This relatively inexpensive Pinot Noir is quite a treat!  Beautiful garnet in color, its nose consists of violet, iris, strawberries, and black cherries.  Its velvet-like texture is soothing to the tongue, and its body is solid.  For fans of sweeter Pinot Noirs, the Block Nine 2009 is a good find; the typical earthiness that turns people off from many Pinots is very subdued in this one.  Flavors of semi-sweet black cherries delight the tongue, and the spicy finish is very satisfying.  Though not an extremely complex wine, it is incredibly well-balanced (which is quite nice, considering its low price).  Because of its well-integrated taste, plus its balanced tannins and acidity, this is a wine that really “works.”  It’s a sure winner, and is guaranteed to please most wine and non-wine drinkers, alike.  Consider storing a few bottles in a 23-Bottle Wine Grotto Wine Cellar, or an elegant Vinotheque Boxed Up-3 Door Double Deep Credenza, to pull out for unexpected company.  No matter the occasion, this wine will help make it memorable.  Cheers!

Residents of the East Coast recently experienced the wrath of Hurricane Irene.  For the fortunate individuals who did not incur serious property damage and flooding, there were other issues to contend with: power outages.  Some storms can leave areas without power for days, meaning your wine cooling units will not operate.  And who wants to see a multi-thousand dollar investment ruined because of a power outage?  Aside from hooking your wine cooling units up to a generator, which is an option only if your personal survival is not dependent upon the same generator, there are a few things you can do to keep your wine safe (if you can still access your cellar!)  If you own a wine cabinet, like the Vinotheque Wine Reservoir, or a  N’Finity two temperature cooling unit, obtain a large block of dry ice and, while wearing work gloves, wrap it in clear cellophane (plastic wrap.)  Position it just above the top of the unit, and your wine will remain cool for about two days.  If most of your bottles are racked and you don’t have a wine cabinet, choose your most valuable wines and stand them upright in a large cooler or plastic storage tub.  Fill the container with ice.  Drain and re-ice as necessary. (Standing the bottles upright is okay in this emergency situation.  It helps minimize water/ice damage to labels, and also keeps the corks from being exposed to a fast temperature change.)  If your wines do happen rise above their typical storage temperature, they will age a bit quicker than anticipated.  This may mean that some will be ready to drink much sooner.  Keep this in mind when restocking them after the disaster, and consider using bottle tags to mark any questionable wines.  This way, you’ll remember to enjoy them before it’s too late.

This delicate white hails “from the sun, the rain, the wind, and the soil” of South Africa.  Though described as a “light yellow with flashes of green,” my glass appeared a surprising golden yellow of medium intensity, usually indicative of mature, concentrated whites.  Being a very affordable wine (I only paid $7.99 for a bottle), I knew not what to expect.  Although the nose is pleasant-but-weak, and somewhat plain, the wine makes up for it with a soft, creamy body and light crispness.  Flavors are subtle and playfully elusive.  They include guava, gooseberry, subdued mango, and other tropical flavors.  There are even light hints of lime and lemon.  This is not a “big” wine, and so it must be remembered that although this wine is well-structured, it is very delicate.  It will take many sips to appreciate and, like all wine, it gets better as it opens.  It is also a wine that can only be fully appreciated when chilled.  Serving this wine at room temperature will ruin it.  We recommend serving this wine between 46ºF and 48ºF.  For wines such as this, a Marvel Wine Refridgerator like the 23-Bottle Wine Grotto Wine Cellar  will help you attain the perfect serving temperature.  As a final note, if you’ve been following our blog, remember that long-term storage temperatures differ from serving temperatures, so don’t confuse the two!  Enjoy!

As we’ve discussed in previous blogs, the temperature at which a wine is stored (and served) can bring out the best (or worst) of a given bottle, but an entire wine collection can be at stake if “ideal” storage temperatures are not maintained.  Many big collections have been unnecessarily damaged because of such unstable temperatures.  For example, temperatures above 65ºF encourage wine to age too quickly, causing their flavor and balance to suffer in the process.  Contrariwise, cellars that are too cold cause wines to lose their characteristic aromas and flavors. Rapid temperature fluctuations, too, can damage a wine’s cork and, thus, the wine as well.

Though the common temperature range for storing red wine has been between 50ºF and 55ºF, with whites stored as low as 45ºF, wine cellar expert David Spon (and Vintage Cellars!) recommends keeping a cellar at  55ºF, and at 60% to 75% humidity.  If the air is too humid, mold can grow and even damage your cellar’s wood.  If too dry, corks can crack.  David also notes that some people keep their cellars a little bit warmer if they store mostly young wines, and slightly cooler if their collections consist of older ones (since wines age more slowly in colder temperatures.)

If you don’t want to see your wine collection ruined, it’s a good idea to invest in a decent wine cellar or specially-crafted wine storage cabinet.  Stylish wine cellars can be built easily and affordably using designer wine racks or traditional redwood wine racks. Wine storage cabinets, like regal wine credenzas, also offer affordable (and classy) options.  Remember to store wine horizontally to keep the cork moist, and never freeze a bottle of wine!  When stored properly, and at the ideal temperature, your wine collection will age gracefully and provide anticipated delight.

Want to learn more about the correct storage conditions for your wine? Head over to the Wine Storage Education Center to read more about temperature, humidity, cooling systems and more. We’ve even done separate articles on the right storage conditions for red wine, white wine and sparkling wine/Champagne.

This rich, dark red hails from the Limoux region of Southern France.  With sufficient aroma, the Le Grand Pinot Noir 2009′s nose consists of delightful red berries, cherries, raspberries, currants, and a note of fig.  The wine is rounded, and delights the taste buds with exploding flavors of red berries, cherries, and currants.  Its semi-spicy kick is nicely countered by its smooth, balanced, satisfying finish rich with tannins.  Though not an extremely complex wine, the Le Grand Pinot Noir 2009 is quite good considering its average low price of $8.99 a bottle.  In fact, I find the wine to be better than some higher-priced red Burgundies.  Pairing well with salads, various cheese platters, game birds, and fish dishes including salmon and tuna, this is a good wine to enjoy with light, summertime fare, as well as with hearty pork!  Although Le Grand Pinot Noir’s logo may contain a black sheep, this wine is certainly an inexpensive winner in my book!

Because this is a such an inexpensive, versatile wine, this would be an excellent choice to purchase by the case when throwing a party. To really impress your guests, store and serve from an elegant wine credenza, a combination wine storage cabinet and serving table!

Though you may have a “good” bottle of wine on your hands, serving it at an inappropriate temperature can completely ruin it.  As a rule, a wine should be served at a temperature where its flavors and aromas are most exposed.  This “ideal” temperature, of course, varies based on the wine.  Here are a few ballpark numbers:

Warm, spicy reds are often best served between 61° and 64°, while medium bodied reds often fall between 58° and 61°.  Fruity reds are nice usually around 53° and 55°.  Oaked white wines often open well at 52°, while medium-bodied and lighter wines like Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc range between 48° and 52°.  Very sweet, sparkling whites are often ideal between 42° and 46°, and Champagne tends to be great at around 43°.

These numbers are general guidelines, based on personal taste, so be aware that every wine has its own ideal temperature that can deviate!  If you’re ever unsure about a wine’s correct serving temperature, serve it a little cooler than room temperature.  If it is too cold, it will still open up over time while it seeks room temperature.  For discriminating temperature control, consider investing in a wine cooling unit like the EuroCave Elite.  It’s amazing what a profound effect a few degrees can have on a glass of wine.  With a such a precise wine cooling cabinet at your disposal, you can have fun discovering the ideal  temperatures of your favorite wines.  (And no longer is your wine at the mercy of environmental temperature fluctuations!)

It’s no secret that we love EuroCave wine cabinets!  Especially for someone living in a more contemporary home, these units fit seamlessly into virtually any space with a little bit of creativity.  Not only do they provide a perfect environment for wine, they also compliment your home environment. EuroCave cabinets are aesthetically pleasing pieces of furniture.  There are numerous options from which you can choose while customizing your EuroCave wine cabinet, and the customization process is a breeze when purchasing through Vintage Cellars (If you want to talk to a knowledgeable, friendly wine storage expert about your options, just give us a call!).  EuroCave cabinets are available in a variety of finishes to better match your household’s furnishings, and you can even opt for glass doors to show off your collection!  There aren’t many quality wine cabinets that perform as elegantly as they look; the EuroCave series looks gorgeous and functions just as beautifully.  These wine cabinets are truly gems.

If you’ve ever wanted a way to put wine storage in your dining room, living room or other social space without altering the look and feel of your space, EuroCave‘s fine-furniture looks will definitely be to your liking. Today, I want to feature one of the most elegant wine cabinets on the market: the EuroCave Elite 283 with glass doors.

The EuroCave Elite series features solid beechwood cabinetry in a choice of 8 finish options, including the choice of leaving it unfinished so that you can have it custom finished to match other furniture. As you can see in the above photo, EuroCave’s finishes are rich and almost mirror-shiny. We have mahogany finished cabinets available on the website, but you can call us to order another finish. Our staff will be happy to help you choose the right options for your EuroCave cabinet.

Your EuroCave Elite 283 single-temperature cabinet comes with 2 adjustable shelves, one display shelf and four beech-trimmed rolling shelves. But if you like to customize, you’ll be pleased to know that you can order adjustable display shelves, rolling tasting shelves and presentation shelves as upgrades to your cabinet. Seen through the glass door, the wood-trimmed shelves add to the rich looks of this French-styled cabinet. But if you prefer, you can also get this cabinet with a solid wood door.

The EuroCave Elite 283 holds approximately 223 bottles, depending on shelf configuration and the size of your bottles. It will keep each and every bottle perfectly chilled, and with humidity management systems it will also keep the corks in great shape so you’re never disappointed by corked bottles. If you like to store both reds and whites, you may want to look at the multi-temperature version as well. Basically, EuroCave has thought of everything; the EuroCave Elite cabinets combine elegance and style with top of the line cooling and humidity management, along with enough options to ensure you get exactly what you want from your wine cabinet.

Oh, and did I mention: The EuroCave Elite wine cabinets are currently on sale for around $1000 off their regular retail price. Find a better price somewhere else? We’ll do our best to match it. Just give us a call at 1-800-876-8789.

Wine collectors used to have to settle for a cellar.  They had to leave the temperature and humidity up to nature, and as a result, they’d often end up with mold-covered corks and bad bottles.  But the modern wine collector doesn’t face these same challenges.  Available to him are sophisticated tools to help ensure that his wine collection ages to perfection.

One of the very best modern tools is the EuroCave wine cabinet.  EuroCave’s wine cabinets are so well-made that they can be found in over 70% of the UK’s Michelin-starred restaurants.  EuroCave has been one of the most well-respected wine cabinet makers for over 30 years.

Wine’s worst enemy is change.  Fluctuations in temperature and humidity can easily cause a bottle of wine to go bad, so a wine cabinet that provides consistency is a priceless tool to the modern wine collector.  EuroCave cabinets are constructed to withstand both low and high temperatures, so you could even keep your cabinet in a place like the garage–usually off-limits to collectors.

EuroCave cabinets also have a digital temperature readout that allow you to keep tabs on your wine’s environment with just a glance, and an alarm that lets you know if a door has been left open or the humidity has dropped too low.

EuroCave also offers customizable shelving, allowing you to fit in magnums, 3-liter bottles, Bordeaux bottles, and splits.  You can also opt for some bin storage that allows you to maximize the amount of bottles you can store.  EuroCave cabinets come in a variety of styles and finishes so that you can tailor this functional piece of furniture to you aesthetic specifications.

If you’re a serious wine collector, you need a serious wine cabinet.  EuroCave is one of the best out there….and Vintage Cellars has FREE SHIPPING on most EuroCave cabinets so it’s a great time to buy.

There’s no doubt about it: a high-quality wine cabinet large enough to fit a growing collection is quite an investment.  If you’re going to shell out the money, you want to make sure that it will be well-spent.  There are a lot of options out there, raising the question: what should I look for in a wine cabinet?

Vinotheque wine cabinets are a very popular option.  The Vinotheque name has long been associated with wine cabinets that are both of high quality and aesthetic beauty.  There’s no doubt that this reputation is a deserved one.  But in our opinion, what really sets Vinotheque apart is its customizable options.

Wine cabinets have to go somewhere, which means that you can’t just plunk down any old wooden box in the dining room, no matter how well it controls temperature and humidity.  Wine cabinets need to be functional, of course, but they also need to be beautiful.

Vintotheque offers many different options, meaning that you can customize your wine cabinet to fit exactly into both the physical space you need it to go, and the visual space it needs to occupy to look like a part of the room that was always meant to be there.

One of the many things Vinotheque lets you customize is doors.  There are dozens of different Vinotheque doors to choose from.  Since the door is the most visible part of your wine cabinet, choosing the door that perfectly suits your decor can take your wine cabinet a long way towards making your dining room, entertainment room, or kitchen area look perfect.  A few of its unique options are:

Wrought iron doors.  They offer a variety, but this one, with its elegant grape clusters and intertwining vines, especially caught our eye.

Southwest-style doors.  We love the traditional, classic Spanish look of these.

Secret doors.  So cool!  Artfully conceals your wine collection, and doubles as a perfect tasting area.  Vinotheque also offers sleek, modern glass doors and hand-carved wooden doors with old-world elegance.

Vinotheque offers a huge variety of racking styles.  You can customize a variety that maximizes storage and also beautifully displays bottles.  You can accommodate extra large bottles, magnums, and even splits.

Vinotheque cabinets are available in many different materials, from easy-to-clean stainless steel wine cabinets perfect for a modern kitchen to classic wood that can be stained the perfect shade to match your existing furniture.  The cabinets can be free-standing, or even built in to your existing cabinetry.  If you don’t like that option, Vinotheque can build extra cabinet space around your wine cabinet for a large, gorgeous unit that can make the room.  As a finishing touch, Vinotheque can light up your collection with LED lights that really add a touch of wow to your collection.

These are only a few of the ways that Vinotheque can customize the perfect wine cabinet for you.  There’s no doubt that with all the options, the cabinetmakers at Vinotheque can create a cabinet that is truly a piece of art. However, they are much more than just a pretty cabinet. Vinotheque offers a top-of-the line cooling system that comes with a digital readout and an in-bottle thermometer that maintains perfect accuracy by keeping track of the temperature of the actual wine inside the bottle.

In our opinion, there really aren’t enough nice things to say about the Vinotheque wine cabinets.  To house your collection and help it age gracefully, we think you can’t do better than Vinotheque.