A room of wine’s own

A cellar can – and should be – much more than just a cave; if well-designed it can provide a valuable space in which to drink as well as store your wine, says Paul Wyatt in his comprehensive guide to building the perfect wine store

The great Burgundy producer Henri Jayer used to say that although 80% of his region’s wines were good to start with, only 20% remained so after bottling. Things may be better now. But the loss in quality between the acquisition of a wine and its consumption is frequently still unacceptably high, often as a result of poor storage. As auction prices reflect, proper provenance and storage is crucial, since they affect the integrity, quality and, therefore, the value of the wine. The ideal solution, for those with the resources and the space, is to build a cellar