Commercial wine cellar built by a storage expert.
Only a wine storage expert builder can create an effective wine cellar. Some owners of wine businesses hire inexperienced contractors to construct their commercial wine cellar, in order to cut costs. Builders who have no knowledge of the requirements of a functional cellar can cause more problems, which may be very expensive to repair. A good contractor knows the difference between a commercial cooling unit and the average heating and air conditioning system. Whether you own a wine business or a cellar builder, you should know the essentials of constructing a quality commercial wine storage structure.
How to Build an Effective Commercial Wine Cellar
An ideal commercial wine cellar is a structure that can provide wines with a temperature of approximately 45 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit and a humidity around 60% to 70%. Ideally, there should be minimal to no fluctuations in these levels. To construct this kind of storage system, you need an expert wine storage builder.
A professional wine cellar builder is proficient with the complex requirements of building a quality commercial wine storage system. Only a skilled and well-experienced wine storage specialist can construct a room that can effectively preserve wines.
When planning for a commercial wine cellar construction project, the following variables need to be considered:
1. Determine the Capacity of the Commercial Storage for Wines
One of the first things planned when building a commercial cellar is its size. The dimensions of the wine cellar will largely depend on the number of bottles that will be stored in it.
If you are a commercial wine storage owner, it is important that you keep a generous amount of wine bottles in your stock, so that your customers can have more options to choose from. A spacious cellar is necessary, so that you won’t have to restock every time a customer purchases a certain bottle of wine.
If you are a cellar builder, help your clients decide on the appropriate size of their storage room by guiding them on the amount of wine bottles they should stock for their business.
The size of a commercial wine cellar depends on how many bottles will be stored in it.
2. Expandable Wine Racking
Wine store owners should anticipate the growth of their business and the increase in demand from their customers. It would be smart to have an expandable storage space to accommodate more bottles as the need for more wines rises. Wine business proprietors should purchase modular wine racks. This type of racking systems allows cellar owners to stack additional racks to previous ones, in order to enlarge their storage space.
Builders of commercial wine storages should include modular racks in their racking options, so that their clients can choose to stock only a few bottles at the beginning. Then, when they need to store more bottles, they can opt to expand their cellar’s storage capacity.
3. Setup Electrical Wiring and Backup Power
Electrical wiring has to be setup in a cellar to provide power for the cooling unit and the lighting fixtures. A reliable backup power system also has to be in place, because wine can easily spoil if the temperature and humidity in the cellar significantly drops or rises out of the ideal range.
Commercial wine cellar owners need to hire an electrician to setup the wiring and backup power, because only a professional can safely execute the procedure. Cellar contractors should have a skilled electrician included in their team of builders, so that they can provide their clients with complete services.
4. Right Cellar Wall Thickness
Commercial cellars are usually built with standard 2×4 walls, which provide R11 to R15 insulation. But wall thickness varies from one cellar to another, depending on various factors. A wine storage expert is proficient in the factors that determine a cellar’s wall thickness. Hire a specialist to calculate the proper thickness of your commercial wine cellar. If you’re a builder, make sure that your team is trained on how to properly estimate the right wall thickness for a wine room.
Protect your wine investments by constructing a commercial cellar.
5. Commercial Wine Cellar Flooring and Ceiling
An effective wine cellar needs proper insulation. In order to prevent the climate conditions in the storage room from constantly fluctuating, a wine room expert should be hired to install adequate insulation on the cellar’s ceiling and floor.
If a cellar’s ceiling is directly underneath the roof of the building, an insulation of at least 9” is needed. If the floor is concrete, a false flooring has to be placed on top of it. Concrete can either draw heat from the cellar to the outside or add heat inside, and this heat transfer can negatively affect the consistency of the temperature and humidity in the room.
6. Proper Vapor Barrier
Ideally, a vapor barrier should be applied completely around a commercial wine cellar’s warm side, in order to effectively control the humidity in the storage room. Most contractors use a 6mm poly firm as vapor barrier for most commercial wine storage structures. Consult a well-experienced wine cellar specialist on the appropriate vapor barrier for your commercial wine room.
7. Commercial Wine Storage Room Door
A functional wine cellar needs a door that is capable of keeping the climate conditions inside from constantly fluctuating. Unlike the average door, wine cellar doors are made of more durable materials that can keep the inside of a storage room tightly sealed. Commercial wine rooms are opened more often than residential wine cellars, which makes them more prone to frequent alterations in temperature and humidity inside. A high-grade door can minimize the negative effects of these constant climate fluctuations to the stored wines.
Most wine storage specialists recommend heavily insulated steel doors for commercial wine cellars, but a windowed door is a good alternative too, as long as the glass used is double-paned. Know the requirements of a quality commercial wine cellar door by consulting a local wine storage expert. Contact US Cellar Systems at +1 (562) 513-3017, and get professional tips on the right door for a commercial cellar.
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8. Appropriate Commercial Cellar Refrigeration Unit
Wine store business owners can keep their customers happy by consistently providing them with quality products. To maintain the standard of wines, they should invest in a dependable commercial cooling unit.
Wine cellars vary in the cooling units that they need. The appropriate refrigeration system for a cellar is determined by evaluating various factors, such as the size of the room, number of bottles stored, climate of the location, etc. A cooling expert has to be consulted in order to determine the right refrigeration equipment for a commercial cellar.
US Cellar Systems is a trusted wine cooling specialist that has many years of experience with various kinds of refrigeration units. Their technicians are all licensed HVAC professionals that are skilled in determining the appropriate unit for a commercial storage space. They also manufacture robust refrigeration equipment for any kind of wine cellar. Whether you are an owner of a wine business or a cellar builder, you can count on US Cellar Systems to help you build the ideal commercial wine cellar for you.
Have a Commercial Wine Cellar Constructed by a Storage Specialist!
Owners and builders of commercial wine storage systems have one thing in common, and this is to create a structure that can effectively preserve the quality of wines. Consult with an expert today on how to build a professional-grade commercial wine cellar.
Getting started on a home wine room is much less complicated than most people would think. This recently completed Laguna Beach residential wine cellar California project by Coastal Custom Wine Cellar Builders demonstrates how a storage room can easily be converted into a climate controlled wine storage space.
The room was originally used by the client to store several refrigerated wine cabinets, along with some boxes and wine bottles. Read on to learn the major wine cellar design features of this custom wine cellar conversion project.
Proper Wine Cellar Cooling and Insulation
CellarPro Wine Cellar Coolign System
An actively cooled wine room functions like a large refrigerator. Proper wine cellar cooling and insulation are necessary to achieve the best possible storage environment.
Wine cellar installers applied insulation, vapor barriers, and moisture proof drywall to the wall cavities. These construction prerequisites are essential elements in wine cellar construction, because they help maintain the optimum conditions for storing and aging wines.
For this custom wine cellar conversion project, a CellarPro Model 3200 VSi wine cellar cooling system was installed to help keep temperature and humidity at ideal levels. This self-contained wine cellar cooling system is mounted through the wall, and exhausts hot air to the garage area.
It is designed to handle temperatures ranging from -20°F to 115°F. This model features adjustable humidity controls, and variable-speed fans for efficient and ultra-quiet operation.
Barolo Style Wine Cellar Door with Weather Stripping
Barolo Style Wine Cellar Door
The residential wine cellar is located right off the garage area. The Coastal Custom Wine Cellar Builders team provided the client with a 30″ x 80″ Barolo style wine cellar door with double pane glass, which renders a full view into the wine storage space.
This Barolo wine cellar door has these following features that make it really efficient:
- weather stripping on all sides and along the jambs
- automatic door sweeps
- dual pane insulated glass
Weather stripping prevents cool air from escaping out of the climate controlled wine cellar. The automatic door bottom does the same thing, plus it prevents dragging that could otherwise damage the floor when opening and closing the door. The dual pane door feature inhibits condensation from building up on the glass and around the door itself.
The Wine Racking System
Quarter Round Display
Quarter Round Display and Single Bottle Wine Racking System
As one enters the Laguna Beach residential wine cellar, the left side wall wine racking systems start off with a beautiful quarter round display shelf that showcases the client’s selection of double magnums (3-liter bottles).
This wine display rack can also be used to display ornamental pieces and wine accoutrements, such as decanters and wine buckets. The quarter round display shelf also provides a smooth transition to the wine racking system.
Single Bottle Wine Storage Racks with Lighted High Reveal Display Row
Next to the quarter round display shelf are single bottle wine storage racks that feature a high reveal display row. The individual slots have 3 3/4″ x 3 3/4″ openings that can fit most standard 750 ml wine bottles, including standard champagne, California Blue Chips and Oregon Pinot.
This wine racking system comes with rear stabilizer bars that provide structural integrity to the frame, and hand sanded edges that prevent tearing of wine labels.
High reveal display rows store wine bottles at a 15 degree angle, to allow continuous contact of cork with wine. This is very important in observing proper wine storage techniques that promote optimum wine aging.
A display with high reveal also promotes eye-level presentation of wine labels for better product recognition, as well as for easy perusal and selection. LED lighting is installed next to the light valance, casting a dramatic glow along the different wine selections placed on the display row.
Wine Storage Bins
Wine Storage Bins
Since the client loves to showcase his collection of wood cases, Coastal Custom Wine Cellar Builders California custom-designed an opening wine storage bin at the very bottom of the right side wall wine racking system to provide a space for his wood case collection.
As one comes toward the back wall of the Laguna Beach custom wine cellar conversion, the wall surface has odd corners and contours that would have made the installation of additional single bottle storage racks and high reveal display rows difficult. However, the wine cellar builders from Coastal Custom Wine Cellars CA did a wonderful job in creating a wine racking system that adjusted to the contours of the wall, for a smooth and flowing appearance.
An Arch on the Wall
Moving toward the right side of the wall, there are more single bottle storage racks that feature a high reveal display row. This particular wall features a standard arch with a stunning whittle board design and a solid tabletop, which serves as a work space for serving or decanting wines. The arch includes puck lighting, to accentuate the area.
Right above the regular arch is a horizontal opening, for storing large format bottles in a label forward orientation. Down below the solid tabletop area are additional bottle slots, to accommodate more standard 750 ml wine bottles.
Stylish Arch as Part of the Wine Racking System
Just below the high reveal display row are horizontal label forward openings that can fit just about any wine bottle size. For Bordeaux style bottles, each opening bin can store three deep, for a total of six bottles in this particular area.
Diamond bin components below the horizontal openings are included for bulk storage. These components are excellent management tools for storing 6 packs and 12 lots.
Track Lighting Fixture
Track Lighting
A low track lighting fixture was provided by the client, and was affixed to the ceiling. The lighting system has directional features that can highlight and illuminate various areas in the residential wine cellar. In addition to the light fixture, the client also supplied the wood flooring and paint color.
The residential wine cellar was certainly an easy and fun project to work on. The Coastal team converted a small storage room into an 837-bottle capacity custom wine cellar. For wine cellar conversion projects, Coastal Custom Wine Cellar Builders would be glad to provide a free consultation and 3D design of the proposed wine storage space.