want to avoid a room with a lot of windows because the direct sunlight is not good for the wine. This is why basements are common choices for a wine room, they typically do not have windows, so they are easy to keep dark. However, if you are doing this in a spare bedroom, investing in some blackout curtains can help you keep the sunlight away from your bottles.
Depending on how big your wine collection is, there are often a lot of options available in a house for a wine cellar. Do you have a closet or pantry you do not use very often? How about space under the stairs? Is there a dining room that you do not use? What about a den?
Attics are not recommended for a wine room because they are often hot and humid and have little climate control. You would need to completely refinish your attic to make it the right space for a wine room. Garages are also not recommended for the same reason.
Things to Consider When You Create a Wine Room
Since you are designing this room to store and protect your wine, there are a few things to consider before you get started.
- Insulation: You want to keep your wine room at the optimal temperature, so the room needs to be well insulated. If there are going to be windows or a glass door in the room, make sure it is all double-paned to help keep the room insulated.
- Vapor Barrier: You need to have a good vapor barrier in place to keep unwanted moisture out of your wine room.
- Climate Control: A well-working climate control system in the wine room is one of the most important pieces of your wine room.
- Ventilation: In any refrigerated environment, like a wine room, condensation can be a problem. That is why ventilation is important in your room. Add in a condensation pump or floor drain to keep that condensation at bay.
- Electricity: You will need to have some electricity in the room to power your climate control. You will also need to have some lighting to turn on when you are in the room, though it is recommended to go with a dim light.
- Plumbing: Having water in the room is a good idea, but not 100 percent necessary. Consider adding a sink to the wine room, especially if you want to have a small wet bar in the space.
How to Create a Wine Room
Now that you know a little more about the things to consider before you get started, let’s look at how to create a wine room.
1Choose the Right Location
The location is one of the most important parts of creating a wine room or cellar. It will determine how much space you have and what details you will need to include in the room to make it perfect. You do not want to take away from your existing living space for this; it should be in addition to your existing space.
2Check for Leaks
No matter what part of your home you decide to put your wine room in, make sure you check it thoroughly for any leaks. This is especially important if you are using your basement for this project since those often have moisture problems. If you find any, make sure you get them sealed off before you move on to the next part of the project.
3Insulate the Room
After ensuring there are not any current leaks in the room, you will want to make sure it is properly insulated. One of the best types of insulation for a project like this is polyurethane spray foam, which is excellent at creating both an air and vapor barrier. It will help protect the wine from damage and make climate control easier.
4Seal the Floor to Isolate the Space
If you have a concrete floor in your wine room, which is more likely if you have it in your basement, make sure you use a sealant to prevent any potential leaks or contaminants from getting into the room.
5Invest in a Cooling Unit
As we mentioned earlier, you need to ensure that your wine room is kept at a certain temperature to protect your wine. An HVAC system is often the easiest route to take with this, but there are also cooling units designed specifically for a wine cellar that can be a worthwhile investment. These are great if the room is not in a part of the house currently connected to the HVAC system or if you do not trust the one for your home to keep your wine at the right temperature.
6Find the Right Humidifier
The humidity of your wine room is another crucial part of the room to protect your wine. You can buy a regular humidifier for the room, but there are also humidifiers that are designed specifically for wine cellars. Take your time choosing the best humidifier within your budget since wine bottles need to be at a specific humidity to keep properly.
7Invest in Drywall
If you are refinishing your basement or another part of the house, make sure you invest in good drywall. You want to get a drywall that is resistant to water because that can help you maintain the temperature of the room and keep moisture from leaking through the insulation in your walls.
8Add Electrical Outlets
While this might not be 100 percent necessary, depending on the design you are using for the room, it is still a good idea to have a few in there in case you need them later. Make sure you seal the area around your outlets when you finish adding them to ensure the room will continue to remain airtight.
9Add a Beautiful Finish to the Wine Room’s Walls
Once you have finished the walls, it is time to give them a beautiful finish. This is where the fun really begins. What type of ambiance do you want to create in your wine room? You can just paint the walls or add some wallpaper, but you can go one step further to truly give the room the right feel. Faux stone or faux brick is an excellent choice for giving the wine room a rustic feel to it. Using faux stone or brick is much better than using natural stone or brick because it can add another layer of insulation to the room. It is also much more affordable than the natural alternative, it does not add a bunch of bulk to the walls, and it is designed for DIY installation.
10Find the Perfect Door
Choosing the door to your wine room is a much more important task than it might seem when you create the room. A glass door can look cool and stylish, but unless it is double-paned, it is not going to be a good choice for a wine room. Glass also collects condensation, which is bad for wine, so keep that in mind when choosing your door. There are actually doors that are designed specifically for a wine cellar or room. They are heavier than normal doors, and they can be a little tough to open and close. The reason these are harder to open and close is that they are intended to act as a seal for the room, closing off the airflow in and out of the room. If you cannot get a door designed for this purpose, look for one that is good at sealing off airflow as much as you can; this is an investment in your wine.
11The Finishing Touches
Once the room is fully built to protect your wine, it is time to add the finishing touches to it. You will need to get some racks for your wine, and the most common style is wooden. These are easy to resize, and they can match the decor in most wine rooms. However, there are a lot of different wine racking systems out there these days, so you should be able to easily find one that fits the style of your room and that you can keep everything organized with.
If you are adding a little bar to the room, you will want to get some stylish racks to store your wine glasses on and bar stools that go with your overall aesthetic.
You can hang a rustic chandelier in the room to create ambiance when you are spending time in it. Some wine barrels, either empty or full, also make an excellent decoration in the room and create some ambiance. Fake wine grapes hanging from the ceiling or the tops of the racks are another excellent touch that adds to the authenticity of the room.
The Benefits of a Wine Room
You might be a wine lover, who has a collection of bottles, but you might be hesitant to build a wine room. Let’s take a look at the benefits of why you should create a wine room.
- Preserve and Improve the Quality of the Wine
Wine is intended to keep for years, but when the bottles are not properly stored, the wine can spoil. Having a wine room will let you ensure your wine is stored right, so you can enjoy it when you are ready.
Wine collectors often choose to create a wine room or cellar because they want to ensure the temperature and humidity of the wine is kept just right.
- Keep Your Wine Bottles Organized
When you have a collection of wine, it can be hard to keep track of everything and keep it organized, especially since the bottles themselves all look pretty similar. However, if you create a wine room, you can keep track of every bottle you have, and you will always be able to find the bottle you are looking for. This is very convenient when you have guests and need to find the right bottle of wine to go with your dinner. You will save a lot of time when you have a designated area for your wine collection.
Final Thoughts
A wine room can add resale value to your home, and it is a great way to store and organize your wine. It is the perfect way to design a bonus room in your home that will impress your visitors. Aside from the most important elements of the room, you can have fun with it and turn it into a room that you love to entertain in.
