What in the world is a wine cellar door? Perhaps the best way to answer this question is with an illustration of what a wine cellar is. As I discussed in my last post, an active wine cellar is a room that is created to be a refrigerator for lack of a better word. The walls and ceiling (as well as floor if the cellar is above grade with a basement below it) are insulated with a vapor barrier installed. The latter helps create an environment without excess moisture which can cause mold and mildew. For all intents and purposes this is now a sealed room. Once a cooling unit is installed to create an environment for wine to age properly, the only weakness to the space now is the point of entry i.e. the door.
A good wine cellar door is not only a work of art designed to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye and to announce to the world that you are now affluent enough to have a wine cellar in your living quarters, but it also locks in that fresh wine smell. Seriously though, a good wine cellar door must act just like an exterior door of a house. Instead of keeping the heat in the house it keeps the cold in the cellar.
I receive a lot of questions on this topic. Many people are caught off guard by the price of a good wine cellar door. Some people ask me if just any door will do. My answer is always the same “NO”.
If you are going to go through all the trouble to build the perfect cellar to house your precious wine then why throw all of that away by not installing a proper door? Yes there is a cost one must pay for a beautiful wine cellar door. But this door will be there, guarding your wine long after you are no longer here to enjoy it!
So remember, if you love your wine… Give it a beautiful door to keep it safe. That is all for now.
Drink Happily and Drink often,
Christian Hancock
Wine Cellar Specialist
