Wine storage problems are mainly caused by a poor installation of your cellar. External factors such as heat, odor, and vibration will spoil the wine if it is not stored in the perfect environment. To prevent a waste of investment, you must work with a builder who has extensive experience in wine cellar construction. Custom Wine Cellars San Antonio has been in the industry for many years. 

How an Expert can Keep Your Wines Safe

Choosing an inexperienced company will result in serious wine storage problems in the future. You must keep wine in a room designed to maintain the optimum conditions required for long-term storage. Proper room preparation and installation of components will result in a safe wine cellar.

At Custom Wine Cellars San Antonio, they plan carefully before starting a wine cellar project. This is to ensure that the right components are installed in their client’s wine room. Proper insulation and an efficient wine cooling system play a major role in maintaining the perfect conditions in a wine cellar. Understanding the causes of wine defects will also help avoid issues in wine storage.

Understanding the Common Causes of Wine Defects

Excessive heat and variable humidity levels will affect wine’s quality, which is why you must seek the help of an expert in building climate-controlled wine cellars. To prevent wine defects, Custom Wine Cellars San Antonio ensures that every wine storage facility they build has proper insulation and is equipped with an efficient wine refrigeration system.

How Poor Room Insulation Can Damage Wine

A climate-controlled wine cellar must be able to stabilize the conditions required for long-term storage. To help achieve this, the walls and ceilings must be insulated. This process will help maintain the ideal temperature in the wine room. The ideal temperature range is 55 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything outside this range will cause wine defects.

Air Leakage Will Deteriorate Wine Easily

Without proper insulation, the cool air will escape from the cellar, and the warm air will get in the room. When this happens, the wine’s chemical properties will be altered, resulting in an unpleasant taste and aroma.

Too much heat will also shrink the cork and provide a space for air to get into the bottle. An unwanted amount of oxygen will oxidize wine.

Oxidation imparts an unpleasant smell into the wine. These include vinegar, burnt marshmallow, and stewed fruit. Another sign of an oxidized wine is a change in color. The liquid’s color becomes dull or brownish.

Wine Cooling Unit Will Not Work Correctly Because of Poor or No Insulation

The wine cooling unit will work well in an insulated room. If your wine cellar is not sealed properly, this will affect the performance of your wine refrigeration system.

It will work harder than its normal operation, resulting in possible breakdowns and high-energy consumption. This will cause a significant expense for repair or replacement of the unit and for higher electric bills.

Closed-Spray Foam Insulation for the Walls and Ceiling: Efficient and Reliable

At Custom Wine Cellars San Antonio, we use closed-cell foam insulation because it has better insulating factors compared to other types of insulation. Although a bit expensive, closed-cell spray foam insulation will not only protect your wines.

It can also save you money because it allows you to choose a smaller size wine cooling unit. Its high insulating factors also help the cooling unit to function correctly, resulting in lower energy consumption.

Since this type of insulation can act both as an insulator and a vapor barrier, there is no need for another vapor barrier. A vapor barrier will keep the humidity at the correct levels. Failure to do this will trigger mold growth inside the wall cavities, damaging the structural integrity of your wine cellar. Molds can also grow in the wine racks, cork, and wine labels.

Another advantage of the closed-cell foam insulation is its high-resistance to water. Meaning, it is less prone to damage even when exposed.

Door Insulation

Your wine cellar door must also have insulating properties to help keep an airtight seal in the wine cellar. At Custom Wine Cellars San Antonio, they use only exterior grade doors (1 ¾” thick) constructed using the LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) technique to make the material more durable and highly resistant to warping.

For wrought iron doors, they use insulated iron tubing. Their stainless steel and aluminum door are also exterior grade. For glass doors, they only use thermally insulated glass panels.

Custom Wine Cellars San Antonio also makes sure that every door they install is equipped with sealing properties to keep the cool air in the cellar.

Master Builders in San Antonio Recommends Reliable Wine Cooling Systems to Protect Your Investment

Another important component of a wine room is the cooling equipment. It must suit the size and location of the room and the number of bottles that the owner wants to store in the cellar.

Air conditioners for the homes should not be used in wine storage facilities because they are not designed to achieve the perfect environment for the graceful aging of wine.

Custom Wine Cellars San Antonio offers reliable brands of wine cooling systems: WhisperKool, Wine Guardian, Cellarmate, and US Cellar Systems. There are self-contained, split, and ducted self-contained systems.

To help them determine the most suitable refrigeration unit for your cellar, they will assess your requirements first.

Keep in mind the following factors when choosing your cooling equipment:

• functional and safety features
• noise production
• maintenance/repair

• type of installation

Hire a Wine Storage Professional to Save Your Wine from Damage

Wine storage problems can be prevented if you work with an expert. Custom Wine Cellars San Antonio have been in the construction industry for many years. They have proven their expertise and creativity in building safe and magnificent wine cellars for residential and commercial spaces.

If you want to start building a wine cellar that will preserve the quality of your vintages for many years to come, please don’t hesitate to call +1 (201) 591-1595 today!