DIY Custom Wine Cellar

Proper Ventilation In Wine Cellars

Ventilation can be damaging to wines because it can upset the delicate temperature balance in the cellar. While gentle air currents in themselves are of little consequence, the danger arises when these currents vary the temperature in all or part of the cellar. In particular, artificial cooling units have a tendency to introduce cold air currents.

There needs to be a compromise here. On the one hand, moving air can be a necessity in maintaining a stable temperature throughout the cellar. In doing so, however, the air should not be of such a temperature, or moved so quickly, as to cause rapid fluctuations in bottle temperature. This naturally presupposes that the temperature can vary in different parts of the cellar, and this in itself should be avoided if possible. Where absolute perfection cannot be attained, it is sufficient to ensure that stiff breezes directed at the bottles are avoided, particularly if they have the potential to change the bottle temperature.

There will always be sceptics who challenge the significance of a good cellar. The evidence presented will be anecdotal and subjective. Invariably, a particular old bottle will be cited, having been stored under imperfect conditions, consumed at a ripe old age, and praised wholeheartedly. My response is simple: These critics may never know just how much better that bottle could have been.