If you own one or more restaurants that sell wine, installing commercial wine cellars Houston TX in them should be at the top of your list of facility priorities. Why is this so important? Because when your guests order a bottle of wine that they hope will be the perfect complement to their meal, they expect it to taste a certain way; and if your wine storage is less than ideal, you could end up serving wine that tastes off at best and spoiled at worst. Oxidation, when a wine has been exposed to too much oxygen, and maderization, when a wine has been exposed to too much heat, are just two of the ways that the smell and taste of wine can be ruined by improper storage. If you want to ensure that your customers get the wine they pay for and the wine you want them to have, your wine storage must control these environmental variables:

Commercial Wine Cellars In Dallas TX: Temperature

If the temperature in your wine storage area rises above 70℉ for any length of time, your wine can age too quickly. Temperatures in the 80s or higher can cook your wine, resulting in flat aroma and flavor. On the flipside, temperatures that are too cold can dry out and shrink corks, allowing air into the bottles. The ideal temperature for wine is 55℉, though a range of between 45℉ and 65℉ is acceptable. Most importantly, temperatures must not fluctuate wildly up and down in your wine storage area.

Commercial Wine Cellars Houston TX: Humidity

A constant humidity of 70% is ideal for wine storage. Though humidity control isn’t quite as important as temperature control, too much or too little humidity will affect your wine adversely. Below about 50% humidity, the corks in your wine can dry out and allow air into the bottles; above 80% and you could develop a mold problem. If your wine is properly bottled, the mold will likely just affect the labels.

Commercial Wine Cellars Dallas TX: Light

Winemakers use colored bottles for a reason and that reason is that light exposure, especially UV light, can degrade and prematurely age wine. A properly designed and constructed commercial wine cellar will have LED or cool fluorescent lighting that will allow your staff to see wine labels but that won’t adversely affect the wine in the way that sunlight, incandescent bulbs and halogen bulbs can.

Commercial Wine Cellars In Dallas TX: Angle

Traditionally, wine bottles are stored on their sides to ensure that there is constant contact between the liquid and the cork to keep the cork from drying out and allowing oxygen into the bottle. But if you move your wine out of your storage fairly quickly or you have bottles that are sealed with screw tops or plastic or glass corks, then you don’t have store them horizontally. You’ll find, however, that horizontal storage is a space-saver and won’t harm your wine.

Commercial Wine Cellars Houston TX: Vibration

Although there is a school of thought that even minor vibrations can speed up the chemical reactions in wine, there really isn’t much scientific evidence to back this up. It is, however, a good idea to keep older wines from being shaken too much because shaking or excessive vibration can disturb their sediment, making them unpleasantly gritty to drink.

For the best in commercial wine cellars Houston TX, call us at Vineyard Wine Cellars at (866) 615-4008 to schedule a consultation. You can also visit us online to see a gallery of our completed projects.