Wine Cellar Buying Guide: Wine Cellars & Bottle Capacity

Wine cellar sizing is a very important factor to take into consideration when purchasing your wine cellar. While the size of the unit you choose is partly determined by where you are physically placing your wine cellar, the most important consideration you can take into account is the bottle capacity of your chosen unit.

Wine Cellar Bottle Capacity & Your Collection
A wine cellar's bottle capacity is perhaps one of the most important factors to consider when purchasing. You will want to be sure to purchase a wine cellar that allows you the opportunity to expand your collection over the years. Wine cellars with a bottle capacity of 110 may satisfy your needs right now, but what about 3 years from now? A good rule of thumb when determining what capacity wine cellar you should purchase is to look at a unit that will allow you to grow your wine collection by 30%. A wine cellar, like fine wine, is an investment that will offer the greatest return by ensuring it is large enough to keep pace with your growing collection.

Wine Cellar Bottle Capacity vs. Racking Capacity
After you have determined the appropriate bottle count of your chosen wine cellar, it is important to take into consideration the difference between bottle capacity and racking capacity, two terms often used to describe how many wine bottles a wine cellar will hold. Bottle capacity refers simply to the total number of wine bottles that can fit inside the wine cellar. This means that wine bottles may be stacked on top of one another to fit. Racking capacity, on the other hand, is the amount of bottles that fit singularly on a wine rack with no bottles on top or underneath. This is an important fact to consider if you are concerned about some bottles getting scratched or labels peeling off when looking for or removing wine that may be lying on top of one another.

Additional Buying Guides

• Protecting Your Wine With A Wine Refrigerator
• Aging Your Wine With A Wine Cellar
• Should I Buy A Wine Refrigerator or a Wine Cellar?
• Wine Refrigerator Buying Guide
• Wine Racks Buying Guide
• Wine Cellar Buying Guide: Wine Cellars & Your Budget
• Wine Cellar Buying Guide: Wine Cellars & Racking Options
• Wine Cellar Buying Guide: Cooling Systems
• Wine Cellar Buying Guide: Where to Place Your Wine Cellar