Closet conversion is becoming popular in the design and construction industry.  Many home owners are considering having a vacant small or large space in their home converted into something useful.

One residential owner in Newport Beach contacted a California wine cellar builder to request help in converting his closet into a custom wine cellar.  The client wanted a wine storage and display space that was both functional, and elegant.

Vintage Wine Cellars, the California wine cellar builder that the client contacted, came up with a gorgeous custom wine cellar design.  It featured a stunning wine rack design to store and display wine bottles, a wine cellar cooling system to cool the wines, a glass wine cellar door, and matching wine cellar flooring.

Wine Rack Design Features

The wine storage and display racks are a combination of several different wine rack designs, including:

• Single bottle storage wine racks
• Horizontal display wine racks
• High reveal display rows
• Arched tabletop
• Diamond bin cases
• Rectangular bins

 

The single bottle storage wooden wine racks store 750 ml wine bottles individually, in cubicles with 3 ¾ inche openings, which are perfect for easy bottle access.  The bottle holders on each cubicle are hand sanded, to protect wine labels from scratches.

The horizontal display storage with a high reveal display row runs on the entire length of the walls.  This feature angles the wine bottles at 15 degrees, keeping the corks moist and the bottle tightly sealed.  An LED lighting fixture was also added, to illuminate the angled wine bottles on the display row.

At the center of the wine closet is a tabletop with an archway, where wine pouring or decanting can be done.  It features a lovely art piece, which is highlighted by a puck lighting.

At the bottom of the tabletop are solid diamond bins, which store wine bottles one on top of the other.  Diamond bins are ideal for bulk wine storage.

At the side of the wine closet are rectangular bins, which maximize the small storage space.  This wine racking style gives the wine collector an option to store wines by group (by variety, origin, size, age, etc.). This wine rack design is a wise option for storing 1.5L and 3L bottles.

The wooden wine racks are made of Premium Redwood, one of the best wood types used in the wine racking industry.  A dark walnut stain was applied to the wooden wine racks.  The natural aesthetic appeal of the stained redwood adds beauty to the wine cellar.

The total storage capacity of this wine closet is 840 wine bottles.

 Efficient Cooling using a Fully-Ducted Wine Cellar Cooling Unit

This Newport Beach California wine closet is highly functional, as it is equipped with a wine cellar cooling system.  This maintains the right balance of temperature and humidity inside the wine closet.

Vintage Wine Cellars installed a fully ducted wine cellar cooling unit from Wine Guardian.  It is a self-contained wine cellar cooling system, and it can be installed either indoors or outdoors.

For this Newport Beach California wine closet, the cooling unit was installed indoors, in the attic located just above the wine cellar.  The wine cellar cooling system is assembled in a platform with a drain pan.

The duct system of this wine cellar cooling unit supplies cool air into the wine cellar and exhausts hot air outside. A louvered grill that matches the wooden wine racks covers the cooling unit.

Wine Cellar Entryway and Flooring that Attractively Matches with the Wine Racks

The cellar door used is a Barolo style dual-paned glass wine cellar door.

This entryway has two door openings, and it has certain features that ensure a tight seal to the room, and these include weather stripping and a concealed door bottom.

The wine cellar door was coated with a Chestnut wood stain, creating a beautiful contrast against the Premium Redwood wine racks.

To enhance the look of the wine cellar, the owner chose a unique tile flooring. The color scheme of the flooring matches charmingly with the wooden wine racks.

Get Started with your Own Wine Cellar Design!

Vintage Wine Cellars did a great job completing this Newport Beach California wine closet renovation project, considering the limited space their team had to work on. Vintage Wine Cellars specializes in wine cellar design, installation, renovation, and even maintenance, for both residential and commercial locations.

If you have a custom wine cellar project in mind, whether in Southern or Northern California, just contact Vintage Wine Cellars California Wine Cellar Builder for a free design consultation. Visit their page at http://www.vintagewinecellars.com/.

Meeting the Client and Starting the Project

The Coto de Caza Golf and Racquet Club is among the finest private clubhouses in Orange County, California.  The 36-hole country club features a 44,000 square foot clubhouse thatis an ideal setting for weddings, business meetings, and private parties.  The club recently remodeled Preserve, their upscale dining room, to include a 1,380-bottle capacity wine enclave, where members can store and display their private collections.

In November 2013, Coastal Custom Wine Cellars was contacted by an architectural firm in San Diego, California.  They wanted to add a glass covered custom wine enclave to the newly remodeled Preserve Dining Room.  The room measures 11’ wide, 2’ deep and about 9’ tall.  After several consultations, and a couple of site visits, Coastal prepared a three dimensional design.

A 3D wine celalar design work from Coastal provides a three dimensional illustration of the proposed wine cellar design.  The wine cellar design package includes plan views (elevations and 3D views), total bottle capacities, construction guidelines, and an audio/video tour of the design.

The Wine Cellar Design Features

Stunning Metal Wine Rack Displays

Coastal Custom Wine Cellars, SoCal’s leading expert in wine cellar design and construction, created a climate-controlled commercial display wine room, encased in glass, that features VintageView metal wine rack displays.

Three sets of seamless 1/2″ glass doors provide access to the wine enclave.  To stabilize the climate conditions inside the wine storage space, the Coastal team recommended a Model D088 from Wine Guardian.

Unlike wood-based wine racks, metal wine rack displays provide a contemporary look that will go well with any modern interior.  VintageView metal wine rack displays are designed to hold bottles in a label forward orientation, allowing for ease of product recognition.

The horizontal placement of the bottles also helps maintain the continuous contact of the cork with the wine, thereby ensuring its sealing quality.

To increase the total bottle capacity of the custom wine enclave Coto de Caza CA, the Coastal team installed metal wine displays in single and triple deep configurations.

Triple depth wine racks can hold three bottles in a single row; two wine bottles are stored behind the visible bottle.

The metal wine racks are mostly label forward horizontal displays.  A presentation row running the width of the racking system was also installed, for showcasing the finest wine bottles in the collection.

The metal wine rack displays come in a black satin finish, to give them a stainless steel effect.  A three deep configuration wine display rack is located right in front of the series of glass doors that lead to the wine enclosure.

Single deep display racking is installed on the rear, fixed glass panel.  The wine rack design is set up in such a way that the bottles appear as if they are floating when viewed from the outside.

Tempered Glass Walls and Doors

The Coto de Caza Golf and Racquet Club contemporary wine cellar display is encased in seamless 1/2″ tempered glass walls and doors.

The glass covered custom wine enclave is an aesthetically pleasing addition to the clubhouse’s Preserve Dining Room.  The heavy duty glass doors are hinged on self-closing, commercial grade pivot sets.

Installating the Wine Cellar Cooling Unit

To maintain the ideal wine storage temperature of 58 degrees Fahrenheit and a relative humidity between 50 to 60 percent, the Coastal team recommended a self-contained air duct handler, by Wine Guardian.

After conducting a heat load calculation, it was determined that the Model D088 wine cellar cooling unit would most efficiently cool the glass encased wine cellar.

Wine Guardian is a world-renowned manufacturer and provider of wine cellar cooling solutions.  Their wine cellar cooling products provide whisper-quiet operation and superior cooling performance.  They offer different types of cooling systems, including through the wall units, split cooling systems, ducted units, and humidifiers.

The Model D088 is a self-contained, fully ducted wine cellar cooling unit, that is ideal for medium to large residential and commercial wine cellars.  This cooling unit not only provides optimum temperature and humidity control, but also adds to the aesthetic quality of the wine storage space.

Since this wine cellar cooling unit can be ducted up to 25 feet away from the wine enclosure, it eliminates the presence of mechanical equipment in the room, thus promoting a quiet storage environment.

For this particular project, the cooling unit was placed in the ceiling.  Installing the climate control unit out of sight eliminates any presence of mechanical equipment in the custom wine enclave Coto de Caza CA, and allows the wine cellar builder to maximize available space.  Ceiling mounted units also provide better air distribution and circulation.

About the Wine Cellar Builder

Coastal Custom Wine Cellar Builder has over ten years of experience in designing and building commercial and residential wine cellars in California, and throughout the country.  They provide all aspects of wine storage needs, including wine cellar cooling systems, wood and metal based wine racking, wine cellar doors, and wine cellar flooring.

If you have a wine cellar project in mind, just contact Coastal Custom Wine Cellars. Click here.

US Cellar Systems, a California based wine cellar manufacturer that we work closely with recently announced an important new innovation in one of their commonly used components. The LRC Expansion Valve is now externally equalized. Learn how this is to be installed and some of it’s performance advantages.

New Expansion Valve

The LRC Expansion Valve looks almost like a pressure regulator, mounted inside one of the US Cellar Systems refrigeration system for wine cellars. It is a common component in all of the series offered by US Cellar Systems, except for the CC series.

Wine Cellar Refrigeration Technical Update – New LRC Expansion Valve Saves Time and Effort This valve is now externally equalized. This gives the system better performance on all of the systems and makes it more convenient to adjust.

Installation of the New System by LRC

When installing, add a T with an access shrader. This has a key advantage. You will be able to measure your evaporator coil pressure at the evaporator, instead of having to go all the way out to the condensing unit to look at your gauges. This makes adjustments to your system much more convenient.

Wine Cellar Refrigeration System Adjustment

Use a 3/8” nut driver or a ratchet and a 3/8” socket.

You can adjust the valve by turning the head on the top of the regulator. To increase pressure you turn clockwise. To decrease pressure you will turn counter-clockwise.

Caution! Remember to make small adjustments. Never go all the way in with the adjustment. If you go too far in you can damage the diaphragm and then the expansion valve will no longer adjust. This damage will not be covered under warranty, so be very cautious when making adjustments to prevent such harm to the system.

Contact US Cellar Systems for Support and Advice

If you’re in need of technical support for your wine cellar refrigeration system, contact US Cellar System here: +1(562) 728-5774.

If you’re interested in purchasing one of their systems, feel free to contact sales and customer support: +1(562) 513-3017.

This new expansion valve has important advantages; they can give you more information about it if you’re interested in learning more.

Wine cellar refrigeration systems are an essential part of wine storage. Wine cellar cooling units provide the ideal temperature and humidity inside a cellar for wines to be able to age tastefully. A good wine cellar cooling system can provide a temperature of 55 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit and a humidity of approximately 70%. Here are the things that you need to look for when choosing a wine cellar cooling system:

1. Check How the Cooling Unit Works

Most wine cellars are configured with a self-contained cooling system, known as forced air cooling. In this system, two fans are utilized. One fan functions to circulate the cool air inside the wine storage room while the other fan forces air through the condenser coils on the outside and exhausts warm air that has risen to the top of the storage room. This configuration is very efficient, especially if your wine storage room is in an area where the temperature outside varies 30 degrees Fahrenheit above or below the appropriate wine storage temperature range.

2. Check for Temperature Control Mechanism and Digital Display Apparatus

Wine cellar refrigeration systems that are made by quality manufacturers usually have electronic temperature controls, as well as digital displays. These features are very helpful, because they allow you to have precise control over the temperature and humidity inside the commercial or residential wine cellar in California. Not only do electronic temperature controls make sure that temperature readings are accurate, they also prevent fluctuations in the levels. Digital displays are a great addition, because you can read and gauge the condition inside the storage room any time.

3. Check the Cooling Unit’s Noise Level

The noise level of a unit is one of the major factors to consider when choosing a wine cellar cooling system in California. There are many manufacturers today that are dedicated to creating a wine cellar refrigeration system that is quiet and vibration-free. There are wine cellar cooling units today that utilize an absorption technology wherein compressors are not needed and vibrations are not generated. Choose the refrigeration units for your cellar wisely, because vibrations can damage your wine collections.

4. Choose Cooling Systems that are Easily Repaired or Replaced

Wine cellar refrigeration units in Vancouver are as much as an investment as your wine collection. You want to make sure that your beloved wines are aging efficiently by investing in a quality cooling unit. In case your refrigeration system breaks or wears down, you want it to be easily repaired or replaced, so that your wines won’t suffer being stored out of the ideal temperature and humidity while waiting for the unit to be repaired or replaced.