Jan 8th, 2010 by wineracksamerica
We here at Wine racks America are affiliated with a couple of local and the national home builders associations for a lot of good reasons. Here are the top five reasons that we have chosen to affiliate ourselves with the below mentioned groups:
- They promote local builders.
- The various organizations are a great resource when it comes to learning about a perspective builder.
- Most home builders association emphasis education. The associations encourage members to share knowledge about new building techniques as well as new ways to research problems.
- Local building association focus on community involvement. We all make a living in our local communities and it is good to know what the general public has to say in regards to building trends and codes.
- Being part of a home builders association allows a member to attend meetings where they can talk to other builders which in turn helps one expand their business into new areas.
Home Builder Affiliations:
Cheers,
Christian Hancock
Wine Cellar Specialist
Posted in Admin, Cellar Design, Corporate | No Comments »
Dec 8th, 2009 by wineracksamerica
Constructing a proper vapor-barrier is imperative if you’re planning to cool your wine cellar. Without an adequate vapor-barrier mold and mildew can develop inside your walls which will lead to costly repairs and severe damage to your home or business. It’s a simple process that is worth every penny.
View our Wine Cellar Construction Walk-Through
When Dealing with Raw Space the steps are easy and pain free. For those of you out there who are working with an existing room you may need to take a step backward to move forward. If you have to remove existing drywall to put up your vapor barrier do it; it’s worth it. Ideally the vapor-barrier would be applied under the studwork but it’s not necessary to alter the existing studwork. Simply wrap the vapor-barrier individually around each stud as illustrated in figure 2 in our Wine Cellar Construction Walk-Through.
The vapor-barrier should be at least a 6 mm plastic and applied before the insulation on the warm side of the wall. The insulation can be fiberglass bats, rigid foam, or blown in insulation. Pay attention to the rating, it should be a minimum of R-19 for your walls and R-30 for your ceiling. The insulation will be applied after the plastic on the cool side of your cellar.
If you want to save a step it is possible to apply the vapor-barrier and insulation with one step:
Using closed cell polyurethane insulation
When constructing your walls steer clear of anything that won’t do well in a damp environment. Remember, you are looking for a constant temperature between 55° and 58°F with 60% to 65% relative humidity. There are a lot of options for the walls so choose what you like. At Wine Racks America we do offer first class Tongue and Groove Wall Paneling. It can be purchased in ponderosa pine, premium redwood, or a stained version of either species.
To discuss this process with one of our Wine Cellar Specialists please call 1-888-373-6057.
Cheers,
Vincent Campbell
Wine Cellar Specialist
Tags: vapor barrier, wine, wine cellar, Wine Cellar Construction, Wine Racks
Posted in Cellar Design, FAQ, Wine Cellar Construction, Wine Racks | No Comments »
Dec 8th, 2009 by wineracksamerica
Wine Racks America is concerned about the safety and security of our customers. Accordingly, we have updated and put a number of technological protections in place to ensure that our transaction process is extremely safe and that our customers’ information remains secure. Security countermeasures include strict input validation routines, a 3-tier modular architecture, use of open-source cryptographic standards, and other secure coding practices.
We’ve already implemented the smartest security step of all – not storing credit card numbers to begin with.. like a bank with an empty vault. Once an order is charged to your credit card (via our secure checkout), only enough information to ship your order is kept. We do store the last four digits of your credit card so you can conveniently glance at your receipt and remember which card you used, but those four digits alone are worthless, like knowing only the last four digits of your phone number. That’s why if you’ve ever had to change an order you placed with us, we require your credit card information all over again.
Jason
Tags: website security
Posted in Admin, Corporate, Customer Service, FAQ | No Comments »
Nov 20th, 2009 by wineracksamerica
Wine cellar cooling units often describe the “RH”, or Relative Humidity, that their products will maintain inside of a wine cellar. Relative Humidity is an often misunderstood concept, along its counterpart Absolute Humidity (AH).
According to Wikipedia, Absolute Humidity can be described thusly:
Absolute humidity is the quantity of water in a particular volume of air. The most common units are grams per cubic meter, although any mass unit and any volume unit could be used. Pounds per cubic foot is common in the U.S., and occasionally even other units mixing the Imperial and metric systems are used.
If all the water in one cubic meter of air were condensed into a container, the container could be weighed to determine absolute humidity. The amount of vapor in that cube of air is the absolute humidity of that cubic meter of air.
Relative humidity is defined as the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor (in a gaseous mixture of air and water vapor) to the saturated vapor pressure of water at a given temperature. Relative humidity is expressed as a percentage.
Therefore in a wine cellar, RH is determined by measuring the content of the water vapor in the air at the specific temperature of the wine cellar (or the amount of humidity relative to the room’s temperature). Relative humidity is often mentioned in weather forecasts and reports, as it is an indicator of the likelihood of precipitation, dew, or fog. In hot summer weather, it also increases the apparent temperature to humans (and other animals) by hindering the evaporation of perspiration from the skin as the relative humidity rises. For example, if it was 80 degrees, with a relative humidity of approximately 75%, it would feel about 84 degrees.
Remember that your wine cellar should remain a stable 55 degrees with RH of 60%-70%. Some cellar cooling units allow you to dial RH in manually and let the unit do the rest. Those without the newer humidity controls can put a hygrometer in the cellar to determine the RH, and then tweak the percentage up or down using the cooling unit on its own or in conjunction with an active wine cellar humidifier that introduces moisture into the air.
Questions about humidity in wine cellars? Let us know by calling 1-888-373-6057.
Jeff
Tags: relative humidity
Posted in Cooling Systems | No Comments »
Nov 4th, 2009 by wineracksamerica
Once winter sets in and the cold surrounds us we tend to forget that our wines still need our attention. Here are five tips for keeping your precious wine safe during the winter months:
1. Perhaps the most overlooked element in a wine cellar is the humidity. This is a huge problem in the winter months because the ambient air is much more drier than in the summer months. One may want to consider adding a humidification system to their cellar to make sure that the corks don’t dry out. This is a very real problem in the dry arid West but humidity levels are also much lower on the East coast all through winter.
2. Winter is a great time to add a cooling system to your cellar. This is especially true in the warmer states. During the colder months the ambient air temperature around your cellar is much cooler than in the summer. This is important because your wine wont be exposed to warm air during the install.
3. You may notice that your wine cellar cooling system is working less during the cold months. The reasons are obvious of course. Take advantage of this "down time" and perform the necessary maintenance that all cooling systems require to function properly. Procedures such as cleaning the filters, cleaning the coil and even recharging the system if necessary.
4. Winter is also a great time to clean your cellar. Dust in a wine cellar is common and, in my opinion, adds a little character to the space. Never the less, the cooler months are a great time to clean the area because of the cooler ambient temperatures.
5. If your wine cellar is passive (no cooling system), then the winter temperatures could be too low for proper aging of wine. Place a simple thermometer/hygrometer in the space to make sure that the cellar is at least 55 degrees. Cooler temperatures will stunt the aging process and slow maturity.
Cheers,
Christian Hancock
Wine Cellar Specialist
Tags: wine, wine cellar, wine cooling, wine humidity, Wine Racks, wine storage
Posted in Cellar Design, Cooling Systems, FAQ, Wine Cellar Construction | No Comments »
Sep 29th, 2009 by wineracksamerica
Greetings everyone and welcome to fall 2009. We are excited to push through fourth quarter and into the next year. During fall we like to take stock of our year and give thanks for the many customers and clients who make our business possible. It truly is our pleasure to serve you and rise to the challenge of your unique business demands.
During this rocky economic stretch we at Wine Racks America feel especially lucky that we have continued to grow and diversify while many companies in our industry have been forced in the opposite direction. Chin up everyone! So too this shall pass…
In addition to our customers we are grateful for the many talented suppliers, manufacturers, shippers and other bit players that all contribute to our success as a company. Good luck to everyone as we head into the silly season, and may your wine glass overfloweth for the remainder of the year.
Jeff
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Jul 20th, 2009 by wineracksamerica
When it comes to cooling wine, we often get questions from customers that are in various stages of development in their wine cellar. One of the biggest challenges in creating a successful wine storage room is sealing off the space entirely from its surroundings.
Sealing off a room entirely means taking in to account every spot where air exchange occurs and plugging the hole. Some of the easiest targets are: doors (under and around them), windows (around and through them), recessed lights and light switches.
In this blog I won’t address the vapor barrier, suffice to say that without one all of the following tips won’t really help. Contact us or consult our web site www.wineracksamerica.com for questions about vapor barriers.
Wine Cellar Doors: Weather strip around the door jambs & threshold. Use exterior doors only, as interior (hollow core) doors will not provide sufficient R value to keep the cold air in.
Wine Cellar Windows: Same as door, weather strip around the jambs. Use insulating glass with at least two panes that create an insulating air pocket.
Recessed Lights: Particularly tough to seal. Make sure to seal the “lip” of the canister where it meets the ceiling material, and use closed or thermally fused canisters that will not allow air to go up and out of the fixture.
Light Plates and Power Outlets: Same as recessed lights. Pack insulation around the boxes to decrease air flow through seams in the plates. Better yet, place outlets and wall plates outside of the cellar rather than in. This allows an easy way to light and view your wine without having to open the cellar door at all.
Wine Racks America has assisted thousands of home owners, restaurants, business and wineries with the constuction of their ideal wine storage rooms. If you have any questions about cooling your wine cellar please contact me at 1-888-373-6057.
Happy cellaring!
Christian Hancock
Wine Racks America
Wine Storage Specialist
Posted in Cellar Design, Cooling Systems, Wine Cellar Construction | No Comments »
Jun 17th, 2009 by wineracksamerica
One of the fastest growing areas of our business pertains to the cooling of wine. Nearly every wine cellar we design and sell includes some type of strategy for cooling.
In the olden days (5-10 years ago), wine cellar cooling units looked and acted like World War II army surplus. All ugly exteriors and bulky design. Well, no more. The proliferation of wine cellar construction has driven a dearth of new, attractive and innovative cooling unit designs, much to the delight of companies us and our clients.
These days there is a huge variety of cooling units available to address any number of wine cellar scenarios. One of the best advancements has been the ducted wine cooling unit. These powerful units allow users to install the cooling unit up to 50 feet from the actual wine cellar, with small ducts leading to and from the cooling unit in order to deliver fresh, cool air and remove warm air.
This innovation eliminates all noise and vibration from the wine cellar and makes installation sleek and invisible, since from inside the wine cellar you only see the vents leading to and from the cooling unit.
Some of the best quality and innovative units are manufactured by Wine Guardian and proudly distributed by Wine Racks America. For detailed instructions and installation guides visit WineRacksAmerica.com or call one of us here at 1-888-373-6057. Happy cooling!
Dave Mulligan
Wine Cellar Consultant
Posted in Cooling Systems, Wine Cellar Construction | No Comments »
May 6th, 2009 by wineracksamerica
The summer of wine is almost upon us. The dreary days of winter are gone and now is the time to get back on task with all of those home improvement items on your to do list. If adding a wine cellar to your home is on that list, then all of your procrastination through those winter and spring months is about to pay off. I imagine that you are thinking of finishing that deck in your back yard so you and your loved ones can sit together as you toast the beauty of the setting sun with your favorite glass of Chardonnay. That is a great idea but let me pose a question if I may; Wouldn’t a stunning wine cellar to store that coveted bottle of vino be great also?
Let me suggest that you hold off on all of those exterior projects for a while and finally get that wine cellar built. First, let me explain why now is the perfect time to get it done:
We have been working very hard here at Wine Racks America to bring you new products to increase the style, beauty, function and storage capacity of your cellar. We can build you almost anything your heart desires, and if you are one of those Americans that buys into this whole “Recession” idea then we can design you a stunning wine cellar using our kit racking that will fit any budget.
New items have been designed and added to our website WineRacksAmerica.com that can add that special touch without breaking the bank. Take a look at our new arches:
These arches make a beautiful centerpiece or focal point in your wine cellar. Lights can be added to create a showcase or to light up your decanting area. The beauty of this product is in it’s simple yet elegant design. You see this to is a modular piece that fits right into any wine cellar design and meshes perfectly with all of our other modular wine cellar racking. Even more, these arches can have molding added to them which ties the whole system together and allows you to have a seemingly built in system.
So wait no longer. Now is the time for you to stop procrastinating. Today is the day for you to stop waiting for your children to grow up and surprise you with a wine cellar (because that will never happen). So give me a call here at Wine Racks America and soon you will be lifting your glass to toast your sweet new wine cellar instead of that sunset that, as you may know, will be there even after your cellar is finished. Do not be deterred any longer by your ever shrinking retirement, laugh in the face of these hard times.
Drink long and Prosper,
Christian Hancock
Wine Cellar Specialist
Tags: wine, wine cellar, wine cellars, wine products, Wine Racks, wine storage
Posted in Cellar Design, Wine Cellar Sales, Wine Racks | No Comments »
Greetings again and welcome to ALMOST spring! As wine cellar business ramps up again for the spring home project building rush, we are getting a lot of questions about the stain we apply to our racking. Here is an exerpt from a recent question we received that I thought would be good to share:
Question: “…I was checking out your photo gallery and found a lot of wine racks that were finished. This is the way I would prefer to go but I have been cautioned that the stain would change the taste of the wine. Is this true, and if so does it change the outcome of the cellar?” – Ron S. MI
This was a very good question that deserved a detailed answer:
“Thank you for your inquiry. Stain can definitely be a confusing step in your cellar project. While we cannot account for all of the photos we receive from our customers, Wine Racks America only uses and recommends water-based stain with our wine cellar products. We recommend avoiding oil-based stains and urethane products commonly used in furniture finishes.
Why? Water based stain does not contain the harsh chemicals found in oil stain or polyurethane, which CAN damage your wine after exposure, especially when the cellar is new (they seep through the cork).
As a result our stained redwood cellar products have a matte finish, and are medium reddish-brown in color. Our special recipe stain is semi-transparent and will even out color variations in the redwood without completely covering the beautiful redwood grain.
Consequently, our cellars look “finished” but not “glossy”, and are safe to use immediately with your wine. We have lots of great references and have finished hundreds of wine cellars with no known issues.”
While stain can be a tricky subject and there are plenty of differering approaches to it out there, this is hopefully some good information that will help those of you out there with questions about applying finish and/or stain to your wine cellar. Have a great day!
Jeff O.
Tags: wine, wine cellar, wine cellars, wine rack, Wine Racks, wine storage
Posted in Cellar Design, FAQ, Wine Cellar Construction, Wine Racks | No Comments »