Creating a wine cellar is no small feat - but it can also be one of the most satisfying investments you can make. It’s creative, it’s hard work, and at the end of the day, it gives you some delicious wine - what other pastimes can do that?

Creating the wine cellar of your dreams means combining a functional, well-made wine cellar that also suits your tastes. Keep reading on for some of our favourite tips for home wine cellar ideas, as well as how to organise a wine cellar and wine racks.

1. Make Your Design Express Your Tastes

When thinking about how to build a wine cellar, your cellar will be like a blank canvas: you can design and organise it to suit what aesthetic you choose. The thought can be both exciting and terrifying, so for wine cellar ideas, it can also be good to look at designs online, whether that be on Pinterest or with a quick Google Image search.

One way to ensure your cellar doesn’t seem out of place is to consider the decor of your home or place of business. For something more modern, you can go with something a lot sleeker which makes use of dark colours, glass or underlighting. For something with a more classic feel, you can go with a rustic design, with uses of polished wood. 

2. Organize With a System That Works Suits You

There is no one way to organise your wine - but there are a few ways that many avid wine collectors and experts tend to use. Whether you are building a wine cellar on a budget, or something more luxurious, it all comes down to your preferences and what works best for you. 

For example, you can organise your wine collection by:

• Region
• Varietal
• Brand
• Age
• Type and Colour
• Price

The most common ways to organise your collection are by varietal and region.

The best way to organise your why can also depend on how big your wine collection and wine racks are. For example, if you have a smaller collection and you’re not nitpicky about varietals, you can simply separate your wines into type or colour (ie. red wines, why wines, sparkling wines etc). Within each group, you can then organise your wine in other ways too. 

Separating your wine by age helps you visually see where the older, more expensive wines are, compared to newer wines that you are aging, or are less choosy about. It really all depends on what your priorities other. Either way, with a good system in place that has key information for each bottle, you’ll have no trouble navigating your collection and wine racks. 

3. Consider Using Tags

It’s one thing to have a perfectly organised spreadsheet for your wine collection, but there’s a lot to say about the simple effectiveness of using tags to navigate your cellar, especially when it’s a larger collection. Using tags is great for when you’re simply browsing, and get a helpful little summary about the bottle you’re holding. Everything you need to know will be on the tag, helping you decide if it’s the right choice for the night. 

4. Use a Spreadsheet for Larger Collections

Although not the most exciting part of wine collecting, we can’t recommend using a digital spreadsheet enough for wine cellars, especially when it’s a larger collection. They help you organise, locate and navigate your collection with ease. Although you can organise your wine rather simply, a digital spreadsheet will help do a lot of the heavy lifting, meaning any bit of information you need about your wine is just a click away.

5. Stability and Consistency Are Key

Sure, a Wine Cellar might look beautiful and impressive, but if it doesn’t consistently provide the right conditions, the design will be meaningless. Wine is a delicate substance, and changes in conditions such as temperature, lighting and humidity can potentially lead to your wine spoiling. 

If you’re serious about long-term wine storage, make sure your wine cellar provides the following:

• Is away from bright lights and direct sunlight
• Between 14 to 18 degrees Celsius (and does vary in temperature too much)
• Has a reasonable humidity, preferably between 50-70%
• Is away from vibrations 
• It’s generally best to position your bottles on their side if they are corked (this keeps the cork moist)
• Has consistent conditions

One great way to ensure that your collection is stable is by investing in a wine refrigerator or a wine air conditioning system. They help keep your wine under the right lighting, temperature and humidity conditions. For more information on how to Store Wine,click here.

6. Use Quality Wine Racks to Store Your Wine

Storing any Wine Collection will require sturdy, high quality storage systems. We recommend reliable wine racks - whether that be classic premium wine racks, wine cubes or bespoke and custom wine racks.

Are you ready to take the leap and start your dream wine collection? Check out Wine Stash’s online store today for all your wine storage needs and wine accessories.