No doubt that this is a bit of a crap shoot. We are talking about the cellar capacity, not the wine purchases and the comments by wineismylife about this being a marathon (and tastes changing) means that there is no way we can peg the actual purchases over the next dozen years. Try as we might, things change. Hey, it wasnt that long ago that the dude from Georgia liked golf and red Z.

But I really appreciate the help. Like I said (and Latour asked), this is a first floor thing in Texas, so we are talking about using up some living space. When you have a basement, you can make a few mistakes and knock out some walls. As a first floor project, we are talking about cutting in to some living space. Space for 2,500 bottles....I'm going to break the news to Mrs. Nota.

Where in Texas?

quote:

wineismylife, most of the cabs are from Napa, but the # from france (cabs/meritage) is increasing (funny how that works). A small amount of Burgundy, but most of the Pinots are RRV and like Oregon (and will be buying more). Most of Syrah's are from CA.

From what I've read here, you may want to consider the purpose of why you are cellaring. From what I can see, #1. You need a cool climate to store all of your wine (mature and those being matured), and #2. You need to figure out whether your palate enjoys wine that is worthy of maturing.

I'm not exactly sure what you have, but most Napa Cabs., Napa Syrah, Oregon Pinot, and RRV Pinot, are wines "best" consumed from release to 5-8 years of purchase. In fact most of these don't get any better with extended aging past 3-5 years. They typically plateu, hold, and then decline. With very little agable Bordeaux, Burgundy, Barolo, Supertucans, Germans, etc., you're going to find yourself swimming in wine that is ready to drink. Especially if you have 3000 bottles of it!

Just a thought...

Cheers, and good luck!

In theory, it should work like this.

How many bottle of wine do you drink or serve in a year. Make that A.

What is the average age of those wines, ignoring all the wines that have not needed cellaring. Make that B.

Needed cellar capacity (C)= A*B.

Hola!

Since this is going to be a first floor project, I'd suggest keeping to a standard floor plan and just convert a bedroom into your cellar. Then, when you move, you could convert the room back to a bedroom if the house would be worth more with that room used as a bedroom or study rather than a cellar. No rooms with funny dimensions, etc...to turn off any potential buyer.

I agree with the 2,500 bottle idea. No matter how well you plan, your brain will foil you and buy more wine in order to make the cellar "look better" with all those beautiful bottles.

Also, with a good temperature controlled cellar, you may find you end up liking to age your wines more with some extra cellar time. Plus, I happen to think that forgetting about a few bottles here and there makes for great cellar management - nothing more fun than finding a "forgotten" gem and then seeing how those extra years have changed its complexion! You'll find many more pleasant surprises than you will dead bottles!

Keep us posted on what you do!

I have an idea that would work in the meantime if you happen to make a wine cellar that is,at first,seemingly too large....keep your empty bottles and place them in the racks.
With some people image is important as well. I didn't want a person looking through the glass window of the cellar and laughing at what little I had (when the cellar was new).
I didn't want to build a cellar that was too small ...this was my biggest fear. My cellar has a capacity of 850 bottles or so and I am currently only half way to it being completely full.But my objective is now not necessarily to have it totally full but to have fantastic wines.
So when my wife and I had some empty bottles we would put them in the wine racks to make the cellar look like it had more than just fifty bottles. We would especially keep the empties that were really good and we wanted to get more of the same someday.

oh, .... keep those empties in a not-so-visible area like not at chest level but more like at knee/floor level or very high up .....just like a grocery store puts those things that they want people to grab at more accessible areas..............illusion is not a bad thing.....so don't feel embarassed about doing this .... it simply buys you time until your collection grows .....and it will grow...trust me....usually about fifty to sixty bottles per year at the very very least....

Has anybody else done this when they first built their cellar?....(or IS STILL doing this?) .....come on .....don't be shy about admitting this ......(sort of like a teenage girl stuffing her training bra to create an illusion of being more attractive, ....n'est pas?)

I keep my empty cans of soup in my pantry....

well, .... i am not one of those that keeps a wine log/tasting notes ....I have such a book that i keep in my cellar but entries are erratic and for the most part not done ....much easier to put that particlular empty (and eventually get rid of it/recycle later) and remember ..."oh yeah ....that was a great bottle we had when Joe and Susie were over that one night..."
...I have always thought of tasting notes/log as balancing a cheque book ....really ...who really does this consistentlly or even at all?.... not this (busy) guy...

My cellar is in the cellar (or basement). It isn't for show. Utilitarian only.

wineismylife,
Austin

Ogopogo DUDE,
Not too worried about having some empty shelves, but thanks for the suggestion.

The Cabernet of Dr Calgari,
Interesting suggestion about a bedroom. I suppose you'd need to cover the window. I'll probably still end up with a dedicated cellar space, but it's an interesting idea.

DRAB,
If I end up with 3,000 bottles, I think I'll just take the bridge.

Appreciate all the input!!

not...

There's an active group in Austin. You should hook up. Are you IT?

How big should it be? That's a loaded question.

mpls wine guy, either good marketing or a completely innocent coincidence. Knowing me, I'd bet on the latter.

wineismylife, am I IT? No. But I was tempted to respond: "tag, you are IT".

Just curious if your in the biz.