Wines are very enjoyable beverages. They are great for special occasions and celebrations,as well as every day enjoyment. If you love wine, you have probablyheard a lot of myths about it. Learn a few of the most popular myths about wines, and which are true (or not true).
Understanding Your Wine Collection More – Knowing Myths from Facts
Identify the Myths About Wines!
More and more people in Los Angeles, California are investing in their very own residential custom wine cellars, and starting wine collections. In order to enjoy wine more, a wine collector should have an adequate understanding of wines. Along with that, they should identify the myths about wine. Here are a few of the most popular myths about wine:
1. Eliminate the Sulfites in Wine
There are many discussions online about the dangers of sulfites to our health. Recent studies show that sulfites are actually almost totally benign, but most people are still unwilling to accept that fact, and they insist on eliminating sulfites from wine. The reality is that all fermented products contain sulfites. Sulfites are a by-product of yeast metabolism. Even if a certain wine is made with unsulfured grapes, and no sulfite is added during the fermentation, said wine will still contain sulfites. Therefore, the only solution is to stop drinking wine.
2. Homemade Wine is All Bad and Can Make You Blind
This is actually a very common misconception about wine. The reality is that no matter what it tastes or looks like, wine fermented in food-grade containers will always be safer to drink than tap water. Wine has a low pH level and high alcohol content, which makes it uninhabitable for disease-causing organisms. There was even a time in human history when the only tool in a physician’s cabinet was a wine bottle. Wine, before the medical revolution of the 20th century, was used as an antiseptic for wounds, a pain killer for injuries, and a surcease for troubled minds.
There is no basis to the belief that homemade wine as sour or of inferior quality. Of course, there will always be times when a consumer-produced wine is poorly made and improperly fermented. But having an experience with a bad tasting homemade wine should not cause one to generalize all homemade wines as bad.
3. Rack Wines Early and Rack Them Often
Racking is the process of separating wine from its sediments, thus leaving it clear. A few wine experts recommend wine makers rack their wine immediately, to get rid of any visible sediment and thereby avoid H2S contamination. A common mistake that beginner wine collectors commit is fiddling with their wine too often. Even once wines have adjusted, finished fermenting, and are fully stable, they should be allowed to rest undisturbed in a durable wine racking system.
4. All Wines Improve with Age
Although it is true that many wines should be allowed to age in a home custom wine cellar before they are consumed, there are exceptions. There are a number of wines that are intended for immediate consumption. Different wines have different aging recommendations. For example, a light, delicate white wine like Trebbiano will fully develop it flavor aroma if allowed to age from 6 months to 1 year. But there are also certain wines that need to age for a decade or more to reach their peak quality. Get to know the wine you purchase before deciding whether to consume it immediately or to allow it to age first. If you do allow it to age, check how long it should be left in the residential wine cellar in Los Angeles, California.
5. White Wines areBestServed Cold, While Red Wines Should be Served at Room Temperature
Although you may drink wine at any temperature you want, traditional ideas on what temperatures certain wines should be served at require a little interpretation. Wines should not be served too cold, because, besides your palate being numbed by the cold, the flavors will also be repressed. On the other hand, if wine is served too warm, the tannins can become over-soft, and the alcohol unpleasantly dominant. The ideal serving temperature for white wines is between 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit, while most red wines should be served at a temperature between 62 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Champagne, on the other hand, should be served icy cold, to achieve the maximum nose-tickling pleasure. Light and fruity red wines like Dolcetto and Beaujolais Nouveau should be lightly chilled, to enhance their fruity character.
6. Any Type of Wine Cellar Refrigeration Unit Will Do
Another myth that many beginner wine collectors believe is that they can have any type of wine cellar refrigeration system installed in their wine storage room. The fact is, different wine cellars have different storage requirements, and thus, will need a wine cellar cooling unit that can meet those specific requirements. A wine cellar’s storage requirements depends on how big the storage room is, how many wines are stored in it, the climate outside the wine cellar, etc. Have an HVAC professional determine the appropriate wine cellar cooling system for your wine storage space.
7. A Wine Cellar is Not Very Important
If you are not willing to invest in an effective wine storage solution, you shouldn’t start a wine collection. A wine storage solution is essential, because without one, your wines will go bad. The most ideal wine storage solution is a wine cellar built in your own home. A residential wine cellar, designed and constructed by a professional wine cellar builder, can provide your wines with the ideal temperature and humidity that they require.
Different Kinds of Wine Storage Solutions in California
Coastal Custom Wine Cellars is one of the leading wine cellar builders in Los Angeles, California. They offer free consultations for their clients as well as free 3D drawings of their desired custom wine cellar design. Coastal builds wine storage solutions both for commercial and residential purposes, and they work alongside their clients from the design phase of the wine cellar construction project until its completion. For more information about Coastal and their products and services, call them today at (888) 735-8889!
Residential Wine Cellar Under Stairway Closet California Installation – A Processed Video Transcription
Hello and thank you for visiting Coastal Custom Wine Cellars!
I’m going to take you on a tour of a smallwine cellar conversionproject that we recently completed in Southern California, and then we’ll take a look at the design package for this particular residential wine cellar California project as well. This is a closet that was situated underneath the stairway.
As you enter, it is certainly tall enough to walk into and maneuver for about 4 feet and then it rapidly descended to about a 5 feet height and took a right under 3 feet. It is limited in size because the back wall here is an exterior wall and made refrigeration method quite easy to select and to install.
Residential Wine Cellar Design – The Drawings
Let’s take a look at the drawings and then we’ll come back to some of the completed pictures of the residential wine cellar. This is an overhead view of the wine room.
The entry is up here on the top left and the walls are labeled A, B, C, and D, all the perimeter dimensions are posted, and on the top right of every page, in this particular page, you get the total capacity of 404 bottles. There’s not a lot of room to enter the area.
Wine Cellar Drawing Overhead View
So, this Elevation A we utilized a 6″ deep component that will lay the bottles sideways. We’ll take a look at that in a moment, but they’re label forward horizontal displays inverses a 13 1/2″ deep rack, which certainly allowed for more room to maneuver in the wine room and certainly didn’t impede the entry.
Elevation A was label forward horizontal displays. They stair step down to allow for the change in height of the ceiling because of the stair. The side elevations show the depths of the wine rack and we’ve got the height at its highest point.
Elevation B is the back wall across from the entry. It’s the exterior wall I mentioned and we’ve got a series of X-bins for bulk storage below, a little bit of single bottle storage above that before we hit a display row.
Wine Display Area
This is called a high reveal display row and as you’ll see here from the side view it’s pitched to the 15 degree angle so the liquid stays in contact with the cork. We’ve got a beautiful way to display the wines, lending some character to the area.
High Reveal Display Row
It’s a good management tool because you can place like wines above and below the display row. Nestled back deep in the wine cellar is the end wall.
We actually placed a wine cellar cooling unit. The reason this is a bit shorter than the other racks is because we placed the wine cellar cooling unit right above here, which we’ll see in some of the photographs.
Wine Racks Design Specifications
This small rack made a transition from the back wall to the right side wall and then as we come back towards the entry, we’ve got some bin storage, open bins for bulk and some more single bottle storage.
These are 3D visuals of the area, as you can see the entry and how it kind of made that L-shaped back to the rear portion here. It turned out nice. I think you’ll agree when you take a look at some of these photos.
3D Design – Residential Wine Cellar California
This wine cellar was created in a Philippine mahogany and we put what’s called a Chappo stain on it with a clear lacquer finish to give it a little bit of a luster. This is the entry, obviously after.
Wine Cellar Art Painting by Janina Pazdan
Wine Cellar Art Painting on the Wall and Ceiling
We had an artist come in and do some faux painting. The theme of this wine cellar art by Janina Pazdan is a grapevine.
If you live in Southern California, specifically Los Angeles and Orange County, we could make her services available to you as well. You see a little bit of that faux wine cellar art painting here on the slope ceiling, that’s the left side as you enter. The back wall with the X cubes.
Oak Wine Barrel Flooring
Oak Wine Barrel Flooring
We also utilized oak barrel series flooring. These are random links of tongue and groove style boards. They actually have some stampings or brandings from the cooperage on the top of the barrel.
These are the display row. Isn’t that beautiful? LED lighting, by the way, is on a separate switch with a dimmer so we can control the mood.
Here’s a little close up picture of some of the cooperage flooring, and our base molding. A close up of our LED lights. We had a little patching to do here, but that was remedied.
Split Wine Cellar Cooling Unit
WhisperKOOL Split Wine Cellar Cooling Unit
This is a WhisperKOOL Platinum mini split wine cellar cooling unit and it easily keeps the room at 55 to 57 degrees, minimal noise. As a matter of fact, I don’t think you would hear the noise anywhere but inside the wine cellar. You won’t hear it outside the residential wine cellar.
That’s me after a couple of glasses of wine. Cheers!
There are lots of people who want to start their wine collection. If you want to start your own wine collection, you need to understand that you cannot begin without first making sure that you have a place to store them. Wines can’t just be stored anywhere because they need specific storage conditions for them age properly. The best place to store wines is in a residential custom wine cellar in Orange County, California.
A custom wine cellar in California can adequately provide the ideal conditions for your wines to mature tastefully. Learn about the basic elements to proper wine storage by reading through this article.
1. Lighting
It is imperative that when you have a custom wine cellar built in California, you keep it away from exposure to direct sunlight. There should be as little light as possible that reaches your wine bottles. There are various organic compounds within wine that are essential to its structure, aroma and flavor. Direct exposure to light, especially ultraviolet light, can potentially destroy these compounds and degrade the quality of your wines.
2. Vibration
Vibration isn’t really a big problem. It can occasionally be a problem when wines are exposed to too much of it like for example, when you keep your wine bottles on top of the kitchen refrigerator. Besides the risk of the bottles breaking, excess vibration can also prevent sediments from settling, and may affect the flavor of your wines. To protect your wine collection from vibration, store it in properly constructed custom wine racks in Orange County, California.
3. Humidity
Wines need to be kept in an adequately humid environment. Ideally, your custom wine cellar in Orange County should have a humidity level that ranges from 60% to 75%. Adequate humidity is necessary because too much and too little humidity can both damage your wine collection.
When humidity is above the ideal levels, moisture builds up and can ruin your wine bottle labels. Mold can form, too, and contaminate your wines. One way to prevent mold formation is by wrapping your wine bottles in saran wrap. Some people would use hair spray and other sealants, but these have unpleasant odors. Saran wrap effectively keeps mold out without having bad odors.
On the other hand, when the humidity is too low, corks may shrink and allow air to enter the bottles. When air comes in contact with the wine, oxidation happens, and this ruins the flavor of your wines. Wines that have been exposed to air often have a rusty taste to its flavor.
If your area has a very dry climate, or if your house is heated and cooled by central air, a good way to have humidity inside the custom wine cellar in CA is by placing a saucer of water inside.
4. Temperature
Temperature is the most important element to wine storage, and the most important consideration when building a home wine cellar in Orange County, California. Wines require a wine storage room wherein the temperature is maintained between 55 to 58 degrees Fahrenheit. There should be minimal to no fluctuations in the temperature level, because frequent fluctuations will negatively affect your wines. Have a quality wine cellar refrigeration system installed in your home custom wine cellar in CA, so that you can be sure that your wines are kept in the ideal storage temperature.
Custom wine cellars are the perfect place to store wines, because they are able to provide them with the ideal conditions, so that they age properly. Wine cellar insulation is an integral part of the ability of a wine cellar to do this. A wine cellar in Orange County that does not have proper insulation is practically useless. Some people build their own residential wine cellars without any vapor barriers. If you are a genuine wine lover, you need to understand the importance of proper insulation and vapor barriers.
Problems Caused by Poor Custom Wine Cellar Insulation
Many problems can arise from a poorly built custom wine cellar. You will have to deal with mold problems and/or the need for more moisture. Also, if your cellar is poorly constructed, your wine cellar cooling system will have to use up more energy to function. This will wear out the wine cellar cooling unit fast!
Moreover, a wine cellar in Orange County that is poorly insulated will have problems providing the right humidity for wine storage. Ideally, the humidity level in a wine cellar is 55 to 75%. Humidity is very important in a custom wine cellar in CA, because it helps keep the wine corks moist. Wine corks shrink when they become dry, and when they do, air can get in and ruin your wine.
Thermal Insulation, Air Barrier and Vapor Barrier
There are many kinds of wine cellar insulation. One of the best kinds is Closed Cell spray foam, which is also referred to as medium density or 2 pound insulation. This product is liquid that turns to foam and expands to 20-30 times its liquid size, creating an air-tight seal. Once it has expanded, it seldom needs trimming, with little to no waste. This type of insulation is very durable and is able to increase the shear and racking strength effectively. This product is a Code Approved Vapor Barrier and has a permeability rating 45ng. It is also a Code Approved Air Barrier and Thermal Insulation.
Other Factors That Help Creating Proper Wine Storage
Wine Cellar Construction Orange County California Project
California wine geeks not only love collecting different kinds of wines, but also throwing wine tasting parties and hosting wine dinners at their custom home wine cellars Orange County California. The main goal of wine cellar construction is to create the best possible environment for long-term storage, as well as design a comfortable space for entertaining.
More often than not, the most dedicated and passionate wine collectors install a private wine room in the confines of their home because it affords them access to their vintages at any time, while also allowing them to grow their collection. Home wine cellars Orange County California are designed and constructed with the aesthetic preferences, storage needs, and budgetary requirements of the client in mind.
Home Wine Cellars Orange County California – The Wine Racks Used
This particular wine cellar construction Orange County California project demonstrates how a simple room can be converted into a climate controlled wine storage space that can accommodate 2, 772 wine bottles. For maximum storage space, home wine cellars Orange County California builders installed a combination of custom and semi-custom wooden wine racks, constructed in Premium Redwood.
Wooden Wine Racks – Orange County California Project
The integration of different styles of wooden wine racks with varying bottle openings, ranging from 375ml, 750ml, and 1.5 liters, allowed the collector to organize and display wine bottles of different sizes and shapes. Premium Redwood was the material of choice for the racking system because of the wood’s natural beauty, durability, non-aromatic quality, and resistance to decay.
Wooden wine racks for this custom wine cellar construction Orange County California project include a high reveal display row that runs across the back wall and continues along the left wall. Concealed LED ribbon lighting dramatically highlights the client’s favorite wine labels on the display column. It also features a tabletop made from the same wood material as the wine racking, coated with a clear lacquer finish to protect against spills and stains.
Wooden Wine Racks for Home Wine Cellars Orange County California
In order to achieve optimal storage capacity, wine cellar construction Orange County California builders incorporated single bottle storage racks with a depth of 23 inches on the left side of the wall, and a combination of single and double deep racks on the back wall.
Bottle racking with small and large openings provides additional storage space for splits and magnums, respectively. To accommodate the client’s Pax Syrah collection, 7 columns with 4” x 4” bottle openings were added to the leftmost side of the racking frame on the right wall.
Wine Cellar Cooling as Part of the Wine Cellar Design and Construction Process
Maintaining a stable wine storage environment is a crucial element of wine cellar construction. An efficient custom wine room requires proper wine cellar cooling, which will help facilitate the aging process by regulating temperature and humidity levels inside the storage space.
Wine Cellar Cooling Unit with Wooden Grill Cover
A wine cellar cooling split system from US Cellars was installed to help achieve the ideal climate conditions. The Rack Cool Series wine cellar cooling unit is designed to eliminate fan noise and heat discharge. The evaporator was mounted within the racking frame, while the condenser was placed in a remote location.
A specially made wood grill box cover keeps the refrigeration equipment hidden from view. Constructed in Premium Redwood, it blends well with the rest of the wine cellar furniture, and creates a smooth and even appearance.
Home Wine Cellars Orange County California Project by Coastal
A properly constructed custom wine room must satisfy several prerequisites of wine cellar construction, such as properly installed insulation, vapor barriers, and an exterior grade entry door. Satisfying these conditions will help create a wine cellar environment that is conducive for storing and aging wines.
Tim: People produce a lot of pictures where there’s nobody in it and it’s always good to give it scale and perspective if there’s somebody in the picture.
Leslie: We’re talking about my liquid children and they’re in the photo.
Tim: Indeed. So we’ve got some great pictures from start to finish. We could just take a quick tour of the wine cellar construction process. These are all to do with the cellar, right?
Wine Cellar Construction Orange County California
Leslie: Yes. Basically what I did was took some pre-photos. These were the kind of things that I was sharing with Jerry. I think I remember sharing this exact album with Jerry that basically said ‘here is what my house looks like; here’s the wall, here’s this situation, here’s that situation,’ just to give him an idea of what I was thinking about doing and where. So that was the wall, the one that you’re really on and it even says in the comments that I really wanted to ditch that wall. My goal was to ditch that entire wall which didn’t happen and honestly saved me probably $30,000.
Tim: That’s a reasonable amount.
Leslie: The AC amount would have been huge because it would have been this nice, clear open and then the wine cellar construction amount on top of it.
Tim: I’m guessing that it’s useful to see the house as the wine cellar design is done. It helps to make sure that the style of the cellar is in keeping with the style of the house.
Pre Wine Cellar Construction Photos
Jerry: Certainly with color schemes and the species of the wood. If the home is more contemporary styling then typically there’s a stain or a topcoat or a clear coat finish put over them. Some homes are a bit more rustic and have distressed areas like distressed flooring, beams in the ceiling, so we would use something like we used at Sea Smoke.
Tim: In these pictures, does it give us an indication as to where the cellar is in relation to the rest of the house?
Leslie: Yes and no. The very first photo you see is my front door. You’re looking at my two front doors while one front door is missing, my living room, and then the wine cellar which has obviously now been replaced with a wine cellar door.
Tim: Is that here?
Before Photo – Wine Cellar Construction in Orange County CA
Leslie: Yes. That’s my custom wine cellars Orange County now. I did the same thing when I renovated my house because I do so much work in social media and everyone loved the experience so much that I thought I had to do this. On my one bulletin board, it’s actually the most viewed thread this year that people have been watching. I mean, who doesn’t love watching change happen, fun change like this?
Jerry: That’s a great picture of the custom wine cellars Orange County there. That’s the closet that we’re utilizing.
Tim: Oh, okay. Now I can relate it to those wine cellar design drawings. We’re looking sort of this way and that’s where it’s built into the closet. Very good!
Leslie: I don’t miss that ugly fan one bit. I was so happy with the day I asked to be able to throw it out and they actually let me. So that was great.
Jerry: You retained that beautiful flooring, though, did you not?
Leslie: Yes, the flooring is still in there. My concern is that I tried my best to see if it had plastic underneath it because it is an on concrete slab, so I just have to hope that whoever installed the item before me did indeed put it on plastic below it. So far it’s been fine. So we’ll see.
Tim: This is the April 1st picture. This is a picture of your completed custom wine cellars Orange County on April 1st?
Leslie: Yes, absolutely done! Absolutely! I keep the wines in the trash bags that you see in the corner.
Wine Cellar Insulation – Installation of Vapor Barriers
Tim: What are they doing here? Ripping out all the insulation in there?
Leslie: All of the drywall had to come down and all the insulation. Obviously I didn’t think it through but it had to come out of the ceiling as well. So this was day one and all they did on day one was rip it down and take out all the insulation, and then of course we had closing the window, taking the AC out. We had to cap the AC and move it. All that fun stuff.
During Wine Cellar Construction
Actually my power went off that day. It was pretty funny. This is the wall where the AC sits now. You’ll see that you can see half and then not. The top actually goes to my bedroom because I’m in a tri-level house. So that leads to my closet and that leads to my bedroom and below is walk-in storage that goes the entire width of my house. It’s kind of funny when this photo was taken. I had no idea just how much my bedroom fed into that level, but that’s how much it feeds into it.
Tim: You’re so good, so many pictures.
Leslie: Oh, I tried. So April 4th was a fun photo. I came home and I’m like, “Wow, that’s interesting.” Obviously the day that the window came down, it actually had termite damage on the window and they were going to enclose the entire window again and I said to them no because if I do sell the house in the future and if they don’t like wine, I want to try to be able to put this room back. So they actually just reframed it and I think two or three photos in from here, you’ll see that they actually reframed it to still be a window. My hope is that it never happens or happens many, many, many, many years down the line, but it is actually framed within the dry wall to be a window again if needed.
Jerry: That show’s it all boarded up and framed up.
Tim: Clearly thinking ahead there.
Framed Up Window to Ensure Airtight Seal
Leslie: Well, you know, the thing is that I either depreciated this house by quite a bit or I appreciate it for someone who buys this house in the future. My hope is that I live here many, many, many years from now very happy and all that good stuff. If I was looking for a house and I saw a custom wine cellars Orange County like this, I would probably think about changing cities to head to a house and I realized that those people might be out there, but not everyone’s like that.
Tim: April 4th, April 6th
Leslie: A little bit more progress with the wine cellar construction. They closed up the window which for the longest time they forgot to paint which was pretty entertaining. This was interesting; they started to put up the insulation and forgot to put up the vapor barrier. I remember calling Jerry and saying, “Jerry!” He was like, “Oh yeah, no, no, no, no, no! The vapor barrier needs to go up.” So they started putting the vapor barrier up and then they realized that the paper had to come down because you can’t have the vapor barrier and then paper because it creates a double vapor barrier. I learned quite a bit during this wine cellar design and wine cellar construction process.
Jerry: The vapor barrier needs to be behind the insulation in this process.
Leslie: And it wasn’t happening. So you’ll see in this photo they just started putting up the vapor barrier and then they had to rip down all the paper. Thank goodness I was posting this. In all honesty, I love my contractor but he wasn’t aware of a couple of things that he should’ve been aware of and a lot of my friends on a wine bulletin board are actually wonderful in helping out.
Tim: So now we’re on April 7th.
Leslie: It’s scary that I remember these days. You’re not going to see too much changes here, just the paper being removed in some places, more insulation being added, and then after this the lights were put in and were actually working.
Tim: April 9th through 14th
Vapor Barriers for Wine Cellar Insulation
Leslie: This is a cute story. This is when the process was going so weird that I didn’t know what to do and I was going out of town. I was going to be in Arizona for the weekend. As you know I love taking photos of everything, so I got a little concerned because I was going to be out of town. So I left my little Sony portable camera in the room and all the contractors when they came in to work actually took photos when they were done for the day. This was all of my contractors and workers taking photos, which I thought was very sweet.
Tim: I noticed they’re studiously not in the photos.
Leslie: There it is. There’s a shoulder shot of one of them.
Tim: I noticed here there are some instances where there’s paper and there’s instances where there isn’t paper. What’s that about?
Leslie: It’s just simply because they hadn’t gotten around to it yet. If you go down a few photos more, you’ll see all of the paper being removed which is how it should be done.
Tim: So this is the sheetrock ready to go in?
Leslie: Yes, that’s the drywall ready to go.
Tim: April 15th and it looks like it starting to take shape now.
Leslie: This is the weirdest thing because this is when the temperature level of this room completely changed. This was just because of the tape and the mud and everything, but this was exciting to start to see happen.
Tim: I don’t understand what you mean by the temperature of the room changed.
Leslie: Someone said that when you start getting into tape and mud and all that, it creates its own kind of moisture level and this room was considerably warm than the rest of my house. I mean, it was almost stiflingly warm to be in there. This was just standard. Once this whole room was taped, it was crazy hot. I would walk in there and I almost couldn’t breathe and other people felt the same way.
Jerry: Which is a sign that it’s a good airtight room.
Leslie: Yes, someone said to me that it is such a good sign, you don’t even know. So I was happy to hear that.
Tim: What are we looking at here?
Attic Space – Custom Wine Cellars Orange County
Leslie: I had to move my attic space because my attic space was currently in the closet. So I had to move it to this area and if you look there is a crack riding across. That’s from additional termite damage. We just decided to tackle all of this at once and reput the attic access there, reframed a couple of things that had some termite damage, and took care of that.
Tim: So what is that?
Leslie: It’s just the controller screen and for the longest time it had tape all around it. Everyday I’d show up and it would be in a different position. I just loved the fact that if this thing makes it through this construction process, I’d be so proud of it.
Custom Wine Cellar Refrigeration
Jerry: We used ductless split wine cellar refrigeration system, Tim.
Tim: We’re getting there now. It’s starting to look really interesting. What have we got here?
Leslie: April 18th was when this room was just crazy. You’ll see there’s a fan smack down in the middle. It was so damp and warm in there. This was when I was getting fed up with all the dust, but it’s so fun looking back to this. Watching the progress is fun.
Tim: What’s this?
Side Storage at Leslie’s Residence in Orange County CA
Leslie: Remember what I told you about the side storage that I have? That’s my side storage and they were using that area as a pass through. I just noticed I was actually back there on that day because ATT was here because I was going to wire the house for ATT pulse and I was happy they got to pass through backup. But that’s the side storage and that is the half wall you saw on the very first photo that was completely open to my storage. You’ll see the wine cellar refrigeration lines heading down and you’ll get a good chuckle if you look all the way to the left, you’re going to see what looks like wine racking wrapped up in plastic. That would be my very first wine storage system, probably five years ago. It held 50 bottles and I thought I would never need more.
Tim: It looks like they taped off the area they’re working because you definitely don’t want dust on the nice, wide screen TV there.
Remote Temperature Gauge with Bottle Probe
Leslie: I don’t know if you guys know about this device. This is from a company called Weather Direct and this thing rocks. It is a remote temperature gauge that also has a bottle probe, so I can have it give me air temperature as well as bottle temperature. And I can set the ping amount, so I can ping it every day, ping it every hour, ping it every 5 minutes, and then I can say to it when you ping it and the parameter is not met (e.g. it’s too warm, too humid, not humid enough) send me a text message and send me an email.
Tim: This screen that we’re seeing is presented on…
Temperature Control Alarm System – Wine Cellar Refrigeration
Leslie: You’re looking at the web screen. So it’s telling you at the top it says wine cellar, it’s saying when it was last seen, and then the last measured values. Of course, the AC wasn’t on and running at this time, but I’ve got the device and it was just sitting around my house and so I had it for fun toggling at 73 degrees and you’ll see that in red it saying that the notified parameter was met on both temperature and humidity.
Jerry: So it’s an alarm system for you?
Leslie: Absolutely. And it’s also one way of testing the AC because I’m getting different temperatures obviously near the AC system to the floor to the ceiling to the wall that feeds in to my backyard. They all are varying by a tiny bit. This has been really neat to be able to take this device and move it and just get a feel for the different temperatures that are happening around the room which is great and a lot of my wine buddies who have custom wine cellars Orange County use this. It has two pieces. The part itself that goes into the cellar and there’s another piece that needs an Ethernet connection. Up in my office, I have the other part that is hooked up into my wireless router and it has reception from I believe 200 feet away. It works great and it has a mobile website. I actually have on my phone a mobile website and it will tell me what temperature my wine cellar is any time I want to know.
Tim: We are definitely dealing with a geek here.
Leslie: The AC guy told me these things are fantastic. I have to agree and it’s a whopping $60.
Tim: You could be somewhere in a different state or you’re in a meeting somewhere and you could just say, “Excuse me a moment my wine cellar is calling me.”
