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Forget the notion that wine cellars are only for the expensive bottles of the rich and famous. “Even inexpensive wines, like Côtes du Rhône, that have been cellared for a year in a high-quality wine cellar will drink like you paid twice as much for them,” says The Wine Merchant’s Jason Main.
Brian Hartsfield started Redwood Wine Cellars more than 20 years ago to provide wine cellars, doors, and racks. Today, the company continues to manufacture and install wine storage for clients all over Missouri and surrounding states. Hartsfield insists that temperature control, especially maintaining a consistent temperature, is key. Seventy degrees is the highest temperature for short-term cellaring, but “ideally, you want 55 to 59 degrees,” he says. The main cost is the cooling unit, which starts around $1,600 for a small above-the-door unit. With a door and a few racks, the price could climb to around $2,000. If cost is a concern, Hartsfield suggests adding more shelves later as needed. But the investment makes a difference: Hartsfield says his properly cellared mid-1980s Bordeaux are still drinking fine.
As Main says, “When you see high-scoring or -rated wines, a big component is based on how age-worthy they are. The only way you’re going to know that is if you age them—but you have to age them in the right conditions.”
