Hi: We built a cellar in the basement of a brownstone for a client a few years ago and during excavation of the mud in the basement discovered a large bottle of 1865 Madeira. (I think it was a Carboy)
The house once belonged to Henry Cabot Lodge so the bottle went to Christies and came to California. 32 bottles were decanted from this old bottle and I was able to acquire two.
I gave one to a client in Asia and still have one to drink.
The moral of this story is "dig a hole and build a cellar with a rope and a pulley". It will produce a lot of dirt, perhaps some artifacts, be an endless source of conversation and will be a great place to store wine too. A wine refrigerator is just a kind of shoe box while a cellar is a statement and a pleasure.

Posted by: paulwyatt at September 11, 2007 2:35 AM in response to Wine Cellar

Your design concept is rather interesting but rather difficult to use. A wine refrigerator is the simplest method but I have built full wine cellars in basements of Brownstones. My friend was using his original coal storage area below his front steps until its' proximity to the street changed the temperature from season to season.

He hew has a full walk in wine cellar in his basement in Cobble Hill. evang@evang.com

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 7:42 AM in response to Wine Cellar

I forget the distinctly middle class need to acquire "interesting" bite-sized life experiences in order to have something to say at dinner, "...and just after our 44th pail of dirt, nestled by the orange crack needle was blah, blah, blah".

Keep your wine in shoe boxes, use the money you save to go somewhere or/and do something for someone or/and change something and then you'll have plenty to say.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 7:49 AM in response to Wine Cellar

There are other ways to do a wine cellar that don't involve digging, but I agree, go for it. It will be very, very cool, but costly.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 9:48 AM in response to Wine Cellar

And it's greener than wasting energy on a 24/7 wine refrigerator. Do it. With the size of your foundation, 6x6 won't be any problem.

Posted by: cmu at September 11, 2007 12:10 PM in response to Wine Cellar

You can get large coolers -- up to 500 bottles. They come in kits in case it doesn't fit down your stairs. The refrigeration units tend to be pretty cheap (mine has to be recharged every 18 months or so) but it keeps the wine at 55F. Look on eBay under wine chillers.

Posted by: guest at September 11, 2007 1:21 PM in response to Wine Cellar

The middle class tendency to try to put down middle class people with snark and unpleasantness is also a factor you should consider.

Posted by: guest at March 3, 2008 5:27 AM in response to Wine Cellar