Store wine in the cellar?

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karrlot

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I have an actual cellar in a 110 year old house. Its only about 5'6" high, cement floors, rock foundation. There is a ledge going around the outside of the cellar about 3' high and 2' deep, kind of a shelf built out of rock. There is quite a bit of dirt that has come in through the rocks over the years.

Up until a few years ago it had two sump pumps that ran often. They've gone dry because a neighbor drilled a shallow well for watering the yard. But if he stops pumping, the water could come back. So it has been damp in the past and still has a kind of musty, cellar smell. We are in Colorado so the air is very dry here.

It has an outside slanted door, stairs you walk down, and then an inside regular door. Over the last week the temp has stayed at about 70°. when outside temps vary from 55° - 95°. I don't know what the winter temp will be, but I've never seen anything freeze down there. The furnace and hot water heater are in one 'room'. There are two other 'rooms'.



Does this sound like a good place to keep my fermenters?

The only drawback is that it is dirty and dusty. I would have to haul the carboys and buckets upstairs, outside and to the kitchen to do any work on them. I don't even know if I would be comfortable opening a bucket to check on the must.

Funny story - It has a canning cupboard that had pickles in it when my parents moved in. They never used the cellar so the pickles just stayed there for over 25 years until my dad got worried the lids would rust through and attract rodents.
 
Sounds like there are some possibilities there. You could put a floor with 2x4 floor joists. Put ups some cheap walls or plastic. Run water down there and get a stool or chair and do all your work sitting down. Mine is in my crawl space which has a height of about 6 1/2 feet. Dirt floor with plastic . I love it. It is my man cave for sure.
 
Sounds like my first house.

I would not be so worried. I don't think that you have any dirt falling on your head, just dirt comming through the stone wall. Even if a little dust get into your wine, it will just settle out and get racked off.

To think of how close your basement is to "cave conditions". Sounds perfect for storring wine!

I would simply give the place a good cleaning and go for it.
 
Yeah, it sounds like decent wine storage conditions, maybe not great but better then most have as lots of people dont have cellars. The only thing I would look into is watching the humidity level down there. Too much and mold will ruin corks and labels. Too little and your corks will dty out faster despite bottles being on their side.
 
Good environment?

COULD BE ,BUT USUALLY THE HUMIDITY LEVELS ARE HIGH AND WITH THAT COMES MOLD SPORES AND MICROBES NOT NEEDED ,ESPECILLY WITH THE STONE WALLS,,JUST BE CAREFUL:ib
 

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