Cellar temps too cold

[Siwash]

Hey folks,

I'm in Ontario, Canada, and the temps have been in the 20s this winter with some days in the 30s. Mild by our standards! My cellar is not insulated. It's cold in there now. 5 C or around 40-ish F. I figure that it'll be in this range for 4 months out of the year (mid-Dec to early April). This is our first year in this home so I am just figuring this out now... I could insulate the cellar with some foam insulation, or similar, and I could add climate control, but the latter is not in the budget this year or for some time.

Here's the other alternative; I can re-locate my demis in another room in the basement, as the temps are low 60s at this time of year (60 F to be precise in one particular spot in the basement). Even in mid-summer it doesn't exceed 67 down there when the AC is cranking.

So I am beginning to think that a "permanent" relocation until I make proper adjustments to the cellar is my best option.

Should I be concerned about these very cool temps? I know that every piece of literature out there says that wine should be ideally stored/aged in the mid 50s to low 60s temp range. This area of the basement is also a lot more temp stable as opposed to the cellar, where it hits 70 in the mid summer and 40 in mid winter.

Thoughts? Thanks!

 

[vernsgal]

I am in the Shuswap,BC. We have cold winters too, but not as cold as you. I would say if storing your wines in a cellar in demi"s you could wrap them with old coats or blankets if moving them is a pain.
I found with wine you want to age/store them in an area that doesn't fluctuate too much in temps. more so than the temp itself. 40ish in my opinion is a wee bit cold though.

Congrats on your new home!

 

[Boatboy24]

Congrats on the new place!

I agree with Kim. All other things being equal, I'd move the wine to the warmer, more stable part of the basement. 60-67F is pretty good, but 40 is too cold, IMHO.

 

[bkisel]

Do your fermentation in a corner of the kitchen and use the basement for aging, bottling and storage?

 

[Siwash]

thanks folks.. do you think i did any harm to it? i think I am going to move it this week...

 

[TonyR]

No you didn't do anything harmful to your wine. Lots of people age there wine in unheated sheds or garages for cold storage to drop the TA.

 

[sdelli]

I had that problem in the past with one f my old cellars that was not regulated. I just opened the door a few inches to let some heat in. I would count finger space on the door opening based on outside temp... 3 or 4 fingers on an open door will bring it to the temp you are looking for.
Hope this helps....

 

[Siwash]

I had that problem in the past with one f my old cellars that was not regulated. I just opened the door a few inches to let some heat in. I would count finger space on the door opening based on outside temp... 3 or 4 fingers on an open door will bring it to the temp you are looking for.
Hope this helps....

I am trying this. Started out with a few inches then notice barely any difference. I am at the point now where the cellar door is wide open. It has increased to 48 but that's it! And it's not that cold by our standards this winter... going to actually hit 35 today, lows in the 20s. I don think this is a solution. I will have to move my wine to a spot under the stairs. If temps were as cold as last winter, there's no way I could keep my door open as I would paying for that heat loss in my heating bill... not ideal.

Man I hate moving demis! So damn heavy.

Thanks folks!

 

[sdelli]

A small electric heater set at 50 would not cost that much....

 

[Siwash]

A small electric heater set at 50 would not cost that much....

True... but running constantly? I have a Dyson but I was told that heaters shouldn't run indefinitely... is there any safety risk running it that long?

also, our hydro rates are high here... Might be an option though..

 

[sdelli]

I use an electric heater that is able to be set by temp... Not just low-med-high... I set it at 50 degrees and it goes on and off auto... Works great! Even used it in the garage for cold nights....