Creating A Stunning Contemporary Wine Display

Unless you live in wine country territory, whether your preference leans towards Napa Valley or the Bordeaux region in France, there's a strong possibility that where you live isn't the ideal place to store wine for any extended amount of time. There's also another possibility that you don't have a specialized cellar that creates the right environment for wine storage either. 

That doesn’t mean it's not going to be possible to build a contemporary wine cellar in your home. It also doesn't take as much space as a dungeon-like traditional cellar would. But, at the same time, it'll do the right job of managing your precious collection in a fun, modern, clean, and even artistic way. 

So, if you want to be able to preserve your current wine collection while at the same time being able to expand upon it, then consider getting the wine rack of today. 

How will it look? 

The best part of building a contemporary wine cellar is that it doesn't need to be in the home's basement. It can be a part of the den or study or an extended portion of the living room or dining room. Part of the design makes it aesthetically pleasing, akin to a piece of artwork on the wall. 

The beauty and designs of the bottles and the symmetry of the wine cellar will make this a constant conversational piece and an easy way for yourself and others to view the bottles without harming the specialized environment the wine is stored in. 

The colors to be used

There are two primary routes to go with this, and both of them are about enhancing the visuals the wine bottles themselves produce. First, if you have the separate space you would like to dedicate to your ever-growing wine collection and investment, we would consider natural wooden colors and set up with LED lighting to illuminate the wine racks and the display rows. 

You can couple this with brick or similar to brick walls that will give it a warm and earthy feel to your wine collection. The illumination of the LED lighting will help protect some of your wines further, as you can store them away from direct sunlight and light in general. 

If you're going to convert a portion of another room, the other option is to keep it bright. Utilize pure white walls or white marble that will help illuminate the bottles naturally through the contrast of colors produced. This setup is perfect if you're not looking for out of sight and out of mind but want it as soon as you sit in your living room after a long day and simply want to enjoy the latest vintage that you have out there. 

The racks to be used

We work primarily with both VintageView™ and UltraWine™. Both are high-quality and durable wine rack solutions and won't compromise the overall design. They both have a wide variety of options to choose from when it comes to what your design will look like. 

VintageView™ leans towards a more traditional racking system with utilizing wine cages for easy categorization, while UltraWine™ leans towards storing higher volumes of wine bottles a bit better. Again they are pretty similar and have some minor differences, but between them, there’ll be a wine rack solution that will work with your needs. 

Either way, the one you will select will be based on how you space the racks and bottles. Are you looking for a traditional horizontal/vertical setup, or do you want to enhance the art component and include sets of racks in simple patterns or square pattern racks of wine? 

Both options also allow for either the bottles to be labeled forward, or again, a more traditional look and feel by having the neck facing outward. We ensure that they are at the correct angles to maintain the quality of the wines themselves, which is the most important in the end. 

The enclosure

Since we're going to keep this contemporary, even if we're going with a wooden theme, it'll always be best with a glass enclosure. Why do we prefer the glass enclosure? It's because it'll really help keep your display in view and as a statement piece. 

You might think a wine cellar needs heavy doors to maintain the humidity and temperature levels, but we've got you covered there, and we'll make sure the right temperature and air systems are set up while at the same time able to use a glass enclosure. 

It's a great option that will always keep the wines visible while only needing access when a bottle is ready to be stored or, more importantly, shared and sampled. 

Consider the contemporary wine cellar

Some people prefer a library when they have the space; others prefer a wine rack they can grow and expand with. The design of the contemporary wine cellar can be built in a way to include a certain amount of wine in the future, even if all the bottles haven't been purchased just yet. 

Taking this step allows for a beautiful and unique addition to your home that will do the difficult job of preserving the wine, so as soon as it's opened to be enjoyed, it'll be the right flavors and tastes coming out. 

When building this wine cellar out, you will create an excellent and elegant addition to the home, whether you go with the light solid wood options or expand your existing rooms with beautiful bright marble walls. If you only dabbled in the art of wine collection, but do enjoy a great glass now and again, then this is just the right motivation to be able to expand your knowledge and grow into a true connoisseur of delicious wines. 

In addition, you can increase your collection, store your supplies, and even eventually sell some of your collections since one of our contemporary wine cellars will do such an excellent job in preservation.  

Why Are Custom Wine Cellars And Wines Great Investments?

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. 

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.