Wine Storage with India Hynes CEO of Vinotemp
August 8th, 2005 by GrapeRadio Bunch in Discussion, Podcast
Wine Lockers Under Construction
We all hear a great deal about the proper storage of wine. How important is it? Light, Heat, Humidity, and Vibration - Does it all really matter?
Today we are joined by India Hynes, CEO Vinotemp, one of the world’s premier manufacturers of wine storage equipment to explore the do’s and don’ts of proper wine storage.
Find more informaton about todays show at:
> VinoTemp Wine Cellars: http://www.vinotemp.com/
Sponsor: The Miami Festival Season: Click Here to Learn More
Click Below to Play the Show:
(33:25 min 16 MB)
Cellar construction from start to finish:
Discussion |
Just finished listening to “Wine Storage w/ India Hynes.” I actually remember working with her father when he was still involved with their business.
I felt some of her commentary was superficial. I would love to explain some of the concepts you touched on in depth if your listenership are interested, i.e. refrigeration vs. air-conditioning, availiable wine refrigeration systems, through-the-wall vs. split refrigeration. And maybe why people want to build elaborate wine storage rooms in their homes.
Evan, I feel your point is well taken. I would not blame India or her company. I feel I could have been better prepared to ask her questions that had more meat on them. I just got overwhelmed with other stuff and did not produce the best show I could have done. My apologies to India and the listeners.
That being said, I will still say that there is a ton of useful information in the show and I feel the show had a great deal of merit.
Jay
I just finished listening to the Vinotemp show, and I think I’m more confused than I was before. I’m hoping someone can help me out. We live in a one-bedroom condo, so we don’t have much storage space; we have about 20 bottles, mostly California Reds (we go winetasting often in the Central Coast area and are members of two winery-based wine clubs as well), but also two Bordeaux that aren’t to be opened for another 15-20 years. I gathered from the show that refrigerator-type units are meant more for wines you’re keeping around for a year of less, and the cabinet type of storage with the front-exhaust are for storing vintage wines. So what kind of storage is best for my situation? Right now we’re storing in closets and under the bed, so I’d like to find a solution quickly… Help!
Liisa, again I apologize for the confusion. The answer, in a way is easy. I would suggest you get the largest unit you can fit into your condo and meets your needs for the foreseeable future. The key question here is what your growth rate is. By that I mean new purchases minus consumption equals growth rate. If you are netting an extra 2 bottles / yr, no big deal. The small units will work fine. Just make sure you use a unit designed for wine Vs a generic Champagne cooler. Most units I have seen at Costoc/PriceClub would be perfect for you. I like the dual zone units myself.
BTW, what wineries in Central Coast do you like? I go up there often.
Call or email if you wish to discuss in greater detail.
We are members at Laetitia (I’ve been going there since it was Maison Deutz!) and Claiborne & Churchill, but we are also fond of Mastantuono, Caparone, Tolosa (whose Chardonnay got me drinking Char again), Grey Wolf and Buttonwood down in Santa Ynez area.
Thank you for the recommendation on the storage!
Some really nice Pinots are coming out of San Luis Obispo. I have yet to find a North American Sangiovese that I like. I will check out some of the wineries you mentioned. Always looking for new discoveries.
Jay
I’m sure Vinotemp is a good company, but India Hynes was obviously more attuned to the production of wine storage units than the science of wine storage. I especially like her answer as to why wine should be stored at 55 degrees — I think she said she saw that information in an advertisement in a magazine.
There are some really interesting aspects to proper wine storage, and I hope you revisist the issue. I am especially interested not only in personal wine storage, but also how retailers manage the storage of their wine — for instance, how do they restock their wine during the warm summer months.
Thats a good one. I never really considered the retail aspect of wine storage. Yep, I think we need to address the science of wine storage. Maybe someone from UC Davis?
So, I remember a year ago (maybe two?) Wine Spectator ran an article about a wine cellar system that, if memory serves, doesn’t require any power for cooling. Granted, it’s a custom build, and I’m not sure the average person has the space and environment one needs for it, but I found it very interesting at the time. Because while it’s nice to say that a unit is inexpensive, it can also add a significant amount to one’s energy bill. Might be nice to talk to this guy as a follow-up.
Here’s the link:
http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Free/Feature_Teaser_Page?page_id=/Wine/Archives/Show_Article/0,,4594,00.html
I rent space in an offsite facility, and move wines into my “home rack” for the short-term. Less convenient, but it’s a lot cheaper than a fridge + electricity, and we don’t have room for a wine fridge big enough for our wines. Also, the electricity system in our building is totally messed up–we’d probably shut down the whole building as soon as we flipped on the fridge.
I had a quick question regarding this podcast. I currently have a little wine cooler (20 or so bottles). I have been considering cellaring some wine for several years, so have been looking at my options. I have narrowed it down to either building my own small cellar, buying one of the pre-fab units that I would put together myself, or buying a small 50-100 bottle cellar.
In the podcast, India says not to get one of those “cooler” types for multi-year storage because they really are not cellars and don’t regulate humidity. However, looking on the Vinotemp website itself, there are several cellars in the couple of hundred dollar range that do say they regulate humidity. A good example would be this one:
http://tinyurl.com/azj9u
While that one doesn’t give me the capacity I’m looking for, it seems like one like this would give me what I’m looking for. So, as long as a cellar regulates temperature AND humidity, it should give me the ability to store wine for several years, correct?
A cellar that regulates temperature and humidity will allow you to store your wines for many years. However, you need to remember a few things. A cellar does not hold your wine in suspended animation. The wine will continue to age. This is a good thing. As the wine ages they can develop greater complexity and nuisances. owever, there will be a time that a wine starts to decline. Some wines reach that point is just few years; others take many decades to reach that point.
Second, remember that there is a high degree of likelihood that you will outgrow your cellar. Think about your needs now and the foreseeable future.
it’s funny how ‘jay selman’ sounds like jay saleman.
I recently purchased a vinotemp 250ftgc 178 bottle cabinet. The humidity levels the add boasts have never been reached. The maximum level I have achieved is 48%. After calling the customer service division, they replied by saying add a humidifier. What!!!! Why would I do that when this unit is supposed to do this already? I’m really disappointed with the cabinet because of this issue. I have my cabinet in a below grade basement that is completely insulated and without any natural light. Futhermore, the room the unit is in averages 50% humidity. I read an article that the cooling unit actuall robs the humidity rather then creating it. Please help me resolve this problem.
Adam,
I must admit I have had similar problems with my unit. the humidity levels seemed to often dip down to 50%.
Looking around the internet you are not the only one with these issues as well as other issues. I tried a few years ago keeping a glass of water in the unit and it seems to help a little just having more moisture in the unit.
Another import thing I will warn you about it is the air intake. Mu unit has a rear air intake. It was against the wall and after 2 years it filled up with lint/dust and clogged up. The unit promptly burned up and died. It was expensive to replace. Make sure you clean the rear air intake as often as possible. I recommend about every 6 months.
Good Luck.
Brian
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