What makes a good wine cellar ?

A good wine cellar is a dark, closed space, not subject to vibrations, noise or smells, well ventilated but protected from drafts.

• A cellar must be well ventilated, especially if it is very damp, to avoid any musty smells that could contaminate your wine bottles. A wine cellar should have no windows to avoid direct light that could be bad for maturing wine, so some kind of mechanical ventilation system is recommended.
• The corks on your fine vintage bottles are not airtight: they allow the wine to “breathe” the air in the wine cellar. It is therefore vital to avoid any bad smells: A wine cellar is not a good place to store cleaning products and paints. Nor should it be used to stock fruit and vegetables.
• Light accelerates maturing in wine, so a good cellar should be a dark place, preferably in a basement to avoid sudden temperature variations.
• If the floor of your cellar is bare soil, keep it as it is! That is the best kind of floor. If the floor is concrete, check the air humidity and if the cellar is too dry, spread some sand over part of the floor and sprinkle water over it every now and again (large plastic tubs full of sand can be enough to take the air humidity over 70 %).