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.

1. These Diamond Cube wine racks.  You can stack them to fit your space perfectly, and the shape is so unique and cool.

2.  This Vinotheque Wine Credenza.  It’s a beautiful place to display your family photos, it’s a buffet table, and it’s top-of-the-line, climate-controlled wine cabinet.

3.  This 6-bottle Monterey WineKeeper system.  Ok, so you’d probably have to be a restaurant owner to need this model, but that doesn’t mean you can’t dream, right?  This system would mean that you could open multiple bottles at once for a tasting, and then keep them fresh for weeks. And we have the more reasonably-sized ones, too, if you just can’t see giving up your microwave for this baby.

4.  This VintageView Floor-to-Ceiling Wine Rack.  There’s something to be said for the modern touches in wine cellars, and it’s pretty cool to be able to display all your bottle labels.

5.  This Eurocave Performance 3-Temperature Wine Cabinet.  The king of all wine cabinets. Three temperature zones. No bottle need ever be improperly chilled again.

You love wine.  You spend a lot of time drinking it, thinking about it, and buying it.  You’d love to start a real collection rather than stashing the bottle haphazardly on a rack in your kitchen, but you live in a small loft apartment.  There’s hardly enough room for your stuff, let alone enough empty space for a wine cellar or even a wine refrigerator.  Your dreams of a great wine collection have been dashed against the rocks of your cramped reality.  Right?  Wrong.

A lack of space doesn’t make collecting wine impossible.  You just have to get creative.  Many reputable wine refrigerator manufacturers also make small wine cabinets that are perfect for the collector with big dreams and small spaces.  These wine cabinets are just like their full-sized counterparts: they are outfitted with high-tech humidity and temperature controls designed for wine storage.  Storing your wine in the proper environment is what makes it age well.  The right climate will provide a cool, moist place for your bottles, letting the reactions between the chemicals in the wine, which give properly aged wine its rich, nuanced flavor, a chance to happen.  Wine cabinets keep these same chemicals from being adversely affected by light, humidity fluctuations, and vibrations, thus protecting your investment and helping ensure that when you finally open that bottle of Cabernet, it will have been worth the wait.

There are a variety of different wine cabinet sizes out there, each one perfect for a unique storage situation.  There are wine cabinets out there that hold 200 bottles or less.  For sincerely limited storage space, there are even wine cabinets that can fit under the counter in your home or restaurant—they’re only about 30 inches high, and they hold 30 bottles.  Avanti makes several wine refrigerators with a compact design that can be freestanding or be easily installed under a counter.  They have a sleek, modern look and digital controls that allow you to adjust the conditions inside the cabinet with the touch of a button.

Another option for the space-challenged is a wine credenza.  A credenza is a long, low cabinet that is usually seen in a dining room.  Some companies make credenzas in luxurious woods with beautiful detailing—you can place them alongside a wall in your dining room and they are both a practical and beautiful way to show off your collection.  Since the credenza performs double duty, it is a great way to save space.  The top of the credenza can be used as a sideboard for serving food, as a bar area, or as a place to display your fine china or other kitchenware.  Vinotheque makes some of the most functional and aesthetically pleasing wine credenzas out there.

Moral of the story: don’t be deterred from collection because you don’t have the space.  Think outside the cellar and check out some of the great solutions for wine storage in small spaces that are out there.

 Let me start by asking you a simple question; how much do you spend on wine each year?  For most people, the passion for wine starts with a bottle here and a bottle there.  The next thing you know, you have a wine rack on the kitchen counter with 8 bottles.  It might be time to start considering protecting the investment.  Wine purchased off your favorite 90 point scale for under $25 can still benefit and remain fresh under the proper conditions. 

 Ideal wine storage conditions are a constant 55 degrees with a relative humidity about 70%, away for direct sunlight, heat and vibration.  When you consider a wine storage cabinet, my first recommendation: stay within your budget.  My second: consider the space or location available.  Wine cabinets come in all shapes and sizes, from 6 bottles to 600 so my last recommendation: don’t undersize. 

 When I began collecting, I made that error.  I filled a 56 bottle Avanti cabinet within 6 months.  After gaining some experience in the matter, a 220 bottle cabinet was the perfect size to fit my wine collecting habit.  Wine tasting and collecting can quickly become an addiction.  Allow yourself room to grow.

Location and available space are very important factors.  Wine cabinets and wine refrigerators come in all physical sizes but they have something in common: cooling.  There are front, side and rear venting cabinets designed to fit just about any space.  Make sure you consultant with a wine cabinet specialist to make sure the cooling system in the cabinet will work in your environment.  Not all cabinets can operate in a garage setting due to extreme summer temperatures.   Many wine cabinets can only operate with exterior temperatures less then 80 degrees.  A top venting wine cabinet will need about 17 inches of head room for air exchange.  Side and rear venting cabinets also need space to exchange air.  Consult an expert.   

 Keeping budget in mind (like all “appliances” or “furniture”) you can go affordable to top of the line.  There is a simple formula to consider: take the number of bottles the cabinet stores and multiply it by the average price per bottle you would store.  The more expensive your bottles, the more you want to protect that investment with the highest quality product available.   

 You may be at the beginning, middle or maxed out your collection.  Either way, make sure you consider budget, location and size when purchasing a wine cabinet.