Wine Cellar and Tasting Room Decor: Ideas and Tips

A beautiful cellar is as much a place to visit as a place to taste. Stone, wood, soft lighting and the labels of great wines: here are our tips for decorating a wine cellar, a home bar or a tasting room, without forgetting that light and heat are the enemies of your bottles.

First, Separate Storage from Tasting

A wine storage cellar needs darkness, a cool and stable temperature (around 12 °C, about 54 °F), humidity of about 70% and calm. This is the area you decorate the least: it is for storing, and you only turn on the light long enough to choose a bottle.

Decoration belongs in the space where you entertain: a tasting cellar, an adjoining room, a bar corner in the living room. If your cellar is a single open space, create two zones: the wine racks at the back, in the shadows, and a table or counter near the entrance, where light is allowed.

Lighting: Little, Low and Well Placed

Ultraviolet rays and heat damage wine. In the storage area, choose LED lighting, which gives off little heat, and switch it off as you leave. In the tasting area, aim for chiaroscuro rather than a ceiling light: a few low, soft light sources that sculpt the stone and leave some shadows.

On the tasting table or a shelf: a small 29 cm lamp, such as the Clos Vougeot lamp, gives ambient light at glass height.
On a sideboard, a counter or a barrel: a 39 cm lamp, with more presence, for example the Richebourg lamp.
On the floor, in a corner: the large 80 cm oval lamp serves as a centerpiece.
A dimmer on the main lighting lets you switch from visiting mode to tasting mode.

Our lamps take a neutral white LED bulb (40 W maximum for the 29 cm lamp, 60 W for the 39 cm and the 80 cm lamps), which respects the colors of the label. They are indoor lamps: set them up in a dry room, never in a cellar where water trickles down the walls, and plug them in away from splashes. All the details are in our guide to choosing a wine label lamp.

The Walls: Telling the Story of Wines and Places

Exposed stone is often enough on its own; a few well-chosen pieces are all it takes to give it meaning.

Labels on a large scale: our kakemonos (48 × 50 cm canvas, wooden dowels, hanging cord) hang from a simple nail or hook. Line up two or three at eye level, by côte or by wine color.
A clock so you don't lose track of time in good company: the wooden Clos Vougeot wall clock features the label of Château de la Tour.
A map of the climats or of the appellations, to locate the wines you serve.
Wooden wine crates from estates, fixed to the wall, become shelves.

Furniture and Tableware

A solid wood table, a few stools, an upright barrel as a standing table: cellar furniture loves raw materials. Keep within reach stemmed glasses, a carafe, an ice bucket or wine cooler, a corkscrew, a cheese board and a bread basket. For tableware, our home decor shop in Beaune offers a selection to discover in person.

An Apartment Wine Corner or a Home Bar

No vaulted cellar? A wine cabinet, a bottle rack and a bar cabinet are enough to create a tasting corner. A small wine label lamp on the shelf sets the tone without cluttering the space, and a kakemono above the cabinet stands in for the stone wall.

For a Winery's Tasting Cellar

In a professional tasting room, nothing beats your own label: we can reproduce it on a lamp, for your counter or your display cases. Everything is explained on our page a lamp with your winery's label.

In Short

storage in the dark, tasting in soft light;
LEDs, low light sources, a dimmer;
labels on the walls and on the lamps, to tell the story of the wines;
wood, stone and tableware ready for serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

What lighting should you choose for a wine cellar?

LED lighting, which gives off little heat, switched on only for as long as you are in the storage area. In the tasting area, choose several low, soft light sources rather than a powerful ceiling light.

Can you put a table lamp in a wine cellar?

Yes, in a dry room: a tasting room or a converted cellar. Avoid cellars where water trickles down the walls and keep the outlet protected from splashes.