Wine is being seen by more and more people as an alternative asset, especially when traditional investment opportunities may not be returning sufficiently attractive returns. Investing in wine can be done as a means of diversifying an investment portfolio, as well as providing a great reason to invest more time in pleasurable hobby!
As a business that specialises in designing and building wine racks and installing cellar air conditioning units for storing personal wine collections, Wine Racks UK can help and share our expertise.
An introduction to Investing in Wine
This is by no means advice, but if you are interested in the idea of investing in wines here are the basics and links to some good articles.
As with any investment the process to investing wine is;
Research what to buy
Choosing when to buy
Deciding where you are going to store your investment wine
Understanding how long to hold on to your investment
Another good article on investing in wine include can be found on Unbiased.
How to store investment wine at home
Wine investors will not be surprised to hear about the importance of proper wine storage. Good storage of investment wine collections is paramount to success.
You can store with third party, professional warehouses, which might be the safest place if you are not 100% sure on how best to keep your investment wine at its optimum quality. However there will be a charge for this service.
You can store your collection in a home cellar but we strongly advise getting it professionally built.
As a guide your investment wine storage needs
The perfect temperature for each wine type
As near zero UV light as possible
Cellar wine storage racks at the right angle
Reduce dampness for long term storage
Seal the room as best you can.
The professional at Halleck Vineyard have written a good article on building a home cellar to store wine.
In for the long haul
Wine is a slow-return investment that needs patience and long term planning.
Make sure that whatever you wine investment storage plans are, that they can last for many years.
Wine racks come in all shapes and sizes, but there’s no denying there’s something extra special and especially eye-catching about a large wine rack, if done right.
Large wine racks are most commonly found in commercial premises like hotels, restaurants, bars, brasseries and pubs, and indeed most of our large wine racks are made to order for these kind of spaces. But that’s not to say that they’re the sole preserve of these establishments. Far from it. Large wine racks have long been a popular and attractive option for our private clients too, right from our inception back in 1977.
It’s worth pointing out that there isn’t an exact definition of what constitutes a large wine rack, but for our purposes we’re talking about the size and type of storage you’d need for a wine cellar – so a space which could potentially hold thousands of bottles of wine. Speaking of wine cellars, if you want to know why they’re the best place to store your wine, please check out this recent article on wine cellars[1] .
Options for large wine racks
There are several things to consider when you’re going through your large wine rack options. The importance you place on each factor depends on your specific requirements, but the obvious starting point is the size and dimension of your wine cellar space, and its location within your property. A wine cellar isn’t necessarily situated below ground level, it’s simply the place where you keep your wine.
The more spacious your area, the more flexibility you’ll have. You may even be planning to use your cellar as an area for socialising, beyond its main purpose as a place to store wine. But whatever the size of your cellar, smart decision making will result in a more effective use of the space at your disposal. We’re of course here to advise you in any way we can.
Perhaps you already have an idea in mind for the kind of large wine rack you want, and how you imagine it looking once installed. The material you decide on – from various wood or metal options – depends on whether you favour a traditional or more contemporary design. This of course is a matter of personal taste, but you might also wish to consider how the style of your cellar and the large wine racks within it would complement your property’s existing interior design.
Whether you’re a serious collector or an enthusiastic amateur, we can promise you a unique, bespoke solution made to measure and precision fitted for your specific needs – this is what we do, so please get in touch when you’re ready and we’ll get the ball rolling.
Any wine connoisseur dreams of having a wine cellar in their own home. As wine cellars are becoming increasingly popular for many conventional homeowners, it’s never too late to get one installed in your home!
Read on to discover why upgrading from a wine rack or wine cabinet to a wine cellar is the best place to store your wine.
Arrange into categories
If your collection of wine is continuously growing, having a built-in wine cellar in your house is the perfect way to organise your wine. You can arrange your wine into categories, such as colour, age, region and even different occasions. Organising your wine makes it easier for you to choose and get access to the bottle you wish to drink for a special event or even just to sip leisurely.
Avoid direct sunlight
Wine cellars can prevent and protect your wine from coming in to contact with sunlight. The UV rays from sunlight can cause damage to your wine and speed up premature ageing. As every room in a house has windows, the wine on the wine racks or wine cabinets will inevitably be exposed to the natural light.
It is, therefore, best to keep wine cellars in darkness and away from sunlight, you’ll need to have some form of light to see and pick a bottle of wine when a guest comes around. It is recommended to use a LED light source for your wine cellar, as minimal heat is emitted from the bulb. An LED bulb also prevents temperature fluctuations, as well as eliminating wine degradation and the build-up of moisture.
Prevents temperature fluctuations
Changes in the temperature can have a negative impact on the wine’s ageing and chemical process. A wine cellar will be a great solution to keep the temperature mild, constant and controlled. Although you are able to control the temperature and store wine in wine fridges or coolers. They’re not ideal for storing wine in the long-term as they produce heat, whereas with wine cellars, considering they’re in an environment with a controlled temperature and other optimal cellar conditions, you can store your collection of wine for many years.
Optimise humidity levels
Humidity is another factor that affects the condition of the wine. Wine stored in a wine fridge can dehumidify the wine and cause the cork to dry out, but excess humidity offers the perfect condition for mould to grow and destroy wine labels. With a wine cellar, you can control the moisture in a room to the optimal level – it is recommended that the wine should be at 70% humidity.
Reduced vibrations
Vibrations can accelerate the ageing process of wine and speed the chemical reactions, which decreases the quality of the wine. No matter whether it is accidental, or if you have limited room to move around freely, you can create vibrations by bumping into the side of the table where the wine racks are placed or nudging wine cabinets. A wine cellar can minimise vibrations, and thus allowing you to store your wine for longer.
Increase the price of your home
You can increase the price of your home if you build your own wine cellar. All you need is a basement, small room, or garage – you can even consider extending your home if you do not have space. There are many wine enthusiasts who would love to live in a house with an area that’s dedicated to wine. With the in-built wine cellar, they could be willing to pay more for your property as this feature is rarely offered to the housing marketing.
The concept of the wine bar is not new. Many people conjure an image of a small, dark, intimate venue with a selection of wines available, and perhaps some nibbles if they are lucky. But one company, with wine bars in popular locations across London and Paris, is changing the very idea of the wine bar.
When the team at 28°-50° contacted A & W Moore Wine Racks UK (Wine Racks UK) and explained their brand vision, Wine Racks UK had the perfect solution to help them. 28°-50° is taking the traditional wine bar experience to a whole new level with its curated wine list, delicious seasonal dishes, and its luxurious, bright, and airy venues.
About Wine Racks
Based in Derbyshire, the team at Wine Racks UK has over 40 years of experience in designing, manufacturing, and installing bespoke wine storage solutions. During this time, the family-run business has gained a reputation for quality products at affordable prices.
We help customers convert damp unusable cellars into beautiful climate-controlled state-of-the-art wine cellars that perfectly preserve wine or Champagne, and we help couples make the most of unused under-the-stairs spaces for wine storage. We’ve helped business owners from luxury hotels to beautiful countryside restaurants and Parisian wine bars.
Aside from designing the layout, Wine Racks UK advises on everything from cooling systems to lighting options, the type of materials to use (solid oak, solid pine or wood and metal) and storage solutions for different sized bottles. Specialist storage options can be created for wooden Bordeaux boxes to large format bottles, half size bottles and Brandy or Rum.
For more information about our large wine rack or cellar design service, please call 01159441434 or contact us via our form.
Please include your requirements and approximate dimensions to provide you with a quote.
Challenges and Objectives
The overall aim of the project was to elevate the existing 28°-50° wine bar venues by enhancing the wine rack storage and display spaces available. The company prides itself on offering far more than the traditional wine bar experience as it hosts Wine Tasting Experiences, Private Dining, and a range of menus from breakfast to lunch and more.
28°-50° offers guests a curated wine list that features 15 red and 15 white wines. The list changes regularly and is endorsed by the company, which guarantees its quality. There is also a Collector’s List, which features fine wines from private collectors who have agreed to let the company sell special and often rare bottles from their personal collections. These wines are rarely seen in restaurants.
It was imperative that the wine rack displays reflected the unique proposition offered by 28°-50°. A key challenge faced by 28°-50° was the tight timeframe. It was crucial the works did not disrupt the opening of the locations any longer than strictly necessary.
How Wine Racks UK Helped
The team at 28°-50° knew exactly what they wanted in terms of the size of the case racks, which expedited the planning stage. Wine Racks UK met the tight timeframes for each venue, which helped to keep the overall project on schedule. For instance, there were only two weeks to complete one of the projects, which the team did.
To streamline each project and ensure the key deadlines were met, the units were supplied unpainted, which saved time, as once the bar area had been fabricated, all the metal work was painted at the same time. Wine Racks UK provided customised case racking to enhance the display space available and the overall atmosphere.
Results
The project with 28°-50° was challenging because of the tight turnaround, but the team at Wine Racks UK met each deadline. The result is a sheek consistent look that accurately reflects the 28°-50° brand across multiple locations in London and France.
Wine Racks UK has provided bespoke metal racking and storage solutions to display special wine cases for Restaurant Le Lido in Tresserve, France, 28°-50° Wine Workshop & Kitchen (Chelsea), 28°-50° By Night (Wigmore Street), and 28°-50° Wine Workshop & Kitchen (South Kensington).
For example, the case racking showing the boxes suspended on the wall adds to the ambience of the venue and perfectly achieves the original goal of elevating the traditional wine bar experience at each venue.
What 28°-50° have to say…
Our wine racks are one of the key features of our brand. When our customers see our bespoke, unique wine racks, they immediately know they are in a 28°-50°. Thank you, Wine Racks UK, for your professional, reliable service.
WINE RACKS CUSTOMER
To transform your wine bar, contact the team at Wine Racks UK to find out how they can help.
Finding the perfect storage solution for your wine collection can be an intimidating job with so many aspects to deliberate and choices to decide between. To make this job a tiny bit easier for you, we have put together our first ultimate guide to choosing the best materials for wine racks. Carry on reading to find out what type of material will best suit your wine rack needs.
Wood
There are only a select few types of wood that are suitable to be used for a wine rack, the most popular types of wood being Redwood and Mahogany. These two kinds of wood are extremely resistant to rotting, decay and infestation. They also have no characteristic odour associated with them, which is extremely important when it comes to wine racks as you do not want the smell to start affecting the wine.
Oak is also a popular option for making wine racks, especially oak from reclaimed oak barrels. These can look extremely pleasing and sometimes even give off the smell of an old wine cellar. Oak is used for kit and custom racks but can be hard to work with as it is extremely dense.
Metal
If you intend to store your treasured wine bottles in a smaller area, such as a closet or in a cupboard or small kitchen, metal wine racks may be the best solution for you. Metal racks are typically thinner than those made from wood, which normally ends up saving you some space – making metal wine racks appealing for those with less room in their home. Compared to wooden racks, metal racks are usually easier to build – which can make moving furniture about the house quicker and easier. As well as this, metal wine racks are commonly used for their aesthetic features and fit in well with more contemporary styled rooms.
Plastic
A modern addition to your kitchen, living room or restaurant, plastic wine racks offer functionality and elegance. Plastic is a safer and cheaper substitute for purchasing glass, as well as being lighter to move and reposition. If you’re an avid wine drinker, a plastic wine rack is a great way to store your wine and show off your collection when your friends come over for those popular parties you are famous for hosting. Or you may even just want to display the latest promotional offers and deals on wines of the week in your corner shop – the design of plastic wine racks makes it super easy to change up displays without any hassle. Plastic wine racks come in a selection of sizes and shapes, storing up to six bottles of wine comfortably.
Despite being lightweight, plastic wine racks are incredibly durable and can withstand impact and weight easily without risking damage to the rack itself or the bottles. What’s more, plastic is easy to clean with just a wipe of a damp cloth, so any spillages can be removed efficiently without the need for chemical cleaners.
For those passionate about wine, finding a dedicated space for their collection by investing in high-quality wine racks, or better yet, entire wine cellars is essential. However, there is no point forking out on gorgeous wine storage without first deciding upon the best way to organise the bottles themselves.
How you choose to do so is entirely up to you and will certainly depend upon your collection size; but organising by type, grape variety, region and age are generally the most common ways to categorise.
Type
Organising wines by type is great for people with smaller collections and those who are not too picky regarding grape variety or pairings. Amateur collectors can’t go wrong when organising straightforwardly by reds, whites, roses, sparkling and dessert wines.
Grape Variety
The next step up is to arrange by grape variety, allowing collectors to organise more precisely. This ensures your Rieslings are not mixed in with your chardonnays, or your Shiraz bottles with your Sauvignons. Moreover, organising by variety makes food pairings easier and will ensure maximum efficiency when it comes to selecting your perfect bottle for any occasion.
Region
For many wine collectors, there is a tendency to sway towards certain preferred wine regions. If this is you, it might make more sense to organise your collection by grape location, allowing you to group together your favourite bottles based on the country or particular region of origin.
Age
For anyone serious about wine collecting, the age of your wines is a very important factor, particularly since many are supposed to be stored for years in order to reach their peak.
As such, you can also organise large collections based on ideal drinking dates, by keeping ready-to-drink bottles closer to the top, and the ones you do not wish to touch for quite some time at the bottom of the wine rack, or the harder-to-reach areas of the cellar.
This will ensure you are serving wine at their perfect peaks, preventing any undesirable premature openings!
Price
It is more than likely that you will have at least a couple of very expensive bottles within your collection, which you might be saving for a special occasion. We recommend storing your priciest bottles or most superior vintages at the bottom levels of your wine racks or cellar so that you do not find yourself drinking them on an impulse.
Nobody wants to spend a significant amount of time searching for the perfect bottle, particularly when you have guests to host, which is why organising your wine collection is vital for both efficiency and decorative purposes.
At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong way to categorise your bottles – it is simply about finding what works for you.
While they were previously considered a luxury interior feature for the mega-rich, bespoke wine cellars are now becoming increasingly popular among ordinary homeowners, particularly those who have a penchant for collecting many bottles over several years. We outline the top benefits of having a wine cellar fitted in your home.
Keeps wine unspoiled
Any wine connoisseur worth their title knows that there are very specific conditions in which wine should be stored to prevent it from going bad, which is why having a cellar fitted by a professional is highly beneficial.
An expert wine cellar fitter knows the optimal temperature and humidity controlled environment needed to properly store wine and will advise you to include cellar conditioners, whilst ensuring the materials used and product dimensions within the cellar are all fit for purpose.
While wine fridges or coolers may be used by those with a hobby who want to store a few bottles for drinking sooner rather than later, they are not ideal for storing wine long-term since they have been known to produce heat. Instead, serious wine collectors will want to have a wine cellar fitted, which is ideal for storing and preserving bottles for years to come.
Organisation
Built-in home wine cellars are a great way to organise your inventory in one place and means you are aware of exactly which wines you have acquired over time. This means you have easy and direct access to any given bottle and can plan when to drink them based on peak ageing and quality.
For those amongst us who are lucky enough to have a very large collection and a big wine cellar, there is also technology available to help with coordinating and categorising bottles, making life easier.
Adds value to your home
Having a home wine cellar will undoubtedly add extra value to your property, whether it be extending an existing area of the home, such as the basement, or planning a wine cellar for a new build. Any person serious about wine would be thrilled at the chance to live in a home with a built-in area for their passion, meaning someone could be willing to pay far more for your property with that extra feature.
Moreover, hiring an expert to fit a bespoke wine cellar means you are able to choose the materials and features you would like and which perfectly suits the style and interior of your home.
Increases your knowledge
Taking your wine collection seriously by having a cellar installed can only serve to enhance your knowledge and fascination with the world of wine. This may also affect your travel choices as you seek to visit international wine regions and local vineyards in order to update and add to your collection.
Moreover, wine cellars look seriously impressive and are a great way to show off both your cellar and your skillset to dinner guests. Why not even go one step further and think about installing a tasting table?
Lowers costs
People with ample room to store their prized wines normally find that they save money in the long run, by purchasing vintages when they are reasonably priced and keeping them stored in their cellar for future investment when they reach peak ageing. Having a bigger space also allows collectors to buy wine in bulk cases rather than in single bottles, also lowering purchase costs.
Get in touch with us on +44 (0)115 944 1434 for advice on wine cellars or discuss your needs.
Wine is the crème de la crème of the party beverage. Going to a party? Buy a bottle of wine. Fancy a night in and a microwave meal? Bottle of wine, please. Meeting your partner’s family for dinner around their house? You got it, wine me up. But if a wine bottle is not stored properly, it can lose a lot of its colour and taste. This is why you need a wine rack to store all of your bottles and make sure that you do not dish out dodgy wine when you start hitting those summer garden parties, whether it be a solid pine wine rack or a gleaming metal wine rack. Not convinced about whether you should use a wine rack or not? Here is why you definitely should use a wine rack and what is the best type wine rack to get.
There are, of course, many ways that you can store wine, but the general consensus is that the best and easiest way to store your wine is through a wine rack. Wine racks make sure that your wine is safe when stored, even if that is only for a short amount of time. You must also worry about the condition that wine is stored in to make sure it matures properly such as temperature, light condition, humidity and movement. So make sure you keep these conditions in mind when picking out the size and shape of your wine rack too!
The most important factor when choosing a wine rack is, of course, finding one that will store your wine properly. The style of wine racks available to the casual wine drinker is increasing dramatically. There are now styles such as wall mounts, side mounts and stack systems, all coming in various different shapes and sizes and holding as little as three bottles or as many as a hundred.
The reason you should be investing in a horizontal wine rack in order to store your wine properly is that a horizontal wine rack will prevent the cork from drying out and start to shrink which brings air into the bottle of wine and will ruin it. Vertical racks are fine for storing wines for short periods of time., but if you are looking to lay down a bottle of wine for a month or more then you will be in danger of ruining that bottle. It is, therefore, commonly argued that horizontal racks are the best racks for storing wine as it is better to be safe than sorry if you don’t know when you are going to be cracking open the next bottle, it is better to leave it in a horizontal position. Horizontal racks are also easily added to if you feel you need more bottle spaces.
Not only do you have to pick the shape of your wine rack, but it is also important to think about what materials you would like your wine rack to be made out of. Wine racks can be finished in a range of materials. You can normally select the materials, style, design and colour of your rack when going to the right supplier. This can include a large variety of woods and stains, recyclable materials or metal. If you want to hang racks on the walls, especially smaller ones as decoration, you should consider racks made of lighter materials to avoid causing to damage the walls.
No matter what size your wine collection is, you can find the right rack for your lovely home. A little bit of time and effort into making sure you know what you want can go a long way to give you the collection of your dreams.
The Romans came up with the notion of toasting wine
That’s right, not only did the Romans invent concrete, sewers, roads, the calendar, the newspaper and underfloor heating, but they even invented the toast! And who would have guessed that it actually involved real toasted bread! It apparently originated when the Senate made it a requirement that emperor Augusts be honoured with a toast at every meal. They would drop a piece of burnt toast (known as the tostus) into a glass of wine to disguise the wine’s disagreeable flavours and then raise a glass to the guest of honour.
The world’s oldest bottle is… really old
The Speyer wine bottle was uncovered in Germany in 1867 and is believed to be from 325 AD! If this is correct, it is the oldest known unopened bottle of wine in the world. The bottle was discovered during an excavation within a 4th-century AD Roman nobleman’s tomb. One source says the man was a Roman legionary and the wine was a provision for his celestial journey. We know wine is meant to improve with age but we think you might be better off missing this one out if someone starts handing out glasses of this wine!
But it’s not as old as the world’s oldest wine…
The world’s oldest bottle of wine might be almost 1,700 years old, but scientists have recently revealed that they have found pottery fragments which show the earliest evidence of grape wine-making. The fragments are believed to be 8,000 years old and were discovered in two Neolithic villages, called Gadachrili Gora and Shulaveris Gora. The world’s earliest non-grape based wine is understood to be a fermented alcoholic mixture of rice, honey and fruit dating back to 7,000 BC in China.
Tutankhamun loved his wine
Egypt dominated the wine trade between 1550 and 1070 BC, and the Egyptians went about improving it as much as they could. They first created amphorae to make the transportation of wine easier and then they created the wine label. It seems that the 19-year-old King Tut was a fan of the alcoholic grape-based beverage as there were 26 amphorae found in his tomb alongside a wide array of other artefacts. The amphorae were all labelled with extremely specific details regarding the year the wine was made, where it was made, who made it and even the style of wine. They had a rating system of good, great or excellent wine (does this mean they never made a bad bottle?). We wonder if they could have done with some wooden oak wine racks, as the amphorae don’t seem to be very neatly placed!
Some people have a wine phobia
This uncommon fear is called Oenophobia and is the irrational fear of wine. People with Oenophobia have a paralysing fear of seeing the consumption of wine, wine bottles and spilt wine. The disease is related with methyphobia (fear of alcoholic beverages). In both of these cases, the person with the phobia often dislikes these alcoholic drinks as they are afraid that they may suffer severe poisoning when consuming them. Even the idea of this can cause extreme anxiety, tremors, respiratory problems, abdominal pain and nausea.
A & W MOORE are proud to reveal the New Retail Wine Racking for the Constantine Bay Stores (Padstow, Cornwall. PL28 8JJ). Which displays over a hundred different varieties of wine.
The friendly and helpful staff would be pleased to see you to discuss your wine requirements or visit their website www.constantinebaystores.com to find out more.
