Great article written by Cindy McNatt from the Orange County Register.

Wine cellars can work in any home

No basement is no excuse for not having the wine cellar of your dreams. Even in a townhouse, Ken Clark managed to carve a serious wine room out of his kitchen corner to house up to 600 bottles.

"The inside is about 5 by 7 feet and has more room than I'll ever need," Clark said.

Construction was simple. The walls are super-insulated, but nothing special. A WhisperKool refrigerator unit is mounted on the outside wall. Custom wine racks made by a cabinet maker make maximum use of the inside space. And Clark shopped around for a special wine door.

Proper Wine Storage

While other alcohol, such as vodka, can be stored at nearly any reasonable temperature, wine is a little more sensitive to heat.

The optimal temperature for storing fine wine in a cellar or cabinet is about 55ºF — the default setting on all WhisperKOOL systems — if you plan on preserving it. That mark comes from France, where wine was traditionally stored in caves with a natural underground temperature around 55ºF. While red wines are perfect at 55ºF storage, it’s OK to store white wines a couple degrees cooler.

Any higher than that and the wine will start to age faster than normal, degrading its taste. You will notice if your wine is being stored too warmly if it starts to brown, showing that it has started to oxidize from exposure to heat. If the wine is stored much cooler than 50ºF, the aging process could go slower than normal, prolonging the time until the wine peaks.

It is important to keep a consistent temperature in your cellar to prevent bottle shock, which could hurt your wine.

However, temperature is just one key part of proper wine storage. Humidity is another major factor. Experts recommend a humidity percentage of roughly 70 percent. Much higher than that, and the wine bottle’s cork could gather mold. While the wine itself won’t be affected much by high humidity, it could deteriorate the label and the cork, which detracts from the wine’s aesthetics and resale value.

If the atmosphere around your wine cabinet or in your wine cellar is too dry, the cork could crack and let air get into the bottle — wine’s worst nightmare. Storing the bottle on its side will keep the wine in constant touch with the cork and prevent it from getting too dry.

It’s vital to also store your wine in a dark place, as UV exposure from light could affect it. The wine should also be separated from anything that might emit odors, which could seep in through the cork, or vibration, which would degrade wine’s maturation process.

But not all wines need to be stored for a long period of time. Generally, the cheaper wines are meant to be enjoyed sooner, as they won’t improve much as the years go on.

WhisperKOOL Maintenance

Maintenance

Since the unit also draws in air through the evaporator and condenser coils it is a good idea to vacuum the coils on both sides of the cooling unit will insure that the coils do not become clogged and suffocate the cooling unit. If you can see dust build up on the exhaust fans then most likely it is coming from the inside of the condenser (exhaust) side of your unit. These units take air in through the grill area of the unit and it is drawn through the coils then gets blown out through the fans. You can also use low pressure compressed air to blow out the coil on the condenser (exhaust) side. Have the unit running and stand to the side and blow the air crossway into the coils. Please take care to watch out for the dust and debris that can be blown back out of the fans. We do not recommend this be done with the unit off as the dust will just be blown into the unit. Please also check the probe coming from the thermostat it has to be inserted into a bottle of water about ¾ full.

Issues that shorten the life of the unit

With some installs the units can also re-circulate their own exhaust air. Sometimes it may take a while to notice this because the units initially will appear not to have a cooling issue. XLT units are not designed to have intake air that exceeds 85 degrees. Over time the unit has to work hard to get the cellar to the set temperature and it will shorten the lifespan of the unit. Take a piece of cardboard and place it between the exhaust fans and the condenser coil sticking out from the unit. This will separate the intake air from the air being blown from the unit. Check and see if the unit seems to cool better.

Airing on HouseCrashers August 22nd

Wine Tasting Room -- Market: Folsom/ Sacramento, Calif. - Air Date: Aug 23, 2010

DIY Network's HouseCrashers is featuring our WhisperKOOL Extreme 4000

Wine Tasting Room -- Market: Folsom/ Sacramento, Calif. - Air Date: Aug 23, 2010

Wine Storage - Choosing the Best Solution For Your Home

If you are a wine connoisseur, then you should probably own a wine cellar or at least a refrigerator. There are several things to consider before you choose which one you want to buy: the size of your wine collection, where the storage unit will be located, how much you want to spend, and how long you plan on storing your collection.

If you expect that your collection will probably not have more than 200 bottles at any given time, and you are going to be rotating your wine frequently, a refrigerator is a better choice. Cellars can hold up to 900 bottles, so if you're a serious collector with a very large collection, then a cellar is what you're looking for. If you intend to store your wine for 5, 10 or 15 years, then you most definitely will need a cellar and not a refrigerator. Wine cellars set a constant humidity, making them superior to refrigerators in terms of aging.

Another thing to consider is whether you want to place your wine storage unit in a living area or in the basement. If you want a unit that enhances your decor, cellars provide a traditional stylish look while refrigerators provide a modern look. A cellar has to have proper ventilation and is also much larger than a refrigerator, so you need to ensure you have sufficient space.

Cost is also an important factor. If you have a limited budget, you may only be able to purchase a wine cooler. If you have money to spend, however, and you anticipate growing your collection, you may want to spend more and invest in a cellar.

As you can see, purchasing a storage unit for your wine requires careful consideration. If you are a casual drinker and just need a place for maybe a hundred bottles, then a refrigerator is what you're looking for. If you plan on becoming a serious collector and comparing bottles with friends in 10 years, then you will want to buy a cellar. Whatever storage solution you have in mind, be sure to do your research online and compare features and prices for several different brands prior to making any purchase decision.

Pat Michael writes about wine cabinets at nichematics.net/home_improvement/.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pat_Michael

Has your wine cabinet’s cooling unit gone out? Don’t fear... it is easy to replace your WhisperKOOL 1200 & 2300 unit

Our units run an estimatated 39,000 hours in it’s life time, that is equal to 4.5 years nonstop. Vinotheque’s cabinet are made to with Dual pane UV protection glass with closed pore insulation.  This allows the cabinet to keep a consistant temperature. Our cooling units have a lifetime of 5-7 years, so uneventalbly the cooling unti needs to be replaced in your cabinet. WhisperKOOL developed a unit to fit this need.  The 2500 can be used to replace the 1000, 1100, 1200 and 2300 WhisperKOOL cabinet cooling units without any modifications. Replacing other brands of cabinet cooling units is possible but cabinet modifications will vary.  

1. Test the unit to determine if it needs to be replaced. Link back to Vinotheque Owner’s Manauls (is it covered under warrenty)
2. Unplug and remove the old cooling unit from the cabinet by unscrewing the mounting screws located on the top and rear of the cabinet.
3. Loosen the seals by sliding a screwdriver between the cabinets and cooling unit housing, then remove the old cooling unit.
4. Replace the empty space with the WK 2500 cabinet unit by screwing the mounting screws back into the existing holes located on the top and rear of the cabinet.
5. Seal unit into the cabinet
6. Plug unit in and watch it cool.