winecellar

Wine Cellars From Recycled Wine Barrels

Filed under: Decor, Wine

The Stave Oak Collection from Savante Wine Cellars not only looks great it uses reclaimed parts of retired wine barrels to create aged wine racks. The wine barrels, which are no longer suitable for aging wine would otherwise be sent to landfills.Wine barrels generally have a life expectancy of around five to seven years.

The Stave Oak collection uses all pieces of the wine barrel from the white oak staves, to the steel bands that hold the barrels together, to the cooperage brand on the wood. The cellars are put together using mortise and tenon construction.

Ever wonder how a wine barrel is made? It's a neat bit of artistry which requires quite a bit of preparation of the wood. It takes a craftsman about eight hours total to create a barrel. For more information check out this great summary of the process.

[via LA Times]

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Tags: eco-friendly, green, savante wine cellars, SavanteWineCellars, wine cellar, wine storage, WineCellar, WineStorage

Expensive UK Government Wine Cellar Causes Controversy

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

The announcement that the wine cellar of the UK government is worth nearly £800,000 has some people up in arms over questions of extravagance. The government's cellar has over 39,000 bottles of wine including around 500 bottles of spirits and liqueurs for a total of £792,000. Liberal Democrat MP Don Foster was quoted in the BBC News as saying that the huge cellar shows that the government is living 'beyond its means'. Figures show that the ministers spent a total of £5 million on wining and dining including more than £100,000 toward maintaining Whitehall wine cellar, stocking it with vintage and non-vintage Champagne, red Bordeaux and white Burgundy wine.

By contrast, according to a recent article on Slate, the White House currently stocks around 500-600 bottles although, as commenters below have pointed out, it's not exactly an apt comparison. The official Whitehall cellar which is in the vaults of Lancaster house is meant to serve the entertainment needs of all the ministers. But as the Slate article points out, French-wine-loving Thomas Jefferson once had around 20,000 bottles in his Presidential cellar under what is now the West Wing. In more recent years, U.S. Presidents have made an effort to showcase U.S. wines. These days most wine-producing countries opt to serve the wines created in the country at state meals.

Gallery: Political Extravagance or Political Thrift?

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Tags: uk, whitehall, wine cellar, WineCellar

Closet Wine Cellars

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Wine

Want a wine cellar but don't have a basement or a spare room to dedicate to your love of the grape, Closet Wine Cellars specializes in putting small cellars into a variety of places. You find the room, they'll make it work whether it is a closet, wall or storage space. The systems can be customized to your design style and refrigerated units are available. Their racking system makes it easy to see the labels. The company is based in Southern California, the land of no basements, so they have their work cut out for them. At least, given recent weather, they can start with the coat closet as seems to be the case in the picture here.

[via Luxury Housing Trends]

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Tags: closet, home decor, home improvement, remodeling, wine cellar, WineCellar

Wine Storage Tips

by Gustad Mody (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Wine

LifeTips has a great section dedicated to the storage of wine. Pretty much every topic is touched upon from building your own wine rack to wine cellar cooling tips. Some quick and important storing tips to keep in mind: keep bottles on their sides, store where there is little temperature fluctuation, high humidity is important for long term storage, and pay attention to the age worthiness of your wine before they go past their prime. Keep in mind wine cellars are not just meant to only be pleasing to the eye, but they must be just as functional as they are attractive. The need for a vapor barrier is commonly ignored when your designer doesn’t have the necessary knowledge of wine.

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