Hi All,
Looking at purchasing a wine cellar around 350-500 bottles or so, will probably buy two, as I can’t really build a proper wine cellar where I live. Does anyone have any recommendations of wine cellars which can be used for long term aging? Is this even recommended. I know Eurocave is quite popular, however any other recommendations are much appreciated
Thanks
Alex
Alex,
There are many prior threads here that get into the specifics. In short, I’ll offer that I have owned Eurocave, Le Cache, and Vinotemp and would only purchase Eurocave going forward. I have found them to be very reliable, very quiet, have the best racking (which allow you to make full use of the space without skipped slots because the bottles don’t mesh) and by far the most even and consistent internal temperature. They are not cheap but used ones turn up regularly and, given the reliability and the discount for used, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy used.
Eric
A good friend has owned a large capacity (~500 bottles, IIRC) Le Cache for more than 10 years. He’s very happy with it and it has been totally reliable over that time. He needed something that looked like a piece of nice furniture and not a cooler, and Le Cache was the only option he could find.
Check out Le Cache BILD 800. I have that in my garage and it easily holds 800+ bottles. Pretty good price two considering how much large fridges cost, but it is probably quite a bit larger.
Wow this looks nearly perfect! How is the humidity and temperature variation?
I just ordered one of these this fall, so I cannot comment on the durability, but I will say that the lead time is quite long, which may or may not matter to you. When I get it (currently in transit), it will have taken a solid two months to get from the time of ordering.
This is what I plan to get. Seems like a great option for the money.
The more I look at this the more I like the look of it. The only question I have is how does it fit 800 bottles. I am creating my head on this one. I know it comes with some rack but they only seem like they can hold 400 bottles. Am I missing something?
Racking is double deep and fits 640 bottles. There is room above the racking for an additional 156 bottles. A friend of mine managed to fit 1K bottles in his so my understanding is that this, for once, is a conservative number.
This is my understanding as well. 800 bottles counts the racking and the space above the racking. Then not counted is additional space on the back wall to stack cases or possibly weinbox crates.
Ah makes sense, thanks! Can anyone comment on the humidity of the unit once installed? Does it vary a lot?
I’m very happy with it, had it for two years with no issues. (I live in SF, so garage temperatures do not vary much, but humidity does)
Here is the temperature and humidity data I’ve collected over one year:
This is great, thanks! I was wondering about that myself.
Wow this is awesome! I plan to build it in my basement…most people build it in the Garage, only issue I might see is the weight. Also it should be more consistent in terms of humidity and temp. What did you buy to measure the humidity/temp?
I use a device called SensorPush that syncs with my iPhone but there are many others that record temp/humidity and sync via bluetooth
I have one in both of my fridges and think they are great. Ordered from Amazon, super easy to use.
I have a Le Cache 3800 and will be purchasing a 2nd 3800 within the next few days. Based on this thread, I just purchased 2 SensorPushs to monitor each unit. Is the SensorPush G1 WiFi Gateway a necessary add on or do most just use the SensorPush with the phone app? Also, where is the best place to locate the Sensor?
Anyone know roughly what Le Cache charges to ship / setup? Also looks like the BILD requires some assembly by the buyer, is it fairly straightforward?
There’s a youtube video of it.
I’m a hobbyist woodworker. I had planned to build my own cooler, then I changed my mind and converted an area of my house to a cellar. But - I had a pretty solid design for building what I think would have been a great cooler. They are very simple, and it would not take much to build something custom that would most likely end up being higher quality than a manufactured unit. So based on this, I suggest you reach out to a couple wood workers in your location (I’m sure there are a few), and ask them if they’d be interested in building you one. It wouldn’t hurt, and I doubt you’d be spending any more money than these +$4000 units. And - you get to pick your wood/finish/racks/cooling unit/etc…