Why Concrete Walls of Wine Cellars Need to be insulated?

If you are a wine enthusiast you should always value the worth of having a well designed wine cellar. Wine cellars can store and age a wine to portray its real flavors, aroma and taste. When you start collecting wine with a few initial bottles, you may never imagine that the collection could go as high as few hundred bottles. Now, storing more than hundred bottles in their pristine state can be done only in a temperature controlled and well ventilated wine cellar. Wine storage unit can be placed in the cabinet, in any of the favorable rooms or ideally the basement. When stored in ideal conditions your precious wine bottles will be protected from their arch enemies such as dryness, heat and light. A good wine cellar is that which has constant temperature, low humidity and a relative darkness around. Wine is a perishable and sensitive food product; it can be damaged if there are fluctuations in temperature, heat and exposure to light. All types of wine can be destroyed when not stored well. However, a wine cellar preserves the aroma, flavor and taste of wine.

When you are starting out on wine collection it is important to have a mixture of old age and new age wines.  It is similarly important to understand the variants within the cellar. You should have some knowledge about how the variants can spoil your precious bottle of wine. Cellar insulation is perhaps the most important variant for wine preservation. The insulation features in the wine cellar support the cooling system. Insulation, though important in all types of wine cellars, is especially vital for cellars that are exposed to the external surroundings. There are various cellars that are not constructed in ideal areas of the property. In such instances the heat and humidity can penetrate from the walls and ceilings. To protect the wines, you need to have a vapor barrier and a well insulated room. The insulation within the wine cellar makes sure that the temperature does not fluctuate and the humidity remains within the ideal range. Implementing proper wine cellar insulation also allows you to save money on the energy consumption bills. Paying large sums for energy consumption is as scary as losing the precious wine bottle. With proper insulation you can protect yourself against both these unpleasant instances.

Insulating a wine cellar not only includes the concrete walls, but the windows, doors, outlet boxes and various other fixtures. There are a range of materials used to assure proper insulation of the room. Foam board is one such material. It is a versatile and rigid material which performs admirably when installed correctly. The wine cellar should be insulated with drywall or gyprock, both of which are waterproof components. Having your ceiling and walls insulated with at least 6” of fiberglass is also a good idea. Fiberglass is a superb insulating material and is used widely in wine cellar insulation.

The insulation you choose for the wine cellar would depend on a few factors. These factors include: the area where your cellar is situated, materials used in its construction and types of wines you intend to store within it. Budget too plays an important role in the selection of insulating materials. Insulating cellars over the ground are much tougher than those situated underground (in the basement). Over the ground cellars should be necessarily protected with a high performance vapor barrier. This will keep the moisture out. The walls of a wine cellar should have an insulation rating of R-13 while the floors and ceilings should have a rating of R-19.

If you want to taste the best wines, preserved in the wine cellar, then pay a close attention to the insulation of the room.