The Best Solution to Wine Storage at Home
Written: Jul 05 '01
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Pros: Quality in materials, construction, warranty and support. Safety and security.
Cons: It is large and it is expensive.
The Bottom Line: A true safe place for your fine wines and cigars, this is the Rolls-Royce of Wine Cabinets!
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| faubertc's Full Review: Eurocave Vieillitheque Prestige MV264 |
- Introduction and Impression
The Vieillitheque line is a modular single temperature wine cabinet that is part of a line intentionally constructed to fit well in the modern home. The principals behind its design are twofold - to provide the ideal wine storage environment, and to do so while complimenting the interior of the home. Let's face it, the ideal wine storage area is a cave or a large underground cellar that had the level of moisture and temperature that is conducive to preserving wine in its glory, while allowing it to age. It takes a combination of humidity, darkness and temperature - and a stability of those as well - and these are not present in most homes today. We should all own our own castles!
I chose this model for several reasons - the first being that it mimics a traditional deep cellar in conditions and stability, while it is also able to operate in external temperature ranging between -5ºC to 35ºC. That pretty much describes my basement, which is NOT conducive to wine storage on its own. In addition, I wanted a unit that was attractive - I have a small wine study in the basement, and I had previously purchased a different model in the Eurocave line second-hand about 5 years ago. My first cellar was the plain jane looking classic Eurocave 444 - with its wood-panel finish and 444 bottle capacity, it was perfect for my needs. It wasn't exactly attractive, and its control equipment was rather primitive, but my collection was mostly consumables with no investment wines at all. I was storing what I drank and would drink only as long as it took to reach reasonable maturity.
As I grew older and better educated, my tastes expanded beyond Champagne and the various sipping-quality wines that most amateurs confuse with taste (grin). I had the odd bottle of Dom but most of the cellar contents was table wines and the mid-level mid-quality affordable that ranged from $8 to $22 a bottle. As usually happens, I evolved as a wine consumer. After several classes, many books, dozens of taste parties and a virtual lifetime and a half of education, I finally graduated to an informed consumer who understood wine in its wonderful variety and also how to make it mate with a meal and sing! In addition I began seeking out the bargains - traveling to Europe and buying at the vineyards to save money - thereby getting Dom for $44 a bottle instead of $105, and in addition, having the chance to purchase Bordeaux's and Ports and Champagnes of the very limited runs that we only read about but never see on store shelves. Well, I *was* seeing them at their makers and I was able to obtain small quantities - as any one can who really looks!
Ice wines from Germany and White Ports from Oporto as well as other rare and wonderful treasures that, though expensive in America, can be had reasonably, if you are willing to hunt them down - but you must go to them. It was after my first such trip that I realized that my then current cellar was not going to work. I had some ports and champagnes and Bordeaux's that had to be cellared for years - some for decades! The crude environment system I had would eventually damage the corks and thus the wines, and I couldn't risk that!
I began my hunt by visiting showrooms in Boston and LA, and talking to the owners of various cabinet cellars online. Through trial and error, I created a system of comments and notes, and eventually I gathered enough info to make an informed decision - and that ended up being the Eurocave Vieillitheque Prestige MV264. I think you will understand why as I explain its features and their application to my (and your) concerns.
- Capacity
My old cabinet holds 444 bottles and I kept it to use for my regular day-to-day selections. After all, these cabinets do their work best if they are not opened a lot, and logic dictates that while I may need to access the old cellar three to four times a week for dinners, the new cellar and my aging wines need not be bothered at all, but for those moments when I need to taste a sample bottle to check on maturity, or pull some for a special occasion. So having both and using them for their specific purposes made sense.
The new cabinet is rated to hold 410 bottles, though in practice the number is not quite that large; a collection of magnums and odd-sized ports tends to eat up the averaged space, so some flexibility must exist regarding the actual capacity. No worries though, as the rarified nature of the contents means I will not get anywhere close to filling the unit any time soon (grin). My model has the rolling shelves, so I do not have to physically molest the bottles to examine their labels, as I had to do in the old cabinet, which uses the standard single cube openings.
The unit is actually two units in one, each side set to different temperatures and humidity levels to suit their contents. I keep all of my Champagne and sparkling wines in the left side, and my heavily port dominated flat wines on the right. In addition I have the cigar humidor option installed in the right as well, taking the place of one of the standard rolling shelves. It is self-contained and operates at its own temp and humidity, and its inclusion on my new cellar was pure serendipity! I must say I like it very much!
- Flexibility
As I mentioned before, it is modular, and there are a variety of options available for it, including some from third party sources. I know a bloke who has a unit with half wine cellar, half fur storage for his wife, and another that is half wine, half humidor. Either way or any way, you will discover that you can customize it to suit your needs easily. My cabinet was a complete custom-select, as I indicated above, having mostly the strengthened rolling shelves, as well as special sized Magnum shelves and the addition of the built-in humidor. One of the principal complaints that I hear often is that the units are hard to assemble, so I had mine pre-assembled and tested, and shipped completely assembled. It was delivered and, on the next day the agent came out to my home and set it up, configuring the temps and adjusting the shelves, finally leveling the units for a perfect install.
After it was declared complete, I allowed it to sit for three days to permit the fluids to settle and then plugged it in; I additionally allowed the unit to run for a week to be certain that the environment system was okay - I had heard of some problems from others and wanted to avoid having to empty the cabinet for servicing should it be necessary - however in my case it was not, as everything worked perfectly. Once I was satisfied, I carefully installed my wines and I am happy to report that I have not had a problem yet, and my wines are in perfect order.
All in all I have to say that though it was rather expensive, it was well worth the cost. I am a firm believer in the idea that you get what you pay for, and I know from experience that there is much less satisfaction in "making do" than in "doing it right." I happily suggest this unit - and the other cabinets from Eurocave - to my friends and acquaintances, as I feel it is hard to go wrong with them.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 5,895.00
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Epinions.com ID:
faubertc
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Member: Christopher Faubert
Location: Falmouth, MA
Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 4 members
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