The Regular Guy's (or Gal's) Wine Cellar - Storage on a Budget

Every so often the Wine Spectator does a feature on somebody's wine cellar and it's usually a really nice one that cost a lot of money to build. The racks are usually a really nice wood like redwood and the rest of the cellar is carefully appointed and features wonderful design elements. It's usually pretty big, with enough storage for 3,000 bottles or so. And of course there is a cooling unit for the air tight space. These are also expensive with "through the wall" units costing anywhere from 700 to 4,000 dollars depending on the size of your cellar. The total build cost for one of these fancy cellars can approach $50,000, well beyond the means of most wine lovers who are contemplating such a move. There's a cellar builder called Vigilant that publishes approximate cellar costs. My cellar is about 150 square feet and you'll see on their chart that their approximate cost for a cellar that size is $54k to $63K. That is a ridiculous amount of scratch. Just in time for my post, the Oct 31st issue of the Spectator has arrived and there is a long feature on "The Contemporary Cellar". It features seven wine storage units or "closets". Now I don't begrudge anyone for what they've been able to earn in their professional life but these folks appear to have figured out how to turn a 500 bottle closet into a $50,000 project. In reality, not one of the closets featured has it's build cost revealed. I guess that in Wine Spectator land, if you have to ask, you can't afford it. I'd give you the link but you can't read anything in the Spectator without a subscription.

Well I'm here to tell you that you can build a wine cellar for way less than that. We built our house in 1993 and once we were moved in and settled, I embarked on a cellar build with the help of my father-in-law, a professional contractor for most of his career. My basement is not quite square and I picked the not square corner to put up two walls with a door. This would give me a L-shaped cellar with room for metal grid racks and shelves in the skinny part of the L. Each shelf was designed to hold 4 cases of Bordeaux in the wooden boxes they ship in. Though there is room for about 2,000 bottles I never approached that number. At it's peak, my cellar had about 700 bottles in it, the vast majority costing me under $30 per bottle. For someone just beginning on their wine journey, there are plenty of 15-20 dollar bottles you can purchase to experiment aging with.

Above is a picture of the interior corner that uses the poured concrete walls of my basement and the skinny part of the L with the case boxes. Now my cellar isn't completely airtight but it's been absolutely perfect for aging bottles. I still have some Italians, Cali cabs and Bordeaux from the late 80's and they are in perfect shape. Because there is some outside influence, my cooling unit doesn't even run in the winter as my cellar temp drops to around 50 degrees.

As for cost, the total cost of my cellar in today's dollars would be about $2,500 in materials - tops. And that includes about $350 for the materials for two walls including two inch thick foam insulation, $600 for 6 black tie grid racks and $1200 for a through the wall cooling unit that I don't even have anymore - and here's why. This past June my through the wall cooling unit died after 10 years or so of dedicated service. When I went looking for a replacement I found that they were now about $1200 for my sized cellar. The sales rep also told me that the shelf life of these units was about 5-7 years. Well with a kid in college and the higher cost of everything nowadays, there's no way I was going to spend that. So I went looking for alternatives. I found a forum thread where the guys were chatting about cooling with off the shelf air conditioners and it made a lot of sense. So off to Sears I went and I bought a 5,000 BTU window air conditioner for $180. We modified the opening in the wall of the cellar and installed it.

I was miffed at first that despite the control being set at 60 degrees, the unit only brought the temperature down to 65 degrees. Then I remembered a post in the thread I had read that said that you could fool the air conditioner into cooling a couple of degrees cooler by pulling the thermostat, which is connected to a wire, out of the unit and letting it dangle in front. It worked! Now the unit cools to 62 degrees, which is plenty cool enough for my purposes. The energy saver mode lets the unit run only when it needs to. In addition, having a more powerful unit than I would normally need for the size of the space I'm cooling keeps the humidity from dropping too low. It's keeping steady at about 50%. Now if you add up my materials cost you're talking about $1,130 in materials for a 2,000 bottle cellar. If your handy with a hammer and the other tools you'll need, it's about 2 or 3 days work. Even if you have to hire someone for the build, you're talking another couple of thousand dollars which is still way less than the fancy cellars. Cheers everyone.

New Wine for an Old Dog - Prunotto Barbera d'Asti "Fiulot" 2011

I've never been a huge Barbera fan. Even though my all time favorite grape Nebbiolo hails from the same region of Italy, Barbera has just never thrilled me. It's an acidic grape that frequently makes very high-toned, acidic wines that really need food - especially something like pizza, where the acidity of the tomato sauce lends itself to a wine made from Barbera as a companion. There are a lot of single vineyard Barberas nowadays that sell for $25 or so, but good entry level, everyday versions are especially hard to find. Well, not any more I guess.

Barbera is the third most widely planted grape in Italy, coming in behind Sangiovese and Montepulciano. The most common bottlings bear the Barbera d'Asti and the Barbera d'Alba designations with the versions from Asti usually being lighter and more delicate than the bolder Alba versions. Prunotto is one of the great names of Piedmont, having produced top bottlings in the region since 1905. Their sought after Barolos fetch high prices all over the world and it is a winery that always seems to produce quality product.

Such is the case with this wonderful $11.99 version. It's got all the dark plummy fruit aromas you expect from this grape, along with complex supporting notes of black pepper and earth. This really is a very aromatic wine. In the mouth it's got plenty of plum and dark berry flavors to balance out that typical Barbera acidity. Make no mistake, this is a food wine but I''m having no trouble sipping this beauty while I'm sitting here logging this post. It's absolutely the best everyday Barbera I've ever had.
Imported by Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. Cheers.

Spanish Value Again! Los Dos 2012

I don't know how they do it, but there is something amazing about the level of quality coming out of Spain. When you can find a $6.99 wine like Los Dos you begin to realize that you can drink more wine without your finances taking a major hit. So what if it's Monday, we'll open a bottle anyway! Another great find of one of the best importers we have here in the States, Winebow, Los Dos is a sure everyday winner.

This blend of 85% Grenache and 15% Syrah is produced for Winebow by the Bodegas Aragonesas, a co-op in the Campo de Borja DO of northeastern Spain. Grenache is common here but Syrah is not, so this blend is a bit unusual for the region. This is high altitude fruit as the 35 - 50 year old vines sit at around 2000 ft. in rocky soils that are rich in clay and iron. Campo de Borja is a very hot and dry region, but night time cooling breezes from the Mediterranean slow down the ripening and keep the acidity of the grapes from dropping to low. There's no wood on this wine. It's fermented entirely in stainless steel and bottled quickly to maintain it's aromatic freshness.

As the wine consultant for the popular and wonderful Nomad Pizza in Philadelphia, I can't tell how thrilled I was to find Los Dos. Pennsylvania has a state controlled liquor system and restaurants have to buy their product from the state at full retail markup. It's quite a challenge finding wines that are both cheap enough and good enough to pour by the glass.

Los Dos features forthcoming aromas of blueberry, blackberry and a bit of Grenache peppery spice. It's fruit forward, offering up soft, mouth filling dark berry and plum flavors while retaining enough acidity to keep it fresh and lively tasting. It finishes long, with coffee and a roasted fruit note on the back end. This is absolutely one of the best bargains I've come across this year and may just be the perfect pizza wine. Cheers everyone!

Underrated Southern Italian White - Donnachiara Fiano di Avellino 2011

Southern Italian white wines are vastly underrated and under appreciated wines, especially the ones from Campania, which takes in the area around Naples, Salerno and the countryside to the east. Yes it's hot, but varietals like Falanghina, Fiano and Greco thrive in the heat, giving good fruit while retaining vibrant acidity for balance. Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo are the most well known commercially, while Falanghina is still a hard sell of sorts for American retailers. Fiano is an interesting grape and one I might dub - if I were prone to sloganeering - the "Chardonnay of the South". There's similarities that I can't help but notice. Fiano is the varietal that gives the most body and texture of the three, and clearly has a similar flavor profile to the world's most popular white grape.

Fiano shows best from the hilly area around Avellino, where the volcanic soils can lend minerality to the juice, and it's got a history in Campania that goes back centuries. The Donnachiara winery is located in Montefalcione on a ridge between two rivers. The vineyards, as well as olive and fruit trees, sit on the ridge, parts of which rise to 1500 ft. of altitude. It's a very new winery, having been established in 2005. But the cultivation of grapes on this property goes back 150 years or so, and it's been owned by the same family for the duration.

The Donnachiara Fiano di Avellino, which cost me $11.99, is a delicious example of the varietal. If I had tasted this blind, I might have guessed it was a good everyday chardonnay from the Macon sub-region of Burgundy. It's got beautiful aromas of pear, yellow peach and almonds. It's beautiful texture is very Chardonnay like, and it's medium-bodied orchard fruit flavors are balanced by zingy acidity. Retaining acidity is so critical to hot climate whites such as this, as too much ripeness can drop the acidity too low, leaving you with a flabby, dull wine.

This wonderful entry level Fiano di Avellino went beautifully with a clam zuppa that my wife made us last night, the firm acidity balancing the shellfish quite nicely. It's imported by Michelangelo Selections of Manhasset, NY. Cheers.

The Utter Joy of Rose´ Season - Dinastia Vivanco Rioja Rose´ 2012

Nothing makes me happier in the hot weather than a nice cool Rose´. I like the the chill, the sometimes bold fruit flavors and the ability to pair them with - well - just about anything. In this case it was a Father's Day feast prepared by my lovely wife featuring cornmeal, cumin and coriander crusted soft shell crabs with red chile rice. Soft shell crabs are such a treat and when they go on sale, even a bit late in their season, it's tough not to pounce. So she pounced.

Rose´s can run the gamut in styles from light and delicate Gamay rose´s from the Loire Valley or Pinot Noir rose´s from Germany to darker, bolder styles from the warmer climates like Southern France, Italy and Spain. I like both styles of course but there's something I really like about the latter style. Yes in your face reds can sometimes turn me off but there's something I like about a rose´ that gets in your glass and screams, "Here I am!" The Dinastia Vivanco Rioja Rose´ 2012 did just that.

Dinastia Vivanco has been around since 1915, though in a commercial sense the winery is younger than that. The family was really only making wine on a very small scale early on. This wonderful wine is a blend comprised of 85% Tempranillo and 15% Grenache. The skin contact is limited to 12-24 hours to achieve the translucent pink color and then fermented at cool temperatures to maintain aromatic complexity. It's got big aromas of strawberry, raspberry, rose petal and minty nuances, large scaled red berry flavors and a finishing note of sweet cream. It went perfectly with the soft shell crabs and enhanced a great dinner outdoors on a beautiful day. Imported by Opici Imports, this is one fantastic $11.99 rose´ you should seek out. Cheers.

Update - Bodegas Atalaya "Laya" 2012

Because I've had so many hits on my write up of the 2010 version of this wonderful everyday red, I thought it fitting that I take a taste of the current 2012 vintage as well. If I wanted to keep it brief, I'd just say, "buy it", you can't do any better for $7.99. But we'll delve a little deeper anyway. And deeper might refer to the color of this wine as well as everything else. The 2010 was listed on the Orowines website (Orowines and the Juan Gil Estates are partners in this and several other Spanish wine projects) as being being 70% Garnacha Tintorera which is also known as Alicante Bouschet. The 2012 however is listed as being 70% Garnacha (Grenache). These are 2 different varietals with the former being a cross of Grenache and Petit Bouschet. There's a big difference between the two and I'd be surprised if there was that big a change in the blend between 2010 and 2012. An email to Orowines and the Gil Estates regarding the blend cleared up the Mystery. The blend is in fact 70% Garnacha Tintorera and 30% Monastrell - except for the Swedish market where for some reason they reverse it to 70% Monastrell and 30% Garnacha Tintorera. Go figure.

Peter Wellington, whose Chardonnay I wrote up in my last post, gave me some great information on Alicante Bouschet when my wife and I visited the winery last year. Wellington has some very old Alicante Bouschet vines on his property dating back to early last century. He told us that it was favored by many California winemakers for not only the big color it gave wine, but for it's very tough skin. He said that you could literally drop an Alicante Bouschet grape on the floor and it would bounce. This made it a very easy grape to transport all over the valley without damaging the fruit.

Anyhow, the 2012 Laya is still one of the best entry level values on the market. Deep, dark and dense purple in color (which is typical of Alicante Bouschet), this great little wine delivers what many wines in the category can't. Beautiful aromas of ripe plum, blueberry, cola, roast coffee and a touch of damp earth lead to large scaled flavors. There's a slight jammy quality to the blueberry and blackberry fruit, though not enough to turn me off. It's not over ripe. It finishes long and lightly tannic with nice balancing acidity. Don't miss it. If you haven't tried the many other everyday Spanish wines the Bodegas Juan Gil produces, you should definitely search them out. Cheers!

California Dreamin' - Wellington Chardonnay Sonoma 2010

I must admit I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to Chardonnay. I've always loved the French styles the most - from the everyday Macon wines to the high end versions from the Cote de Beaune. And though I've never had the good fortune or the dollar fortune to try a Grand Cru, I have tried many a Premier Cru and village wine from Puligny Montrachet, Chassagne Montrachet and Meursault. They are, for my money, the best Chardonnays in the world hands down.

California, and in particular Napa and Sonoma, are warm and getting warmer. Chardonnay is a cool climate grape and the problem with Chardonnay in too warm a climate is that when the ripeness of the grapes goes up too high, the acidity goes down, and you are left with a dull, flabby version of Chardonnay. Combine that lower acid fruit with too much barrel treatment, perhaps including some malolactic fermentation, and you have a wine that easily gets overpowered by whatever dish you're trying to pair it with. Malolactic fermentation is a secondary fermentation that you either let happen or you stop it from happening. Most reds get it and Chardonnays frequently get it to varying degrees. It's what gives some Chardonnays their buttery flavors and textures. When you pick up a Chardonnay in the store, you can't tell how much malo is on it but you can tell something of the ripeness of the grapes from the alcohol level. And when Chardonnay starts getting up to 14.5% or even 15% alcohol, the chances are I'm going to hate it. This Chardonnay though comes in at a balanced 13.8%.

Wellington Vineyards is a small family owned Sonoma winery that produces nicely valued wines. They are only a step shy of certified organic and they are 100% solar powered. A couple of blocks of their vines planted with Zinfandel, Carignan, Grenache, Syrah and Alicante Bouschet date back to 1912 and 1924 while another block dates back to 1895.

The $13.99 2010 Sonoma Chardonnay is made partly with estate fruit and partly with purchased fruit. 25% is fermented in stainless steel and the rest is barrel fermented in 90% French oak - only a small portion of which is new. It's kind of Burgundian in the aromas, with oak spice, poached pear and green apple leading the way. It's got a lovely smooth, medium bodied texture balanced with zingy acidity. The pear and spice notes dominate the flavors and it finishes long, even and bright. This wine is a wonderful value that you should seek out if you like California Chardonnay. Distributed by one of my favorites, Maximum Wine Co. Cheers!

Sacred River, Sacred Wine - Alqueira Ribeira Sacra 2011

If Rioja is Spain's Bordeaux, then this DO in Spain's extreme northwest might be it's Burgundy. With vines planted on impossibly steep hillsides, the wines of Ribeira Sacra can be incredibly complex, offering distinct mineral tones in the aromas and lighter styled flavors in the mouth. A Google images search of this area will give you an idea of the beauty that defines this river valley. It's name comes from the 18 or so monasteries that were built here in the middle ages, and though the Romans first cultivated wine grapes here more than 2,000 years ago, the area fell out of production in the 20th century. Recently though, things have changed. A new breed of young, ambitious winemakers have rebuilt terraces, replanted vines and revitalized the area. Eric Asimov's feature on Ribeira Sacra for the NY Times in 2009 is a great read. The steepness of the hillsides along the river are reminiscent of the hillsides that the best German Reislings come from.

The 2011 Alqueira is a 100% Mencia cuvee, one of three indigenous red varietals permitted in the zone. To me, this $14.99 beauty is exactly what wine exploration is all about. It's soil driven aromas lead with distinct stoniness and brown spices followed by bright red cherry fruit. In the mouth, the flavors reminded me of a good, though more complex Beaujolais Villages, with tangy cherry and raspberry flavors. There's bright acidity, and a long slightly tart finish with black pepper, floral and cranberry notes. It's definitely one of those wines I could sit and ponder for awhile after dinner.

The Alqueira went really well with the shrimp quesadillas with spinach, shitakes and pepper jack that my wonderful wife cooked up for us tonight. It's imported by one of my favorites Polaner Selections. Cheers.

Another Day, Another Nero d'Avola - Tenuta Rapitala Campo Reale 2011

I haven't written this bottling up for awhile but I'm sure glad I picked up the current vintage at my local shop last weekend. I'm not sure why, but entry level Nero d'Avolas can be so elegant and almost burgundy-like, translucent with wonderful secondary aromas and flavors. The more expensive examples that are deep, dark and heavily extracted are, for my money, frequently one dimensional and less interesting.

Tenuta Rapitala's vines for this bottling sit at around 400 meters in altitude and the soil is mostly sand and clay. It's fermented in stainless steel and then 20% of the wine gets four months in used oak - just enough to give it some structure and spice without overshadowing the fruit. This is about as pleasing and flavorful as you can get for $9.99.

Light see-through ruby in color, the aromas yield spicy black cherry and raspberry with supporting elements of leather and iron. With a velvety texture, the medium bodied red berry flavors finish long and pleasant with soft tannins and a note of bitter cherry on the back end. This went great with balsamic glazed chicken wings and pasta with pesto. Imported by one of my faves, Frederick Wildman. Cheers.

"Love" Sicilian Style - Tasca d'Almerita Lamuri Nero d'Avola 2009

Apparently Lamuri means love in the local Sicilian dialect where this great little wine hails from. Well, a few sips of this $14.99 beauty will have you head over heels as well. It's interesting to me that a wine of such balance and finesse can be produced in such a hot climate. Perhaps the 2500 ft. altitude of the vines and the mere 2.4 tons per acre yield help with the balance before the grapes are even in the fermenter. Clay, limestone and sandy soils also contribute nuance to the flavors. Once fermentation is complete, the Lamuri spends a year in new and used French oak barrels.

Nero d'Avola is the most important grape of Sicily, indigenous and having been grown there for hundreds of years. It thrives in the heat and ripens without losing too much acidity. Tasca d'Almerita is a very large producer with properties all over the island and a couple of dozen or so bottlings. For me, usually smaller is better, but it's hard to quibble with a producer that always seems to make good stuff, despite the 3.3 million bottles or so produced annually.

The Lamuri leads with a translucent ruby color and wonderful bright red cherry and raspberry aromas complicated with smoke and herbal elements. The palate is medium bodied and smooth in texture with the bright red berries dominating and stony elements and a cinnamon note in the background. It finishes a bit short but very smooth with silky tannins. Imported by Winebow, this great little wine will go great with tomato sauces, bolognese or a simple grilled chicken. Cheers!

Cabernet is King - Vega Sindoa Cabernet Sauvignon '09

The everyday category is loaded with Cabs, probably hundreds, from every corner of the globe - the US, Australia, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, and France in the form of low cost Bordeaux. You rarely see them from Spain, which is surprising given that there is Cab in Spain, much of it having been brought there by the French a long time ago. Cab in Spain is most often blended with Tempranillo and other indigenous grapes, imparting it's usual black currant fruit, structure and aromatic complexity to the final product. You don't often see Cabernet from Spain bottled on it's own for $9.99.

Many of the everyday Cabs on the market are bland and uninteresting, very often so ripe and over treated with oak that the Cabernet character has been vinified out of them. What I look for in Cabernet is not only it's dark currant fruit, but those graphite and herbal elements in both the aromas and flavors that are unique to good Cabernet Sauvignon. Vega Sindoa is a brand of Bodegas Nekeas, a winery in the Navarra DO of Northern Spain, not far from Pomplona and the Pyrenees. According to the winery website, wine was produced in this valley as far back as the 17th century before the vines were devastated by phylloxera in the late 19th century.

Hillside fruit is best of course and with vineyard altitudes that range from 1400 to over 2000 ft., it's no wonder that these vineyards in clay and stones produce quality fruit. In fact, the Vega Sindoa Cabernet Sauvignon is absolutely one of the best $10 Cabernets I have ever had. Dark and dense in color, the beautiful primary aromas of black currant and black cherry are complemented by graphite, herbs and earth. The plum and currant flavors are quite large-scaled for a wine at this price point. Mouth filling and long, this beauty finishes with a bit of dusty tannins. It's imported by Tempranillo by way of Jorge Ordonez, whose Spanish portfolio is one of the best in the business. If you like wallet friendly Cabernet, you should really seek this wine out. There's an interesting Q & A with Mr. Ordonez in The Shanken New Daily from 2011. Bottoms up!

Warmer Weather and the Thirst for White - La Val Albarino 2011

It's a fact of wine life that with colder weather people drink more red and with warmer weather people drink more white. Any retailer will back that up. Personally, I've always been equal opportunity with regards to wine as the color I pick is most often related to what food is on the table. You don't really want Cabernet, Pinot Noir or even a Cotes du Rhone with a pasta with clam sauce do you? You want a nice crisp white with good acidity. But yesterday, as the local temps finally hit the 50 degree mark for the first time in awhile, I found myself craving a good, crisp, fruity white wine. And I realized that I had been drinking a lot of red. So even though a leg of lamb was on the menu, the appys of grilled asparagus and portobellos demanded a white and the La Val Albarino fit the bill nicely.

Albarino is a wonderful grape, giving bold fruit flavors with balancing acidity. It's grown in the extreme northwestern Spanish province of Galicia, on the Atlantic coast and the Portugese border. The official DO for these wines is Rias Baixas (ree-ahs-buy-shuss) and the La Val is from the second largest of the region's sub-zones called Condado de Tea. It's the warmest, most inland of the zones and though the average temperature is only 59 degrees, it can still get quite warm in the summer. In addition, there is a lot of granite and slate in the soil which contributes to the wines mineral undertones. Still, this is a fairly damp climate so the thick skin of these small green berries is important for resisting mold.

The La Val Albarino is fermented entirely in stainless steel and though it is aged on it's lees (which are the dead yeast cells) for awhile, there is no oak barrel aging at all. Aromatically, and despite the lack of oak, you're met with toasty/nutty aromas from the aging on the lees, as well as lemon zest and pear.  The medium bodied flavors feature pear and green apple with spice and toast notes and those stony undertones. There's excellent acidity, bringing everything into balance and a long, zingy finish. This $12.99 everyday winner is imported by Polaner Selections, one of my favorites. Bottoms up!