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The term “wine cellar” often conjures up visions of grandeur and luxury. After all, do not the finest European villas pride themselves on their extensive wine cellars? Further more, do not the finest restaurants in the area brag about the elaborate processes for keeping their expensive wines in ideal conditions.

With all of this attention on wine cellars, the typical person might be a bit daunted, and not quite know what to do if he or she is a wine lover looking to invest in a wine cellar. If they are a tad daring, they might take the leap and purchase their own wine cellar for their home.

First of all, what is not usually said about wine cellars is that you do not need a lot of fancy storage systems or combination wine cellar humidor in order to keep your wines in top-notch shape. Most wine lovers focus on carefully selected bottles and keep them in small quantities to drink on a regular basis. For this to sort of wine lover, an at-home wine cellar may be unnecessary.

For those who feel a wine cellar is necessary, there are some things that need to be taken into consideration when setting out to come up with a convenient wine cellar design. These factors include: light, humidity, vibration, size, and temperature and when it comes to larger collectors, size.

When purchasing a wine cellar, there are certain factors you must consider, among them: size, light, vibration, humidity, and temperature. Size refers to how large the wine cellar will be, and to how many bottles of wine it can hold. This may be related to the amount of space you have available for your wine cellar, as well.

Vibration, light, temperature, and humidity all need to be controlled in order to keep your wine at its best possible level of quality. For instance, if you get too much sunlight or fluorescent light, it can damage the wine. Because of this, most wine cellars are located in a darkened, storage space.

Vibration can also damage the wine by disrupting the sediments, which will cause a change in color or taste with most delicate wine selections. They are known to be especially susceptible to vibration and light damage.

Humidity also needs to be taken into consideration as having too much of it will cause the wine to mold, and having too little humidity may cause the corks to shrink leading to wines spillage and spoilage. The optimum wine cellar would have humidity for the wine at about 70%.

Temperature is the last important consideration. Having improper temperatures will decrease the flavor of the wine, and if the temperature is to low, it can cause the wine to freeze.

One of the easiest ways to create a wine cellar in your home is if you purchase a self-contained wine cellar unit. These units can range in size from 2′ x 3′ to 10′ by 12′ or more. If you consider having a very large wine cellar in your home, it may be less expensive to have a custom wine cellar built for you.

Wine cellars range in size (some hold as few as 24 bottles, all the way up to 2500 bottles) and the prices rise to match. Prices for small models may begin at about $500, and rise up to $4000 for the larger ones.

Wine cellars also come in a variety of exteriors from super-sleek, stainless steel to rustic oak or pine. You can also add to your unit - interior lighting, glass panels, locking doors and the like. However, be aware these added features will typically raise the price.

The following needs to be ascertained when setting out to buy a wine cellar.

-How many bottles of wine do you wish to store at any given time.

- How much space you have available for your wine cellar.

- How much sensitivity you need in terms of controlling for light, temperature, humidity, and vibration. Again, if you are planning to purchase very expensive wines, you will need controls that are more sophisticated.

- Whether the wine cellar will be tucked away in a room or placed out in the open. If it is the latter, you may want to invest in a higher end finish so that it matches the rest of your house.

In the end, your purchase should be the best balance of features, price, and space. If you know what your wine tastes are prior to purchasing the wine cellar, you will get the best one that meets your current wants and needs with a little room to expand.