rhn the problem with most of these designs is the wine will not last in a heated environment such as a kitchen. better to have some refrigeration, usually around 48-52 degrees

Tirage Fine Art Gallery I have used the terra cotta pipes in our wine cellar for years - they are a great insulating device, have a unique look, and are very cost effective. Even with Southern California's hot summers, the wine has a consistent temperature. Agree with rhn - kitchen racks without some sort of refrigeration are not good for long term storage -- which means that you have to keep drinking!!!

Maus Haus in regards to temperature/storage...we just drink our wine really fast!

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. LOL Maus Haus. That's the spirit!

Firm name nice!

wizzzz agree

Tom Borsellino Now this is how you store wine.

Joseph and Curtis Custom Wine Cellars Interesting article...if they are turning over the wine on a consistent basis heat not that bad but not the optimal storage. Thanks for sharing.

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hi Joseph and Curtis Wine Cellars. Thanks for sharing your pictures, really gorgeous spaces. I wanted to offer some simple ideas here for very low budget options for storage. It was my understanding from a client of mine who has an extensive collection of wine that not all wine needs to be kept cold. I was shooting for ideas for storing that type of wine with limited space available. I had to ask him because I don't drink wine and have limited knowledge on which wines need to be stored cold. Maybe you can list some wines here on the thread that don't need cold storage. That would be helpful to readers I'm sure. Thanks so much for your input. Charmean Neithart

Joseph and Curtis Custom Wine Cellars Yes and you did a great job. I am including one other way to "house" wine (pardon the pun) in a reasonable way

Elyn's Library Joseph and Curtis Custom Wine Cellars - REALLY like your sleek, horizontal, wall-hugging design. Simple, elegant, decorative, accessible - very, very nice.

Joseph and Curtis Custom Wine Cellars Thank you..please follow us we tend to update our photos on a regular basis!

Laurie Brown We used cast iron, wall mounted wine racks in our dining room.

astraea @rhn - This is the 2nd article in today's Houzz update, that illustrates wine as a "design element", rather than storage that's good for the wine! The 3 factors affecting wine are light, humidity & temperature, so high open storage .. especially in a kitchen, are probably the worst things for it.

calkelley when complaining to friends about the 3rd time we had to replace our trash compactor, they mentioned they changed theirs into a wine fridge, that there's wine fridges sized to fit in the spot of your trash compactor.
Did it just before we sold. A great addition!

astraea @calkelley - And I'd like to replace the unused wine fridge in my kitchen with pantry space (LOL)!

wobblymansion Light, humidity, temperature, movement, consistency: For long-term storage all wine needs to be kept in a dark place, consistent cool temperature, no movement or vibration, humidity to keep the cork from drying out and shrinking. I'm afraid most of these wine displays are more about showing "we're into wine" rather than truly being into wine. Now, wine bottles are truly beautiful and displaying a week's worth is fine for inexpensive bottles, but you'd never want to put a fine wine in a place where sun will be shining on it, the temperature will change from night to day, and especially not under the stairs where it will have constant vibration from people going up and down all day.

If you can't do a cellar or a wine refrigerator, even a dark closet is better than having your bottles out on display. I hate to see all the hard work the winemaker does get ruined by a cool-looking wine display

Laurie Brown @astraea For some of us, it is a design element! Most of the wine bottles on my racks are empty. We keep full ones on the bottom and trust me, they never have a chance to spoil!!

Dura Supreme Cabinetry rhn, wobblymansion, astraea, - If you are concerned about the temperature of your wine, add a mini fridge built for wine storage into your kitchen design. You can set the temperature and maintain it, and it is easy to access. This is also a great idea for other beverage storage too!

Dura Supreme Cabinetry Here are a few of my favorite wine storage solutions, besides the mini fridge...

• Include storage it in a convenient beverage bar along with your coffee and cappuccino.
Lofty Kitchen Concept - Storage Solutions
Urban Loft - Storage Solutions 1

• make decorative space for a wine rack in your kitchen island.
West Indies Beauty
Urban Loft - Storage Solutions 2

• Use a rollout shelf built for bottle storage for your most used wines.
Is There Any Place You'd Rather Be? 1

• Include a decorative x-rack above your upper cabinets and out of reach of children.
Is There Any Place You'd Rather Be? 2

Elyn's Library I agree with some of the other posters that open wine display in the kitchen is not a nice thing to do to even inexpensive wine. Most kitchens are way too warm and much too bright and the wine will, like any fruit, start to degrade fairly quickly. The idea of displaying "empties" is fun and eliminates that problem.

Erick Gerdeman We built in a archway with a small wine bar. The wine on the left s my back up supply and replaces the bottles coming out of the fridge.

FerrisStudios Here are some shots of a cellar (with fold away wall to a private office/ cataloging room) a tasting room ceiling and an entrance that we recently finished in the Florida Keys. This combines air conditioned storage and refrigeration for 3000 bottles both. More can be seen on http://www.houzz.com/pro/kenferris/__public

wantsideas While I agree that no wine connoisseur would store expensive or high quality wine in the kitchens shown, especially for long, I took from the article more about storage, budget and design. Most of us can’t have the wine cellars or the James Bond spiral cellar pictured.


There can be some dead space in cabinets or islands that lend themselves to a narrow slot that can house five to seven bottles of wine. My current kitchen has just the space but it is a narrow cabinet that I never use and holds cookie sheets. I’d love it if it was open and I’d store a couple bottles of inexpensive wine (to be used within a couple of days) and maybe unopened bottles of olive oil or vinegar or rolled up place mats or napkins. If you have the luxury of being able to design your space make it work for your lifestyle. If you don’t drink wine you obviously don’t need a wine refrigerator in the kitchen. If you have a large family you might need two dishwashers. Everyone has different needs and wants.

Dura Supreme Cabinetry wantsideas - very true!

ghos A great design has purpose, not just decorate. It doesn't matter if it's for a strict budget or for a huge one. For me that when a great designer should start, there are a lot of stuff to display, just do it right.

Marlowe's Wine Store Awesome designs!
Going back to the post of what temperatures are good for which wines;
If you are looking to store and mature a nice bottle of Bordeaux or a fine Cabernet Sauvingon you would be looking to store at 56-58 and if it is white wines such as your Riesling or Chardonnay you would go for more of 46-48

Also, you would want to store bottle of wine on small tilt, so the cork would be facing down. Doing so, the cork will always stay moist and not dry out. Try to also keep away from sunlight as the UV rays could spoil the wines. Most wine coolers will come with a UV protected glass, which allows you to place the wine cooler at any of your desired areas. But make sure you get front ventilation so you can have 0 clearance at the back or sides and you can have it built in.

A good economical way to do wine racking storage is to go with modular racking systems, that way you can get exactly what you need for the space required and you can do it your self without hiring a professional.

The attached picture is a modular wine racking cellar, extremely easy to put together!!


Hope this helps out!

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Thank you Marlowe's Wine Store. That is the good, practical information I was looking for. This will be very helpful to those readers who are not well versed in keeping wine, myself included. I appreciate you taking the time to answer so thoughtfully. Definitely will bookmark this information. Thanks again. Charmean

Marlowe's Wine Store Anytime! If you have any questions about wine storage or wine in particular, I will be more then happy to help out!

calaura slgale - if you are still reading this thread, there is a great antique stove restorer in Ventura, CA. www.antiquestoveshop.com I saw a restored set of fridge and range in the copper color you have at their shop. They looked AWESOME! These guys really go the extra mile to find replacements for worn-out parts and sometimes add updates (like electric starters for ranges).