Home: The Fine Print: Cellar Smarts

Whether you buy wine because the label looks pretty or you’re a wine connoisseur, you deserve a fine glass of red or white. So help yourself by not letting any bottle — be it an ’82 Mouton or an ’07 sauvignon blanc — gather dust on an outdated wine rack above the refrigerator.

“Spoiled milk doesn’t get better after you put it back in the refrigerator. It’s still spoiled milk,” says Scot Ziskind, president of ZipCo Wine Cellar Services in Philadelphia. “The same goes for wine.”

Ziskind takes pains to ensure that his clients’ wine collections never exceed the “simmering” temperature of 60° Fahrenheit — the point where wine begins to change, and your ’86 Ravenswood Pickberry is no longer good. “That’s gone, gone forever,” says Ziskind. “You can’t call anybody up and get another one. You can’t find another bottle as easily as you can replace a good piece of filet.”
Ziskind stresses that the cellar should be airtight and temperature-controlled. “You’re not air-conditioning the space, you’re refrigerating it. In theory, you’re building a giant walk-in refrigerator.”

And if you’re thinking of taking the step from occasional taster to official enthusiast, you don’t have to keep your collection hidden away — cellars today are taking the spotlight when it comes to entertaining, incorporating everything from beautiful lighting and granite countertops to brick arches and windows, so you can enjoy the beauty of your collection without disturbing those precious vintages. “You want people to see it,” says Jim Gallagher, owner of Gallagher Custom Wine Cellars in Chalfont. “You want to show it off.”

More frequently, oenophiles are taking wine cellars out of the cellar. Gallagher recently completed a first-floor design with 10-foot-high racking topped with a brick ceiling and exposed wood beams. And Ziskind, who travels the country to advise elite collectors (Donald Trump, just to name-drop one), has turned kitchen cabinets and linen closets into temperature-controlled hideaways. “If you have a small budget, we can work with it. If you have a big budget, we can work with it,” he says.

For those just beginning to toy with the idea of collecting, Gallagher advises doubling the amount of room you think you’ll need. “I tell customers that they want to allow for growth,” he says. “Collecting can start as a hobby, then it becomes a passion, and then it grows into an obsession.”
 

Drink accordingly: Rich, red and full-bodied wines should be served at about 59°-68° Fahrenheit; light reds: about 54°-57° Fahrenheit; dry whites, rosés and blush wines: about 46°-57° Fahrenheit;  sparkling wines and champagnes: about 43°-47° Fahrenheit. 

BECOME A WINE CONNOISSEUR
Want to be able to throw around descriptions like “austere” and “oaky” when wine tasting? Check out the wine education classes offered at Chaddsford Winery (Chadds Ford 610-388-6221, chaddsford.com), The Wine School of Philadelphia (Philadelphia 215-965-1514, vinology.com), The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College (Philadelphia 267-295-2367, walnuthillcollege.edu) and Ristorante Panorama at the Penn’s View Hotel (Philadelphia 215-922-7800, pennsviewhotel.com). More committed connoisseurs-in-training can enroll in multiple-session courses at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College and Temple University Fort Washington Campus (Fort Washington 267-468-8500, ambler.temple.edu). ­ — Elizabeth Seasholtz

STORAGE OPTIONS

Five solutions satisfy any collector’s desire to keep wine safe, sound and stylish.  — Jessica Lussenhop

The Show-Off 
The refrigerator-size Sub-Zero 430 Wine Storage, right, gives the utmost control, while its sleek exterior gives any decor a boost. (Framed and overlay design options are also available.) Store up to 147 bottles in this two-temperature-zone unit (with a range of 38°-65° Fahrenheit), which lets you put the bubbly on ice while your reds are mellowing out in a warmer climate. The illuminated display shelf shows off your best vintages, and they’ll always be safe, thanks to a locking door that can be linked to your home security system.
Sub-Zero 430 Wine Storage, $6,480 for stainless-steel trim, $5,780 for framed or overlay, The Fretz Corporation, Philadelphia

The Old Worlder 
The Le Cache Euro line is so elegant, The Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia uses one to house its wine collection. Inside the 1400 model is a state-of-the-art Breezaire cooling system, top-notch insulation and digital temperature controls. Choose among three shades of cherry wood—this piece is meant to be admired instead of squirreled away in the basement—and prepare to stock up on the chardonnay, as the cabinet can hold 172 bottles.
Le Cache Euro 1400, $3,699, by special order at Pinot, Philadelphia

The Sommelier 
The GE Monogram Undercounter Wine Reserve with Liquid Crystal Window, below, fits perfectly under countertops and can hold up to 57 bottles. The programmable LED temperature display lets you adjust the unit for storage or quickly bring bottles to a servable temperature. Though the sliding wine shelves are covered in heart-of-cherry wood, they’ll vanish at the touch of a button behind a special liquid-crystal window, which turns from clear to opaque—a nice touch if you don’t want your guests to know you’re saving that ’89 cabernet.
GE Monogram Undercounter Wine Reserve with Liquid Crystal Window, $2,149-$2,349, Donatucci Kitchens, Baths & Appliances, Philadelphia

The Nature-Lover 
The moderate, microwave-size Haier Up to 12-Bottle Capacity Thermal Electric Wine Cellar chills your bottles while deferring to Mother Nature: The system operates coolant-free. It’s the perfect “cellar” for safeguarding that small, long-term cache, or for eco-friendly entertainers who see frequent turnover in their wine stock.
Haier Up to 12-Bottle Capacity Thermal Electric Wine Cellar, $99.95, Airs Appliances, Philadelphia

The Noncollector 
Some schools of thought dispense with technology and argue that a fine wine needs nothing more than a cool place to chill, such as a basement (ideally at about 55° Fahrenheit), or, if you prefer to pop the cork hours after acquiring a bottle, just an undisturbed spot on your kitchen counter. The wrought-iron Oenophilia Cello Wine Rack provides an elegant and whimsical way to get back to basics.
Oenophilia Cello Wine Rack, $39.95, Pinot

TASTING NOTES

To make hosting a wine tasting party easy, David Moore, COO of Moore Brothers
Wine Company in Pennsauken, suggests pairing wines with dishes from the same locale. All wines available at Moore Brothers Wine Company, Pennsauken.
– Rachel Madel and Issie Lapowsky

Sip
Vignoble Gasnier
La Cravantine NV,
Chinon, $20
 
Taste
“This is a sparkling wine made from carefully grown cabernet franc grapes near the Loire River.”

Serve
Brie from Severino, Westmont 856-854-7666. “Ripened cow’s milk cheeses such as brie tend to come from areas of broad agricultural choices, like Chinon,
in the middle Loire
Valley, where this wine is grown. . . . [This] would be a traditional pairing
in the area.”

______________________ 

Sip
Proprietà Sperino Rosa del Rosa Coste della
Sesia Rosato 2006, Piemonte, $16
 
Taste
“This is a bright,
violet-scented rosé with
exquisite red berry
fruit on the palate.”

Serve
Tomato and basil bruschetta from Di Bruno Bros., Philadelphia 215-665-9220, dibruno.com. “The fresh herbal scents of basil paired with the tomato and olive oil dressings of bruschetta marry perfectly with the wine’s inherent aromatics.”

______________________

Sip
Weingut Ratzenberger Steeger St. Jost
Riesling Spätlese
trocken 2002,
Mittelrhein, $20
 
Taste
“This is a late harvest, dry riesling from
the Mittelrhein in
Germany.”

Serve
Smoked trout from
Di Bruno Bros. “The richness of this late-
harvested wine balances out smoky scents and
flavors in the fish,
and provides a wonderful texture to pair with
dense fish.”

______________________

Sip
Mas Amiel Côtes
du Roussillon
Notre Terre 2005, Maury, $19
 
Taste
“This is a red wine
from southern
France with a
creamy texture
and fine, ripe
tannins.”

Serve
Soppressatta—handmade, dry, salami-
like sausages—from
Severino. “The dense, ripe, spicy, fresh fruit
of this wine pairs perfectly with local sausages, which are a mainstay
of the local, Catalan-influenced diet.”

______________________

Sip
Giuseppe Domenico Vajra Moscato d’Asti 2006, Piemonte, $18
 
Taste
“This is a sweet, fizzy wine from Piemonte in Italy that is delightfully fresh and clean.”

Serve
Almond biscotti from Severino. “The slightly sweet, crisp texture of
the biscotti, paired with the fresh, grapey, floral fruit and soft bubbly texture of the wine is a delicious pairing.”