wine cellar ventilation..

[cruzeiros]

... anyone please ? What is the most usual method to be done ? How about the temperature ? Or humidity...it's a must ?

All kind of info it may help.

Thanks.

Cruz

[frank]

As a 'qualified' consumer of the wonderful fluid, I can advise that it is not so much the temperature level of stored wine but the constant temperature that allows maturity.

From discussions with our local wine reseller expert (Majestic) good wine must of course be of good quality from day one and then kept at a constant temperature during maturity. The temp can be from a wide range, say 10C to 17C.

Underground cellars provide the ideal conditions as they are not subject to solar gain and do not require refrigeration.

Me, I just like the end result

[Brian_UK]

Also Frank I suppose the use of the modern 'plastic' cork has reduced the humidity control to some degree?

No genuine cork to go 'off'.

[cruzeiros]

ok...ok... but how about the ventilation part ? it is not underground and it requires 15 degrees. So it's enough the air flow from the evaporators... or it needs some additional fans ? (The air flow from the evaporators is 10 times more than volume) Or is not just the moving of air... it needs also fresh air ?!?!

[Brian_UK]

If the temperature is maintained by the evaporators then there is now requirement for the addition of fresh air for the bottles.

Some allowance must be made for any people who will work in the cellar so, a small ventilation system could be installed for that purpose only. Ensure that it is only active when people are present and the doors are closed.