The best wine cabinets
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I recently moved house and for the first time in my life I have a tiny wine cellar – it is a crumbling, chilly corridor but it’s beautiful in my eyes. Even so, it’s not quite big enough for my vinous ambitions, which are unsuited to a city like London where cellar space is in short supply. So I’ve been eyeing up wine cabinets and coolers: but which model is right?
“The first question to ask yourself is: what’s it for? Cellaring bottles or entertaining?” says Tom Harrow, co-founder of wine merchant Honest Grapes and wine consultant to the jet set. “I have two wine cabinets for this reason. One is set at a steady, cellar temperature of 12-13ºC for everything, and another for white and champagne for serving, at 7-8ºC. You can also get wine cabinets with different temperature zones.
“The ‘right’ temperature for serving wine is personal – it’s more important that the temperature is kept steady,” Harrow adds. “Regular humidity is also crucial, so the cork doesn’t dry out. When looking at bottle capacity, bear in mind most designs are based on the classic Bordeaux bottle. Burgundy bottles tend to be fatter. So take capacity with a pinch of salt. It’s also good to have some more free-form storage in there for magnums and odd-sized bottles.”
Many in the trade recommend the French brand EuroCave (and its second label, Transtherm). Prices start at £1,770 for the 12-bottle Tête-à-Tête, rising to £14,300 for the V-Royale-L, a 124-bottle cabinet with adjustable ash shelves, UV protection, filtered air supply, vibration absorption and humidity control.
Some designs maximise storage, while others are more about display. EuroCave’s blingy new V-Champ-L (£10,999) model features a lazy Susan, whose bottle supports are clad in champagne-coloured leather, for showcasing prestige cuvées.
The Vario 400 range by Gaggenau combines function and a minimalist aesthetic. “In a market like New York, where space is more limited, we have observed a trend among our customers to relocate their wine displays from the kitchen to the living room,” says head of design Sven Baacke. “This provides a more relaxed atmosphere for enjoying wine, much like a modern fireplace.” If the wine cabinet really is the modern-day fireplace, then I’m Gaggenau all the way – the natural, dimmable lighting is more to my taste than the amber lighting favoured by EuroCave.
A bit more funky is the 35-bottle Swisscave WL120F (£1,175), which comes in finishes that include black, white or lipstick red. This is the model recommended by 67 Pall Mall’s head sommelier, Federico Antonio Moccia, for those really short on space.
Clients often customise their wine-cabinet door “so it fits with their home bar”, says Tim Lewis of Sorrell Cellars, which creates bespoke wine storage for A-listers and five-star hotels. “Antique brass is a finish that seems especially popular right now.” There’s clearly a bit of work to do on my crumbly old brick cellar.
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