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Dolia in an excavated wine cellar within the ancient
Roman Villa Rustica in Boscoreale

It has long been established that there is no better way to store wine than in wine cellars. The idea of storing wine in a cellar has been documented back to the time of the Greek expansion into Europe. However, some of the best examples of very early wine cellars have been discovered during archaeological diggings in Italy. The image here of dolia (Roman wine jugs) in the wine cellar of Villa Rustica in Boscoreale is a perfect example. Even in those days, it was recognized that if you kept the wine in a container below the ground where the temperature was cooler and both the temperature and the ambient moisture levels were more consistent, the wine would last longer before spoiling.

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Wine cellars of the 2nd millenium
often looked like this.

As time went on, this idea of wine cellars below ground became more defined and pronounced as well as more common-place. In fact, it became normal practice in Europe before the end of the first millennium to include wine cellars during the construction of the house of a noteworthy or successful citizen. A few of these early reminders of that bygone era may still be seen today but visitation to them is often very carefully controlled and in the hands of museum and trust organizations. If you have a desire to visit these, you should conduct your research and make appropriate arrangements well in advance.


The recently excavated original wine cellars of
Chateau de Berrie, hewn into the rock beneath
the ancient fortress.

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Our ability to examine examples of great wine cellars is significantly increased when we move forward to the second millennium, especially from around 1200AD onwards. This is not because the inclusion of wine cellars became more common-place but because the population of Europe was growing, the wine industry of Europe was also growing and building construction improved significant as did our desire to preserve these buildings. The bulk of the homes that house these wine cellars, we refer to today as castles and mansions. Their wine cellars are a feast for the eyes of the wine enthusiast as are indeed the inventories that are contained within. We also cannot ignore the significance of the development of glass bottles in the whole evolution of wine cellars.

During the period after the Renaissance, the wine industry enjoyed unprecedented growth. During this time also, the use of wine cellars of many different types and sizes grew so as to satisfy the need. Wine cellars of commercial size in the form of huge underground rooms as well as wine caves, were now to be found throughout the productive wine regions.

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Historic wine cellars in Dunbar, West Virginia, USA
   
In the 20th century, the old idea of wine cellars in the family home (read as castle/mansion) was expanded as wine collecting for fun, future enjoyment or profit also grew in popularity. Wine collectors, small and large, created their own personal wine cellars mostly depending on their perceived need often small, sometimes very small, in their regular sized homes. It can said today that, if a person has a serious interest in wine, they will have some kind of temperature and humidity controlled area in which to store them. The size of these wine cellars will vary from a huge warehouse sized structure for a commercial enterprise, to the very specialized wine cave that you may find in the wine producing regions down to the various forms of collector cellar-ing including home cellars and Collector Centers.

Commercial - Wine cellars used for commercial operations today are seldom found below ground. This is the result of several factors including the amazing developments in construction materials, the dramatic advancements in the area of refrigeration and climate control in buildings, the size of these operations resulting in huge quantities of wines being cellar-ed for lengthy periods of time and so much more. These wine cellars certainly do not carry the same visual impact as those of earlier times. However, they may well take your breathe away just because of their immensity and the quantity of wine within. Nonetheless, there are still some incredibly magnificent commercial wine cellars to be seen in the form of those storing in small and large barrels and in wine tunnels.


A commercial wine cellar in Portugal


A commercial wine tunnel


Wine cellar - wine warehouses

Ffermentation barrels in cellar
 Most of us will not get to see or visit one of these wine cellars unless we embark on a vineyard tour, but then again, why would we care. There is much more to enjoy in the small tasting cellar to be found nearby and purposely built to enthuse you. These are the wine cellars that we choose to enjoy and are the mainstay of any of the regional wine tours.

A production wine cave in the Napa Valley, USA
 Wine Caves - Wine cellars in the form of wine caves are predominantly man-made creations. It is rare to find a wine cave that has become so by simply taking over an existing geological structure. For this to happen, it would be very much a case of finding exactly the right place on your own land. An extremely rare phenomenon in the world's wine regions. The man-made wine cave , however, is more plentiful. It may be constructed so as to resemble a cave on the inside while looking anything but on the outside or it may be literally hewn out of the side of a hill or buried underground. Wine caves possess a certain unqiue character that attracts people to them not only to see the cave but also for weddings and special events. A wine cave will usually be constructed so as to house quite a large volume of wines that the specific vineyard wishes to age for a lengthy period. When you visit a wine cave, look around and note the wines. These will probably be the winemaker's very special vintages. These are wines to seek out so as to include them in your home cellar.

Home Cellars - This is what every enthusiastic wine collector or consuming really wants - wine cellars of their very own in their own home. Why not, after all, your wine is an investment, either a portfolio investment or an investment in your own simple pleasures of life. Until relatively recently, home wine cellars were typically under the floor accessed by a concealed door or in the basement. These cellars were mostly primitive in construction and layout. We have seen many a home cellar that was no more than a concealed door in the floor that gave access to a ladder or set of stairs leading down to the wine that was stored in a disorganized fashion on the dirt floor. There wasn't always even a lot of headroom. It may seem amazing but this simple cellar works as the temperature below the house is usually cooler and more consistent than elsewhere if the foundation is closed in. Naturally, these in-floor wine cellars can be bigger and better based on the available room and your personal desire and funding. Basement cellars offer more scope. n most basement situations, the temperature and humidity are relatively steady. It is not difficult to find a suitable in which to create your special room. Everything is easier here, the construction, the fitting out, the additional climate control if you feel the need, the security and the scale and style of the development that you choose. Basement wine cellars often also turn into private tasting rooms for a group of friends with like interests.



Your wine cellar can also be a tasting room
   

But, today, if you don't own your home, you don't have to feel as though you are left out in the cold when it comes to being a wine enthusiast and wine collector. Refrigeration and the creativity of man has developed specialized wine fridges and coolers. Wine cellars that can sit on the bench or in the kitchen or study. They are so advanced that some will contain separately controlled compartments, let's say for reds and whites. You would not expect these refrigerated wine cellars to hold the same number of bottles as a real cellar but it may surprise you to learn that there are models that hold as many as 120 bottles (10 cases). For the average person, this is quite an investment or quite a supply..

It is fair to say that no matter what your situation with regard to home ownership, wine cellars are not out of the question for you as there are multiple home cellar options available.

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Collector's Centers - Collector's Centers are the wine cellars for the large scale wine collector or investor. You might say that Collector's centers are the self storage facility specifically designed for the storage of wine in the optimal conditions. There are many variations on this theme but you will generally find that you may rent your own secure enclosure (various sizes are usually available) and rely on the fact that your wine is safe, kept at an optimal temperature and humidity level, away from light but accessible when you need to get to it. These facilities will normally offer you insurance and may even offer receiving and shipping facilities too. The decided advantage collector's centers as wine cellars is that the wine is not in your home for anyone to see or find!