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JOE DONELAN has a wine cellar in his Darien home custom-designed by Evan Goldenberg of Design Build Consultants in Greenwich 15 years ago. The cellar is kept at a constant 55 degrees and 60 percent humidity. Donelan said he enjoys wine and likes sharing it with his friends and family. (RICHARD MESSINA / HARTFORD COURANT / October 18, 2009) |
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Let's talk about aging, not the kind that involves wrinkles and osteoporosis but the kind that involves letting a good wine evolve into a great wine.
When wine buyers cross the threshold from purchasing enough wine so that some is always on hand for dinner to buying in bulk and choosing bottles that will appreciate in value, aging becomes a significant concern.
At that point, having a home wine cellar isn't just a luxury. It's a way to protect a serious investment.
"The advantages of having a wine cellar are primarily as an aging facility," says Nelson Veiga, one of the partners in West Hartford's Dotcom Wine and Spirits and a maître sommelier diplômé trained in Europe.
"When the wine is bottled, and then the bottle is corked, the wine goes to sleep, and it stays in a sleep state until the cork is removed," he says.
Putting wine in a cellar where light, vibration, temperature and humidity are controlled allows the wine to age properly.
"The main reason people age wines is to reduce the tannins," Veiga says. "It's what makes the wine astringent and dry, and so by aging the wine, you soften the tannins, and you also make the wine more supple on your palate. ... The finer the wine, usually, the higher degree of tannin."
Another important aspect of a cellar is that racks hold the bottles in a tilted, cork-down position, Veiga says.
"When the bottle is standing, the cork is no longer in contact with the wine, so you lay it down to keep the cork wet," he says. "When we remove the cork, the wine is going to come alive. When the cork dries out, air gets into the wine and prematurely awakens it. You're going to find that the wine is oxidized."
Building a custom home wine cellar can be an expensive proposition, but one that's worth it for serious oenophiles. Other options range from closet conversions to self-contained refrigerated units. Anything's better, Veiga says, than letting a good bottle of wine go bad.
"Most of my clients come to me when they realize they own too many bottles of wine. They've become collectors, and they become passionate about what's out there," Goldenberg says. "They've amassed so many bottles, and they open them and realize they don't taste the way they should."
Goldenberg asks his clients how much space they want to allocate to wine storage and how many bottles they want to store.
"Some people with very small homes have large wine cellars, and some people with very large homes have small wine cellars," he says.
Clients also have to decide if their wine cellar will be strictly utilitarian or include space for tastings. A small wine cellar can hold 1,000 to 1,500 bottles, depending on the cabinet work and the dimensions of the room, which typically range from 50 to 100 square feet.
Goldenberg offers his clients two types of refrigeration systems to control temperature and humidity.
The first, a ductless split system, is mounted on the wall of the wine cellar and connected to a remote outdoor condensation unit. The unit minimizes evaporation to keep the wine cellar at about 65 percent humidity.
The second system is a ducted air handler, which is similar to a home air-conditioning system. These units distribute air through ductwork, and they work in conjunction with a device that controls humidity.
The ducted system costs about 15 percent more to operate and about 25 percent more to install, Goldenberg says. Both units are monitored 24 hours a day through a system that sends data to the Internet and alerts a homeowner via e-mail if the temperature or humidity levels get out of whack.
Joe Donelan of Darien is one of Goldenberg's clients, and he can attest to the joys of having a wine cellar. Donelan, who also owns a boutique vineyard in Sonoma County, Calif., has a wine cellar in his house in Darien and another one in a home in Nantucket.
When wine buyers cross the threshold from purchasing enough wine so that some is always on hand for dinner to buying in bulk and choosing bottles that will appreciate in value, aging becomes a significant concern.
At that point, having a home wine cellar isn't just a luxury. It's a way to protect a serious investment.
"The advantages of having a wine cellar are primarily as an aging facility," says Nelson Veiga, one of the partners in West Hartford's Dotcom Wine and Spirits and a maître sommelier diplômé trained in Europe.
"When the wine is bottled, and then the bottle is corked, the wine goes to sleep, and it stays in a sleep state until the cork is removed," he says.
Putting wine in a cellar where light, vibration, temperature and humidity are controlled allows the wine to age properly.
"The main reason people age wines is to reduce the tannins," Veiga says. "It's what makes the wine astringent and dry, and so by aging the wine, you soften the tannins, and you also make the wine more supple on your palate. ... The finer the wine, usually, the higher degree of tannin."
Another important aspect of a cellar is that racks hold the bottles in a tilted, cork-down position, Veiga says.
"When the bottle is standing, the cork is no longer in contact with the wine, so you lay it down to keep the cork wet," he says. "When we remove the cork, the wine is going to come alive. When the cork dries out, air gets into the wine and prematurely awakens it. You're going to find that the wine is oxidized."
Building a custom home wine cellar can be an expensive proposition, but one that's worth it for serious oenophiles. Other options range from closet conversions to self-contained refrigerated units. Anything's better, Veiga says, than letting a good bottle of wine go bad.
Custom Wine Cellar
Evan Goldenberg of Design Build Consultants in Greenwich has been custom-building home wine cellars since 1993."Most of my clients come to me when they realize they own too many bottles of wine. They've become collectors, and they become passionate about what's out there," Goldenberg says. "They've amassed so many bottles, and they open them and realize they don't taste the way they should."
Goldenberg asks his clients how much space they want to allocate to wine storage and how many bottles they want to store.
"Some people with very small homes have large wine cellars, and some people with very large homes have small wine cellars," he says.
Clients also have to decide if their wine cellar will be strictly utilitarian or include space for tastings. A small wine cellar can hold 1,000 to 1,500 bottles, depending on the cabinet work and the dimensions of the room, which typically range from 50 to 100 square feet.
Goldenberg offers his clients two types of refrigeration systems to control temperature and humidity.
The first, a ductless split system, is mounted on the wall of the wine cellar and connected to a remote outdoor condensation unit. The unit minimizes evaporation to keep the wine cellar at about 65 percent humidity.
The second system is a ducted air handler, which is similar to a home air-conditioning system. These units distribute air through ductwork, and they work in conjunction with a device that controls humidity.
The ducted system costs about 15 percent more to operate and about 25 percent more to install, Goldenberg says. Both units are monitored 24 hours a day through a system that sends data to the Internet and alerts a homeowner via e-mail if the temperature or humidity levels get out of whack.
Joe Donelan of Darien is one of Goldenberg's clients, and he can attest to the joys of having a wine cellar. Donelan, who also owns a boutique vineyard in Sonoma County, Calif., has a wine cellar in his house in Darien and another one in a home in Nantucket.
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