Viva la vino!
In-home wine cellar can satisfy any connoisseur
JESSICA YOUNG GateHouse News Service

In Rusty Sproat's residence in Westmont, Ill., just off the dining room there is a walk-in wine cellar. PhotoS by Ron

Just off of his dining room, wine buff Rusty Sproat has a 4-by-4-foot nook. Sick of cramming it with nothing but junk, the Westmont, Ill., resident recently turned the space into a wine cellar that holds about 19 cases.

"There's a glass door with a twisted metal wrought-iron handle leading into the room. I've got distressed hardwood floors and then floor-to-ceiling, stained Ponderosa pine display racks," said Sproat, a builder. "I've also got a chillR, which is a unit made for little storage areas, set at 57 degrees to preserve the wine."

Visqueen, a polyethylene material, lines the walls, which are covered with thin veneer strips of birch stained a walnut color. Additionally, Sproat had requested that employees at deVine, a Westmont wine shop, save a bunch of bottle corks from tastings so he could decorate his vino haven.

"I took a hot glue gun and made a brick pattern on one of the walls with the cork," he said. "It's a really cool effect. And it just makes it more fun for guests, who go 'oooh' and 'ahh' when they peek inside."

The deVine wine shop in Westmont, Ill., has a wide selection of wine racks for the home.

As wine connoisseurs consider devoting space in their homes to a bottle collection - however sparse or extensive - a few storage and design tips with some musthave items can help channel a rustic Tuscan pantry or picturesque chateau a la French vineyard.

Conditions

Don't store wine in the kitchen because of the temperature fluctuation near the oven, said Denise Walsh, owner of deVine. Instead, opt for a closet or basement. That being said, the space doesn't necessarily need to be subterranean.

Conditions

Variety abounds in wine racks. There is everything from small $10 island containers to larger wall installations costing several hundred dollars all the way to custom pieces ranging from $5,000 to six-digit figures.

Nothing evokes an oldworld, vintage atmosphere like the latticed patterns of diamond-shaped, mahogany cubbyholes.

Accessories

A Drop Stop non-drip wine pourer, about $10, is a musthave accessory.

"It's this Mylar circle that you make into a cone shape," said Nancy Rench, ordering and receiving coordinator at Wine Expressions in Lisle, Ill. "It protrudes about an inch above the top of the rim, and with it inserted, the wine never drips down the side of the bottle and stains the tablecloth."

Custom work

For deVine customers who envision something more elaborate than a do-it-yourself project, Walsh directs them to Wine Cellar Innovations, a custom cellar/ rack designer and manufacturer. While the company offers some modular kits, it specializes in sophisticated designs.

"We've done everything from a 5-by-5, one-wall structure to a two-story cellar for thousands upon thousands of dollars," said Erin Chamberlain, marketing director at the cellar powerhouse.