An organised wine cellar matters because it makes access a lot easier, saves time and makes for a great display. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of effort and know-how to achieve that perfect combination of preservation and aesthetics in your wine cellar. So, how do you go about the organisation?
Tips on How to Organise Your Wine Cellar
Invest in the Right Shelving System
Choosing a shelving/rack system is perhaps the most important part of the organisation process. These storage spaces will not only determine how well the wine is preserved but will also influence the overall aesthetics once you are done organising.
With plenty of options to choose from, it can be a little overwhelming to find the perfect wine cellar racks for your needs. However, a good idea is to go for bespoke options. Such tailored cellar shelving systems are perfect because their customisability ensures they meet both space and aesthetic needs.
Select Sorting Criteria
Once you have the shelves ready, the next step is to choose sorting criteria for your bottles. This, basically, involves coming up with a logical system that determines what bottle goes where on the shelves. Some popular sorting methods you can use include grape variety, country of origin, age or occasion. But you can use your own criteria, based on what you have in the collection.
When categorising the bottles, it is a good idea to tag them – use small neck tags, removable stickers or chalkboard labels to note things like wine name, year, origin and tasting notes. Again, you can include other notes depending on your sorting criteria.
Digitalise Your Inventory
Another step you should take in your wine cellar organisation is digitising your inventory. That is particularly essential when your collection has 20+ bottles.
Digitalising your inventory is simply using an inventory app, like CellarTracker, or a custom spreadsheet to keep track of your bottles. With the use of such tech, you can check things like aging progress or drink-by dates by simply searching by keyword.
Conclusion
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to organising a wine cellar. So, do not hesitate to mix and match ideas until you find a system that fits your needs to a T.
