CategoryWine Info Archives • Wine Cellar Innovations Blog

Creating The Perfect Wine Cellar Environment

I finished this jdorama (Japanese drama) called Kami no Shizuku or “God of Wine” in loose English translation. By the very title, you can tell that it’s all about wine. But watching the soulful drama consisting of 9 amazing episodes, I learned that there is indeed more to wine than just building a nice-looking wine cellar and keeping all those bottles in. If you’re a true connoisseur, you have to “nurture” your wines, just like a parent does his child.

Starting from the basics…

The protagonist in Kami no Shizuku is the child of a really famous wine critic. Before he turned 20 years old, he got into a fight with his dad and left their opulent home to pursue his own path. He didn’t want to have anything to do with wine. He couldn’t understand why his father seemed to treat wine more importantly than people. Then his dad died a year after his 20^th birthday.

In a battle for the inheritance with another wine critic who was supposedly the “adopted” son of his father, the protagonist uncovered the truth why his father was so attached to wine. The truth was, he was living life and teaching life through wine as he wanted his son to see how much he loved the latter, comparing his beloved son to his precious wine collection. It was touching, very beautiful, and makes us think of how we should treat our own wine collection as well.

In uncovering the last of the wine varieties or the Kami no Shizuku, the protagonist came to realize that his dad wanted him to “start from scratch” or live his life like he was just “beginning” every day to appreciate each day he lives even more. “Just like every bottle of wine should be nurtured, everyone should start at the beginning. I built this wine cellar with my own hands. I built it starting from scratch, making sure every corner, every angle is designed to create a perfect wine storage room for every bottle I bring in. Just like parents start from the very beginning to make sure that every step towards their children’s future is a step towards total fulfillment.”

And building more than just a “wine cellar”

As far as wine and wine cellars are concerned, these words couldn’t be phrased any better. Creating the perfect wine cellar environment for your precious collection requires not just mere technical knowledge of the basics of wine storage but more importantly, you should care for your wines. Care in choosing the right wood for your wine racks, the right refrigeration system, the right wine cellar accents and accessories and so on and so forth doesn’t just mean choosing the most expensive or sophisticated products. It means taking enough time to learn and review all these aspects of wine cellar building so that the desired end result is achieved.

For example, here at WCI, we give you a complete wine cellar design consultation package which allows every client to talk with a highly experienced design specialist. Starting from the basics, we go over your desired wine cellar project, analyze and assess every angle thereof, and provide you with free 2D design to help you visualize your dream wine cellar. Moreover, we also integrate Architectural Design Services, allowing you the chance to integrate architectural elements into your project for a totally “completed” look. Last but not the least, we put in a review process which would ensure that all specifications will be addressed.

Kanzaki Shizuku, the protagonist, has this to say upon unearthing the God of Wine: “It’s really amazing isn’t it? Wine, that is. It can teach us all about life by uncorking our true feelings. I want to learn more about wine, because in doing so, I’m beginning to understand Dad more and more.” As connoisseurs, we should also remember that we also need to understand our wines and create the best environment to “nurture” them in ^_^.

Residential Wine Cellars Making Waves In China

Wine cellars have indeed become a worldwide trend come this Year of the Water Dragon. Recently, word over the grapevine has spread relating to the increase in the number of “private” wine cellars inChina. Now China, as we may be probably aware, is one of the fastest rising industrial giants at present. As such, commercial activities are actually very much varied in the country, even encompassing the wine industry.

Basically, most Asian countries are not really that noted for what we would term as “fine” wines, unless you’d count Japanese “sake” as a version of that. But surprisingly, the wine industry has become really big over the last decade inJapan,South Korea,Taiwan, and of course, the former sleeping giant,China.

The Shanghai Wine Exchange which was launched only in July of 2011 has showcased some pretty impressive figures. The daily turnover was reported to be around ten million yuan (Chinese currency). Moreover, it was also predicted that possibly by the end of this New Year, there will be around 590,000 people in the country with disposable assets amounting to at least ten million yuan.

But as far as “private” or residential wine cellars are concerned, the same have also made their mark in the country as the next home fashion icons. More and more wealthy Chinese homes have gotten into the bandwagon and started building luxurious private wine cellars to host their opulent collections. Indeed, Chinese wine enthusiasts have been recently more drawn towards the appeal of a gorgeous, custom wine cellar to showcase their fine wines and spirits.

Interestingly enough, creating custom wine cellars in China have taken on rapid popularity since the Chinese have become more fascinated with the taste and history of wine. Hence, it’s no longer a matter of wine collection or wine cellars inChinabeing a status symbol as much as it is really developing a true affection for the hobby.

So how does this recent international development in the wine industry tie up with us here at Wine Cellar Innovations? Well, for one thing, note that our products and services are available on an international scale. Yes, we ship internationally and that includes providing for wine cellar installation services anywhere in the globe.

A number of our finest and stylish wine racks and other wine cellar products have actually found their way to more than just a few wine cellars inChina, as well. Plus, thanks to our online store, connoisseurs all over the globe are given easy and fast access to ordering our wine cellar rack kits and other custom wine cellar products, accessories, and services.

Needless to say, the rise of “Chinawine cellars” is a significant sign that the creation of custom wine cellars has really become a worldwide pursuit. And this is just one of the better reasons why every day, we strive to become as globally competitive as possible. After all, the heart of a true connoisseur knows no sex, age, race, or creed. Check out our online store and start building yours today!

 

 

 

The Best Wine Gifts

The best wine gifts are likely to be wines with which you are familiar – and which you personally enjoy. Of course, if that wine happens to cost a small fortune, you may hesitate giving it as a gift, even if your own personal fortune allows it. When it comes to giving wine as a gift, there are matters of etiquette to consider, as well as the wine itself. You also have to take into account the recipient, as well as the occasion. There is etiquette attached to the manner in which you present the gift, too.

The first issue that you will likely want to address is: How much money should I spend? There is no definitive answer to the question, but there are a few guidelines. The amount of money you spend on wine gifts depends not only on your relationship with the recipient, but on the occasion of the gift.

A wine gift for the boss, for example, may have more to do with the label than the content. When giving wine to impress, the temptation may be to splurge on an expensive wine. Instead of giving the boss an expensive wine that you have never tried yourself, stick to what you know. Your boss may be more impressed by your enthusiastic description of the wine than the wine itself. Cabernets from affordable Napa Valley houses – Rutherford, Baldacci, Bravante – are good choices.

For friends and family, your main concern will be the taste. For social gatherings, you will want a variety of wine that will please a variety of tastes. Pinot Noir generally fits the bill, and since Pinots are prized for their transparency, you can choose a Pinot to convey a sense of a favorite place, from New Zealand to Sonoma’s Russian River Valley. When you want a wine to express a festive feeling, Beaujolais makes a good choice. With its earthy character and fruit flavors, Beaujolais is an appropriate – and affordable – choice for holiday gift giving.

As important as the selection and price of the bottle is the etiquette of presenting wine gifts. When attending a social affair, never presume that your host must serve your wine offering that night. The hostess has most likely spent a lot of time and thought over what wine she will serve, and will not appreciate being pressured into changing her plans. If you are unsure if this is the case, ask the host if he would like to serve the wine now or to save it for later. If you specifically want the recipient to save the wine for a later occasion, you can indicate that by gift-wrapping the bottle.

Resist the urge to expound upon the wine’s origins. Guests may see that as code for bragging about how much you spent on the bottle. Pointing out a few subtleties of the wine is fine, but for the most part, you will want the recipients to discover the pleasures of the wine for themselves.

This is a guest post by Martin Reed.

Storing Your Leftover Wine

Save leftover wine and prevent wine spoilage!

So we’ve been talking about gorgeous wine cellars and wine racks these past few days and we thought we’d give the wine rack talk a break for a while. We were reading about leftover wine in Wine Taste TV recently and enjoyed an article from Serious Eats about what to do with leftover wine so we thought: Many of us wish to save leftover wine, but how do we keep them from spoiling?

Since majority of us are not exactly wine sommeliers, we may first need a little help in determining whether our wine is spoiled or not. If you suspect that your bottle of wine may be spoiled, here are some questions to ask yourself:

Look: Does it have a noticeably brown color? Is the cork warped?

Smell: Do you smell aromas of sulfur, must or mildew?

Taste (if you can): Does it taste acidic or vinegar-like or moldy?

If you answer yes to any of these things, the wine is most likely spoiled.

The culprit for tainted wine is, as you may already know, improper storage. We all know how heat, vibration, humidity or inadequate re-corking or sealing can easily ruin a wine, but the good news is, these things can be avoided.

So here are some common methods we’d like to share from our readings:

Refrigerate. Put that wine bottle in the refrigerator. Keeping it in a cool, dry place may be the best chance of keeping it as fresh as possible, not to mention refrigeration can slow the growth of bacteria. But, even with refrigeration, the remainder of the wine should still be consumed within three or four days.

Use a wine stopper. This prevents new air from entering the bottle. Note, however, that it does not let the air already in a bottle escape. This still allows for oxidation to occur, but not as quickly as a bottle that is re-corked or not corked at all. A wine stopper may hold your wine for three days or so.

Use a wine preserver spray. This serves to protect and preserve your wine by spraying inert gas (non-toxic) to remove all of the oxygen from your opened bottles, keeping them fresh and preserved!

Use empty wine splits. Store your leftover wine in a new, smaller wine bottle. This storage method works because you can fill the bottle to the top, preventing any air from existing within the bottle. Simply cork it and it is ready to go for the next time! You can find these in certain specialty wine stores.

Keep in mind that these are just preventive measures. They only serve to delay the inevitable deterioration of the wine. Oxidation will eventually occur, and once a wine is spoiled there is no way to reverse the process or improve the taste! So the next time you get a bottle of wine but don’t think you can finish it in one day, just invite friends over to share so you don’t have to worry about spoilage!

If you want more information check out these great reads:  Real Simple’s 5 Recipes That Use Leftover Wine, Lifehacker’s tips on what to do with leftover wine. This video from All Recipes has some really helpful tips too.

What are YOUR thoughts on leftover wine? We would love to hear your opinion!