Innovative Saunas And Cellars Featured Wine Cellar [Coral Gables] (Residence)

Wine is a lifestyle. It has a variety of scents and flavors and all of this is possible through the delicate balance of how its produced. It's important to maintain that balance to not end up accidentally ruining or damaging the wine. 

This is also true for those wines that you keep as an investment and are meant to age over several years. You would want to have protective storage for your valuables and so you should always consider getting protective storage for your precious and delightful wine collection. 

What goes into proper wine storage?

Wine needs to be stored at a specific temperature and humidity. The best is around 55 to 60 degrees, with minimal fluctuations. That means the temperature needs to stay constant. If it starts to cross 60 degrees, it can start deteriorating the wine, at an exponential level for each additional degree. 

Humidity is another item to consider and it needs to stay around 70% humidity to keep the cork expanded and as air-tight as possible. It also helps the cork from drying out which can lead to other complications as well. 

It can go higher, but there are some cases where mold can start to grow. The mold is benign towards the wine, but can be unpleasant to look at and will require safe removal before consuming the wine. Better to keep your wine ecosystem as stable as possible. 

Another item to consider is the light. Light and UV rays specifically can actually rearrange the molecular structure of the wine, and change everything about it, from its taste to its mouthfeel. 

It also can prematurely age the wine, and not all wines can last very long. Having the space where the wine storage will happen should be constantly dark, with minimal lighting only to view and select a wine, and then turn off the lights once again. 

Sometimes, especially with white wines, we tend to store them in a refrigerator or someplace cold, because we want to enjoy them at a cooler temperature. 

That's ok for a little bit, but long-term storage over a few days will also start to affect those wines. The vibrations of the refrigerator and the smells or odors in the fridge can both adversely affect the flavors and structure of the wine. 

There’s also additional consideration in how to store wine and at what angle. Storing wine upright does nothing for it except leave a potential gap for air to fill in through the porous cork. 

Wine should at the minimum be stored at a horizontal angle, and benefits even more at a 45-degree angle, cork side down. This helps keep that cork airtight with the wine itself pushing against it. 


How to store wine properly? 

Unless you want to enjoy wine properly purchased one bottle at a time, consideration should be given to getting a wine storage system in your home. Yet the major issue that happens is that wine storage or wine cellars are not a common fixture in most homes, and can be a daunting option to consider building out. 

Who has that concrete stone cellar to begin building out a wine cellar to store those wines? One can assume not many. 

That's where a customized wine cellar can come in. Thanks to some modern innovations, and fully understanding what goes into proper wine storage, and what makes a wine cellar such an ideal location, it can be done in various different locations in the home. 

A wine cellar traditionally comes from favorable conditions in Europe where the temperature and humidity are maintained by natural elements and stored via underground stone cellars. 

This isn't always possible in every region as the natural conditions are not a guarantee. What we can do instead is artificially recreate those settings, and actually maintain it better, since we can actually keep the consistency of temperature, humidity, lighting, vibrations, and aromas all synced up and not changing. 

What we do at Innovative Saunas & Cellars is taking what you have, which is space, and handle the rest for you. As you can see in the example image, what we have done is to convert a bedroom to the perfect modern-day cellar. 

Want to know more about the process we go through in order to build one of our custom wine cellars?

In the gallery below we’ve included photos of our custom wine cellar building process showing the space: before, during, and after our team of wine cellar builders put their high level of craftsmanship into the room.

All of the elements that can add variance can be removed as needed. In this instance, we simply had to remove all the drywall to help with the temperature and humidity management. 

What we then did was add closed cell insulation to take back temperature control into our hands as we see fit. Then we do some electrical renovation to help accommodate the LED lighting (which is much better than traditional lighting solutions or natural light). From there we installed a whisper kool Quantum split system to keep it at a constant, never shifting 55 degrees. 

Add to that some additional insulation from the glass doors and make it nearly airtight to regulate the airflow and thus the humidity. Now you have yourselves a wine cellar that can basically be constructed from any spare space you have in your home, whether it's a spare bedroom or a den, or some other unused area. We convert it into a traditional and modern-looking space with forwarding racks that will help keep it at the right angle for proper storage. 

In addition, the Vintage view labels and information will be easily visible so you will be able to easily find that wine bottle you want to use for the day. We also added some traditional wooden racks to provide that aesthetic look, while placing backlit wall panels so that they aren't glaring on your wine bottles but still allow you to view your collection easily.

Not only do you get a fantastic-looking wine cellar that fits the confines of your available space, but our construction will help maintain the longevity and usability of your wines as long as their actual shelf life is. 

Plus since our systems also handle the humidity and keep it at around the 70% range, no need to start getting unappealing mold on some of your collection, keeping the aesthetics of the location at the top for yourself and when you have guests over. 

Want to see what the finished product looks like?

We’ve included a gallery below with photos of this custom wine cellar in Coral Gables, Florida. You can see the level of craftsmanship and quality design that goes into each of our custom built wine cellars.

How long can wine last? 

This is an excellent question, as many believe that wine can last indefinitely and gain better flavors and even value in some cases. That’s absolutely true for some types of wines, and there are even some brokers out there that can help have you purchase those wines as an investment. 

Yet those need to come directly from vintners and brokers that are specifically in the business of wine investments. When that is not the case, most wines actually only last a few years. Even less when they aren’t being properly stored. 

That means for those that are serious about their wine, and want to ensure that they are able to enjoy it during the lifetime of that wine, should always consider proper storage space for it. 

It's also a fantastic way to add value to your home, as it is a unique setup, that allows for a controlled climate environment, which can help when it comes to selling your home.



Why Are Custom Wine Cellars And Wines Great Investments?

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When people think of wine cellars, the image that appears before them is that of an old, haunted, historic, underground hall, with huge cobwebs woven between wooden barrels. This image is in keeping with the traditional European approach, where centuries-old cellars containing the finest Italian and French drinks await tourists. However, it wouldn't be easy to replicate it in an urban area. This is what brings modern, in-house wine cellars to life. In this article, we will introduce you to why these solutions are great investments.



What are modern-day wine cellars?



Wine cellars have evolved from being an underground basement room full of barrels to innovative products that are custom-built to fit your home, regardless of it being a house or an apartment. 



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Modern wine cellars have three different parts:

• A shelving system to store the bottles in a transparent manner

• Glass walls to separate this space from the room

• An air conditioning system that establishes and maintains the proper temperature




Why invest in wine?





Wine cellars are only useful if you have bottles of wine to showcase and preserve for either future occasions or sales. Most wine collectors naturally become investors as well. When their cellars are full, they sell a few bottles and make substantial, often surprising profits. 





Buying quality wines, especially French ones, have yielded higher returns in recent years than bonds, stocks, or even one of the most successful products of the last decade, gold. Wine indices, which are mainly composed of quality wines from Bordeaux, have shown an average increase of more than 20 percent per year during the last 5 years.





As wine becomes less and less simply a luxury item and increasingly serves as an investment vehicle, a wine exchange has already been set up in London and many wine investment funds are already on the market. 





When it comes to wines, the old, famous, and well-seasoned specialty bottles are of great value. The price of good quality wines is mainly determined by the fact, that over time, their supply decreases. 90 percent of wines are consumed in the first year after they are produced, while the demand for luxury goods is increasing, which is the reason for the skyrocketing profits of investors. 





In addition to the positive development in the past, the outlook is also promising: in the long term, further growth in demand is expected. The Sotheby's auction house, for instance, auctioned wine worth more than 92 million dollars in 2020. Demand for wine is boosted by the changing demographics of those interested in wine in recent years: While the average age of the clientele used to be between 60 and 65, it has now decreased to 40-45.





What do the best investment wines have in common?





  • The wine should be rated within the top 5% by one or more influential wine journals to be considered investment quality.

  • It is important to note that investment quality wines must be produced by wineries that have an unparalleled reputation, regardless of the consensus of critics. Newer entrants to the market are particularly affected by this.

  • It must reach its optimal maturity at least 10 years after bottling and should last at least 25 years. (Most non-investment wines are highly rated in their first year, and less than 1% last more than a decade).

  • Few (if any) investment-grade wines are produced in quantities greater than 20,000 cases.





How can wine cellars further increase the value of your collection?





Storing high-end wine bottles requires special equipment that helps preserve both the look and the contents. A custom wine cellar provides a larger space that allows homeowners to save money on storage.





Having the storage system in-house introduces a few other aspects:





  • Eventually, access to storage becomes much more convenient when it is managed in-house. 

  • You have 24/7 access to your collection and can review any item instantly, giving you a high level of visibility.

  • Looking at the big picture empowers you to identify potential gaps in your collections, which you can improve by acquiring the missing items. This way, you will have a complete overview of your wine treasure and can organize it according to your future plans.

  • Seeing your collection as a whole also gives you pleasure as you enjoy the stunning visuals

  • A high-quality, modern wine cellar increases the value of your property and opens the doors to a whole different audience, resulting in a faster sale





How to choose the right contractor to build a custom wine cellar for you?





Just as wine requires fine taste and special care, so does the wine cellar require a professional skill. The wine cellar is so much more than simple shelving and air conditioning. An experienced contractor understands how a wine cellar fits into your current home design. Our wine cellar builders will help you plan the size you need (based on your current and future collection), create a design that is able to enhance the current look while choosing a smart climate control system that adapts to the needs of the contents. Creating and building the necessary parts is only a matter of weeks, depending on the materials you choose. 





If you are looking for the best custom wine cellar for your home, check out our website, our gallery, and don't hesitate to ask questions about our wine cellar builders. We, at Innovative Saunas and Cellars Inc., are more than happy to provide you with the best solutions available.