Today’s wine cellars are often high-tech, sophisticated storage rooms or coolers. But that hasn’t always been the case. 7,000 years ago, Neolithic peoples in Iran stored wine in pottery jugs, buried under dirt floors. A bit later, ancient Romans used catacombs to store their wine. Suffice it to say, proper wine storage is an art form that humans have been perfecting for a long, long time. 

Thankfully, we’ve come a long way since the Romans buried their wine in subterranean cemeteries. Today, tech-forward wine storage cellars are used to perfectly preserve fine wines all around the world, in both home and commercial settings.

When my husband Rich and I decided to add a wine cellar to our new home in Red Tail, Rich took it upon himself to do extensive research and also consulted with our contractor, Ed Hayes of Reliable Construction, who has done many home renovation projects for us over the years, including at our former home in The Vineyards of Avon, as well as completing our bar and finished basement in our Red Tail Home three years ago.

We decided first on the ‘look and feel’ we desired, which I would describe as ‘old world charm.’  I asked if we could use stone and brick to create an ‘arched’ focal point that would look charming and somewhat rustic as guests come down the stairs and enter the basement – the cellar has glass outer doors which reveal the arch through the doors and are the first thing that is seen.

After deciding on the look and feel, Rich then turned to researching the cooling and ventilation system.  He decided on the WhisperKOOL Phantom 5000, a high-performance wine cellar cooling system designed for through-the-wall installation. It is engineered to deliver reliable, quiet cooling for small to mid-sized wine cellars, maintaining the ideal storage environment at 55 degrees for our wine collection. 

Our cellar can hold over 425 bottles, though we tend to have anywhere from 200 to 300 in storage at any time.  We belong to several wine clubs, including Raymond Vineyards of Napa, Biltmore Estate of Asheville, and my sorority, Delta Gamma’s Napa wine club, too. We favor both reds and whites.

Recently, we joined the Colaneri Estates wine club. We have visited Colaneri on many occasions during our annual trips to Niagara on the Lake and really enjoy their red wines, which are made in the appassimento-style of winemaking where dried grapes, instead of fresh grapes, are fermented. When winemakers use the appassimento process, they create wines that are full-bodied and packed with intense fruit, balanced acidity, and sometimes sweetness.  Colaneri’s Cabernet Sauvignon goes great with a juicy steak hot off the grill!

If you’d like your wine cellar featured in a future issue of The Stroll, email me at susanaelder@gmail.com.