Choosing Wine Cellar Accessories
By April Rounsville
There are a number of nifty items and gadgets that can help you organize, maintain and enjoy your cellar. For those of you that have a larger cellar, keeping track of what is added or removed from the collection can be a pain. One can use either a paper record keeping system, or jump into the twenty first century and incorporate some electronic record keeping system.

Barcode readers are a wonderful way to keep track of the different wines that are added to or removed from your cellar. "But what kinds of electronic barcode reading contraptions will I need to buy in order to use a barcode system?", you may ask. It's really very simple. There are very easy to use plug and play barcode readers that can plug right into the USB port of your computer.

USB barcode scanners typical run between $120-$175 USD and can automatically discriminate between all the popular bar codes. You can use your own barcode tags or input any required information to use the barcodes already located on each bottle of wine. When it's time to uncork or add a new bottle of to your collection, simply point the barcode scanner at the barcode label and pull the trigger to update your records.

Printable tags are another must have cellar accessory. These tags come on a sheet that can be fed into your inkjet printer. You can create your own custom layout or notes, as well as include a barcode if you so desire. There are also regular hand written



wine bottle tags that can be more affordable if you do not need to be able to print the bottle tags on your printer.

If you require a tag system that is more durable than paper bottle tags, there are also heavy duty plastic bottle tags that fit securely over the neck of the bottle. These can be reused as needed and will last for years and years. These types of bottle tags can be written on with any felt tip pen or a dry erase board marker.

If you'd like a ready-to-go bottle tag with custom barcodes system, check out the Vinote ™ tags. These bottle tags last a very long time and adhere snugly to bottles. Every tag is uniquely numbered and bar coded. The bar code section is perforated so that it may be folded out of sight or easily torn off.

If you're not ready to update your storage record keeping, and prefer regular paper records, there are a number of attractive catalogue books already formatted for just such record keeping. A decent catalogue book should be small enough to carry with you if you will bring it along on trips to other cellars.

A hygro-thermometer is a very necessary component to any cellar, as it ensures that the is resting at the appropriate temperature and humidity. These devices do not adjust temperature or relative humidity, but can be paired with the right devices in order to make sure that everything is running smoothly.
April used to be a bartender with over 7 years of experience. She later retired to become a freelance wine critic and a writer for a number of wine books. In these books, she specializes on finding the right glassware and utensils for your bar. Visit www.ebarware.com for a list of "must haves" such as a wine glass rack for your bar.