Food & Beverage

If you are considering building a wine cellar for your home, whether it will be in your basement or a loft area, there are many options and requirements to consider.

• Will the space be used for entertaining?
• Do you want a climate controlled system?
• What type of lighting?
• Wood or metal racking?
• Do I need a vapor barrier?
• Custom or “kit” racking?
• What type of door is best for my cellar?

My first suggestion is to pick an experienced wine cellar company like Joseph & Curtis Custom Wine Cellars, someone who designs and installs custom wine cellars for a living, not as a hobby. Many general builders or contractors THINK they can build a wine “room” and then the homeowner usually realizes they are in over their heads.

Once you have selected a custom wine cellar company you then need to figure out what type of wine cellar design you are looking for. A professional company like Joseph & Curtis Custom Wine Cellars will design a 3D CAD drawing so their clients can see EXACTLY what their space can look like.

At this point, Joseph & Curtis would try to determine the customer’s specific wine storage needs (mags, champs, horizontal space, glassware, tasting table) and whether or not the client wants to create an area for entertainment and tasting (either in or outside the wine cellar).

Once the cellar design is finalized it is now time to decide what type of racking (wood, metal etc) and then what species and whether or not its going to be custom racking or “kit” or “modular” racking. There can be a very large difference in cost between kit and custom racking. This is one reason it’s important to hire a professional company that conducts honest and fair dealings, a company with a reputation like Joseph & Curtis.

The next step is to decide if the space will have a wine cellar cooling system. If your new cellar requires a cooling system, you will need to choose a wood species (mahogany,redwood are great choices) AND the room will have to undergo a specific process to ensure there is a proper vapor barrier and proper insulation. This step CANNOT be stressed enough. If the vapor barrier is not sufficient, mold can and will be created. The walls should be made of mold resistant rock like (green or purple board). Also, the climate control system needs to be chosen based on the size of the space, windows, doors etc.

The flooring (like everything else) depends if the cellar space has cooling. If it does we suggest stone, tile or brick.

Lighting should be minimal (led being the best choice) and in areas of the room which will highlight specific “high reveal” display areas, artwork and of course the racking.

Some other “extras” like venetian plaster over the walls, or other faux finishes can really make the space pop.

When choosing a wine cellar door (depending on cooling once again) the door needs to be an exterior grade door if there is cooling. This is not only the grand entrance and first impression for your guests when they visit your wine cellar, but more importantly the door is the seal that separates the climate controlled environment from the rest of your home. This ensures the proper preservation of your fine wine collection.

The last step after the cellar construction is complete is to stock the cellar with your favorite wines and others. You can use cellar management tools like Italian Wine Merchant in NYC, simple bottle tags, or just keeping specific areas of the cellar for specific wines, perhaps by type (Bordeaux, Tuscany, Burgundy, Barolo, Amarone, Chardonnay, Merlot, etc.), by country (Italy, France, Chile, USA California, etc.) or even by color (red, white etc). Proper inventory of the cellar will keep you and your guests drinking wines when they are meant to be consumed, and leaving other wines down until they reach their maximum potential.

Joseph & Curtis have a blog about building wine cellars, you should check it out for news and notes about specific projects they have worked on and everything that has to do with wine cellar design and construction.

If so, you’ve come to the right place. BoutiqueWineries is a group of wine lovers from “down under” who just love the romance of finding interesting and unique wines. Whether you are a veteran of many years Cab’s and Chardonnays or just starting on your journey of discovery, we’re here for you. 

We particularly love to hear from wine aficionados who’ve discovered a secret stash of delightful wine from an unheard of cellar. We would like nothing better than for you to break open a bottle, top up your glass and describe for us in mouth watering detail, your latest discovery in our WineLover’s Blog. We’re all here to learn and experience the joys of wine and wine making. 

We know it can sometimes be difficult to decide on the perfect gifts… or maybe you’ve just left it to the last minute. Either way we have the perfect solution! Send a BoutiqueWineries Gift Voucher! That’s an easy way to give Boutique Wines to your friends without knowing what type of wine they like. 

When you have discovered that perfect wine on your latest wine tour, isn’t it frustrating to find that after the last bottle has been joyfully uncorked, you can’t find it anywhere in your local stores? Happily for you, we have the answer to this frustrating scenario. BoutiqueWineries.com.au is the place we go for those hard to find wines. The range is vast, with over 135 boutique wineries marketing their wines through the site. 

Come back often as you journey through the wine country and let us know what you find. Help us enjoy the simple pleasures of fine boutique wines with your experiences and thoughts.

In 2006 I was struck by a thunderbolt. I had taken a cycling tour thru Tuscany, the heart of wine country, when I discovered a deep passion for wines. Up until that time I had dabbled but the great Brunellos and Chiantis from the region opened a new door that I knew I wanted to walk thru, so I did and never looked back. Since then I’ve taken Italian language classes, written about every wine I’ve tasted in a journal, and ultimately started a wineblog where I talk about everything I love about wines.

So here it is! Vigna Uva Vino (Vine Grape Wine)… NOW, you can find: interviews with wine personalities, info on developing wine sense, reading labels, and great buys as well as handy tips like: which wine glass to use… how to find a great bottle of wine for under $20, or even under $10. And especially comprehensive is my extensive list of tasting notes on over 150 wines.

So welcome to Vigna Uva Vino, and I hope this information will help make you a smarter wine drinker.

In Norway and Sweden wines are only sold through Alcohol Retail Monopoly. They exist for one reason only: To minimize alcohol-related problems by selling alcohol in a responsible way, without profit motive. Denmark has more continental laws and sells wines all over.

In Norway it is called Vinmonopolet and they have stores all over the country. The Swedish version is called Systembolaget. It has as I can see it a couple of advantages.  First of all the prices on the best and the most expensive wine can be very nice. They have a fix profit on every wine regardless of its good, bad or popular.  So when the marked in other countries turn the price up on the best ones, we can buy it at a fix cost. We in Winesworld have a website where we have tasted, compared and reviewed wines.  We have a search page were you can find the best wine and compare the prices. Since there is only one store that sells wines, you can get it there and all the wines have they own item number so it is easy to get the right one. We have a link on every wine to the official sites were you can see if it is available directly and which store who has it on stock. We have a high tax on alcohol in Norway and Sweden so the low-priced wines are quite expensive. You cannot find a bottle of wine in Norway below $9. 

To sum up it all up the benefit of having monopoly is that it is good organized, a wide range of wines, easy to find and you can do a scoop on the most wanted and best wines.

When I fell in love with wine I fell in love with Bordeaux.  It seemed a natural course of events for me – the wine is a reflection of the soils, air, waters and above all the passion that it springs from.  My father taught me to love wine and introduced me to Bordeaux reds and whites that  he brought back from foreign business trips which we would have with our Sunday lunch.  My interest in wine stayed with me through my days in catering and accountancy and remains one of my life’s greatest pleasures. I have been very fortunate to have travelled many continents and tasted wines from around the world. Bordeaux wine, however, remains my favourite for their food enhancement qualities, variety, complexity and lack of “the morning after” feeling.

I began seriously collecting and investing in blue-chip claret over a number of years for my personal cellar and after visiting Bordeaux on a regular basis, began to realise the sheer scale and potential of France’s largest fine-wine region. I was also honoured to be awarded the title of pru d’homme by the Jurade of Saint Emilion, an ancient brotherhood of wine dating back to 1199. I realised that there were an almost limitless number of petit châteaux producing wine of extraordinary quality, yet at bargain prices. The problem was that these wines never crossed the Channel. Realising this gap in the market, I established my online mail order company, Bordeaux-Undiscovered.

The wines which I discover in Bordeaux often have local cult followings which are usually unavailable to the rest of the world due to the huge number of thirsty enthusiasts who snap them up directly from the vineyards.  These wines are made to traditional methods handed down from generation to generation, often from organic vineyards and often by award winning wine makers.

Bordeaux-Undiscovered buys straight from the châteaux which means that we are able to offer the wines at very reasonable prices.  Many of our wines are exclusive to us and all are incredible value for money.  The Daily Telegraph recently recommended one of our clarets - Château Chadeuil (£4.85) which is made by Dominique Hébrard and the Musset family.  Dominique’s family are famous for the prestigious Château Cheval Blanc which took pride of place in the film Sideways.

Bordeaux-Undiscovered offers rosé and white wines as well as claret.  The rosés are unusual in that they are Bordeaux Clairets.  Bordeaux has been making Clairet for centuries – in fact it’s where the word claret originates from.   These wines are steeped on the crushed grapes for longer using the saignée method which gives them superior fruit driven flavours.  We also offer Champagne from Philippe Seconde whose vineyard is one of the top 17 Grand Cru vineyards with Champagne Houses such as Taittinger and Möet for neighbours.

I created Bordeaux-Undiscovered’s sister company, Interest in Wine, to bring  the Classified Growths of Bordeaux to a new wave of lovers of fine wine – whether they were connoisseurs, enthusiasts, en primeur buyers, students or investors and collectors.  Between 1995 and 2003, the value of my wine investment increased by over 43%, compared to a fall in the FTSE by nearly 6%. Moreover, the last three Bordeaux vintages have produced substantially better return than stocks and shares.  I do not see why these wines should be kept only for those “in the know” and believe that every one should have access to them.

I have developed a new website for interestinwine.co.uk (to be released shortly) as I found that people wanted to know more about the châteaux, the people, appellations and wine makers who strive so hard to create perfection.  interestinwine.co.uk has in-depth resumes of each Château we represent and comprehensive Tasting Notes from Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson, a Blog which updates you on the ever moving world of wine – including vintage releases and fine wine prices – as well as detailed notes and maps of the Appellations of Bordeaux.

I am blessed with a wonderful wife, Sue, and together we write daily blogs on the world of wine.  Sue writes specifically for women at Ladies With Bottle and covers wine on the cat walk, beauty, health, food, film and in the lives of celebrities.

Together we hope to bring a little Bordeaux into every wine lover’s life.