Low cost wine storage. Save your dollars for the wine.
Mar 01 '00
The banner page for this category reads “Climate-controlled wine cellars are the best way to store your wine, but of course everyone can't afford one. What creative ideas do you have for storing wines inexpensively?”.
After reading several of the articles in the category, I found many of the members have written on the subject of purchasing reasonably priced wines to start a wine cellar not options for low cost wine storage.
Wine preferences are very personal, what may be one person’s to die for vintage may not suit the pallet of others. Reviews can not tell you what you will or should enjoy; they are only one person’s reflection at a particular point in time on a single bottle. While some wine lovers think nothing of dropping fifty dollars or more on a bottle of wine others are very satisfied with a five-dollar import. My point on wine is this; “You should drink the wines that appeal to your tastes regardless of what others may recommend”. Some wine drinkers will be able to purchase a year worth of wine for the price of another’s per bottle cost and will find the experience just as enjoyable.
The one similarity between all wines purchasers and consumers is the need for reasonably priced proper storage. Wine unlike other adult beverages has definite and specific storage requirements. Without proper storage any wine’s shelf life will be greatly reduced and the resulting tasting experience will not be a true reflection of the wines quality.
Determining one’s wine storage needs.
Your wine storage requirements and options will be dependent upon the number of bottles in your collection and the physical space you have available for bottle storage. The following factors should be taken into consideration as you determine your storage needs:
1. What is the value of your collection? Your storage solutions for a collection worth thousands of dollars will be very different than one for a 100-dollar collection. Don’t be penny wise in the protection of your assets.
2. Where is your storage space located? Will the wine be in a basement or an area within the main living space? Excessive light and temperature fluctuations are a wine’s worst enemies.
3. What does the term ‘LOW COST’ mean to you? How much are you willing to spend to properly store your wines? Determine a budget and stick to it!
4. Is your collection going to grow in the future? How much growth should you plan for? You may want to take a modular approach.
If you have a large or valuable collection or are forced to store wine in an above ground living area, low cost solutions may not be your best options. Collectors of expensive ‘FINE’ wines know the value of their bottles and should be willing to spend some money to purchase or build proper storage units. Failure to provide proper storage may provide you with a fine collection of vintage dated vinegar.
Those of you that are forced to store your wines in an above ground living area have your own set of problems. You must be concerned with excessive light, temperature fluctuations and vibrations. While there are some lower cost solutions, be prepared to invest some sweat equity or money to properly protect you prized possessions.
Some low cost storage ideas.
The assumption for these solutions is to maximize the bottle storage and minimize the unit cost. Storage units run from the $30.00-twenty bottle units up to the customized cellars costing thousands of dollars. I have found or built several low cost solutions that bring your per bottle storage cost well below a dollar a bottle.
My personal wine collection numbers between 300 and 400 bottles. While this may seem large to some, there are many, many collections that make mine seem like small peanuts. Over the years I have spent less than $100.00 on wine storage for a cellar that can store over 650 bottles. For the PUREST that has a custom made redwood wine cellar, mine is a poor man’s disjointed group of wine storage units. The key is they are located in the basement away from any light and in a fairly constant temperature and THEY WORK. Many of my bottles have been stored in these units for ten to fifteen years, aging and awaiting the day when I pull their cork and enjoy fruits of the wine makers’ labor.
My high tech storage beauties.
Unit One
A 300 plus-bottle wine storage rack made from odds and ends of lumber I had laying my basement workshop. I was fortunate to have several eight-foot sections of 1X10-pine boards and some scraps of plywood. Using the wood, some purchased corner brackets and shelf hangers and HAND tools I constructed the unit over a weekend. I do not suggest you make a unit with a depth less than 10”, the unit’s stability is of prime importance. Make sure that your unit is square and all joints are glued, screwed and reinforced with brackets. My finished unit is six feet long by four foot high and consists of 24 cubicles capable of holding 12 bottles each. Keep in mind that 24 cases of wine are VERY heavy, PLEASE do not attempt to build a large storage unit such as this and forget to reinforce the corners or leave off the plywood backboard. The weight of the wine will eventually win and the unit will break.
TOTAL STORAGE: 312 bottles. 24 X 12 plus 24 on top of the unit.
TOTAL COST: $20.00 plus construction time.
Unit Two
I use this unit to store my full cases of wine and spirits. It consists of a set of plastic shelves purchased at the local Home Depot. These shelves come in two sizes, both of which are 48-inches wide and can be assembled in less than ten minutes. My unit is 18-inchs deep comes with five shelves that can support 750 pounds. I have created two units consisting of two and three shelves. I opted for the two lower units because while it claims to hold 750 pounds I did not want to subject my bottles to a six-foot free fall if the unit should break.
TOTAL STORAGE: 240 bottles. 5 X 4 X 12
TOTAL COST: $39.99 plus assembly time.
Unit Three A, B and C
Unit three is my collection of wine racks that were orphaned by their prior owners. Over time I have picked up at no cost four racks ranging in capacity from 12 to sixty bottles. I have found my treasures at garage sales, sitting in relative’s basements and one that was being thrown out in the trash.
TOTAL STORAGE: 108 bottles. 60, 24 and 12 X 2.
TOTAL COST: $10.00
My total storage capacity is around 650 bottles at a cost of 70.00. That works out to an amazing eleven cents per bottle for storage costs. Seems reasonable to me.
Here are a couple of other low cost solutions.
You can purchase one dozen plastic milk crates. These crates are sturdy and made to hold the weight of glass milk bottles. I have seen them at many discount stores for a couple of dollars apiece. The individual units are about a foot square and if securely fastened together can make a nice modular unit. I would suggest you not go more than three or four units high and limit each crate to twelve bottles.
Here’s an idea for the person that has to store their bottles in a heated living area. Keep your eyes open for people unloading their mini apartment sized refrigerator. Used-units can be found for less than fifty dollars and can easily be converted for wine storage. One thing to keep in mind, look for a unit that has variable temperature control. This will help you reduce the cost of operation and you don’t want to freeze you wines. Once you have purchased your “Temperature Controlled Wine Storage Unit” you will need to replace the metal shelves with proper sized wine racks. I will leave that solution up to you.
You can purchase some tongue and groove boards and enclose the unit or cover it with good quality wood grained tack paper. For less than $100.00 you will have a nice temperature controlled unit.
My philosophy on wine storage is this;“You are providing a temporary resting place for a product you are going to consume and whose container you are going to throw away. Pay attention to where you are going to store your wines not so much on how they look laying in your basement.”
Now take that money you saved on storage and go buy more of what really matters, bottles of wine that you can enjoy.
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Epinions.com ID:
TSomes
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Member: Tedd Somes
Location: Bolton, CT.
Reviews written: 160
Trusted by: 415 members
About Me:
Just an ordinary guy with opinions on life and the world around us.
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