BUYERS & CELLARS A FULL-SIZE TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED ROOM OR SMALL FRIDGE? WINE LOVERS DO IT ON A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS.

Byline: Barbara De Witt  Staff Writer

The price of wine is down, and Harvard Medical School says a couple of glasses a day can keep your blood pressure low, too.

Now could be the time to invest in a wine collection of your own - and no matter how big or small your stockpile, proper storage will ensure you get what you paid for.

``There's so much joy and romance in the world of wine. Wine is alive and a part of our history, and once you buy a bottle of fine wine, you can learn about the region it came from and the people who make it, so you want to store it properly,'' explains wine collector Judy Breitstein of Woodland Hills.

Wine cellars, once described as dark, earthy places beneath the ground, now can be anything that stores wine. Designs vary from small decorative racks, to fanciful wrought-iron ``cages'' with a lock, to refrigerated cases that fit under a bar. Then there are the elaborate carved-oak armoires with decorated stained glass over practical thermal glass. And some cellars are entire rooms designed as walk-in wine closets. Regardless of size or style, they're becoming a status symbol much like hot tubs and big-screen TVs.

To cater to the growing number of wine novices, a number of specialty retailers such as Restoration Hardware and Bombay Co. have added wine storage units to their inventory, but even mainstream stores such as JC Penney and Sears are cellar-savvy.

The chardonnay side of Sears

This month you'll see decorating magazines advertising a sleek stainless-steel refrigerator from Sears that has a special gourmet pantry with separate climate control for wine.

``The new Trio refrigerator is the first armoire-top refrigerator design in the wine-cooler industry, and it has a slide-out drawer that will keep wine up to 5 degrees cooler than the other part of the refrigerator,'' explains Sears spokesman Larry Costello of the $2,000 appliance. According to research, says Costello, people are investing in their homes and entertaining more, and they simply want to have their wine chilled for the occasion.

Companies that specialize in wine cellars have noted the trend as well.

``Sales have increased about 30 percent a year in the past seven years, and in spite of 2002 being a recession year, we still saw a 10 percent increase from 2001,'' reports Gene Walder, owner of Vintage Cellars, a 13-year-old company that provides all types of cellars to individuals and dealers throughout the San Fernando Valley.

Although decorative wine racks and small refrigerated cellars (that look like mini-fridges) are now widely available at numerous stores and price ranges, Walder says the biggest growth in the last five years has been in custom-built cellars. ``These are the type of cellars that hold 1,000 to 2,000 bottles of wine, turn an entire room into a humidity- and temperature-controlled cellar and cost between $25,000 and $50,000,'' says Walder.

When you can't go below

A wine cellar in Southern California, where most homes are built on concrete slabs? Local collectors say you just have to be creative.

``People always say, 'Wow!,' when they step down into our wine cellar, which is really our living room that's entered through a closet,'' says Linda Weinstock of Encino. Like others, she and husband George started small - with a simple little temperature-controlled wine storage unit in a closet under the stairs - and as their collection grew to almost 6,000 bottles, they needed a real cellar. But their home is on a cement slab, so they turned the living room into a fantasy wine cellar that looks as old as some of their wines, with stone walls and wooden beams.

On a recent tour of the cellar, George Weinstock explains that the living room was divided in half, with one side turned into a huge walk-in climate-controlled cellar to hold 6,000 bottles of mostly red wine from France and California. But it was too cold for entertaining, so the other half was designed for wine-tasting parties in front of a roaring fire. The room utilizes the home's original fireplace with an antique mantle and screen, but the carpeting was ripped out and a slate floor was laid. The walls were painted to resemble old stone, and the artist even added a faux crack in the ceiling to enhance the theme - as well as a mural of a deep, dark wine cellar filled with barrels.

``It's very romantic, and we've had some very sexy dinners in it,'' Linda Weinstock says, chuckling.

Grape expectations

The Wexlers of Toluca Lake actually shopped for a house with an existing basement, a rarity in Los Angeles.

``It's still a work in progress that started after a trip to the Napa Valley about three years ago,'' says Cindy Wexler, ``so right now there's just a bunch of racks. But when it's finished, I want it to look like a room in Tuscany.''

She calls it a bit of a status symbol but adds that it should be designed well, since a modern-day cellar is meant to be shared. ``So, in a way, it's more about the ambience and friendship than the wine being stored in it,'' Wexler adds.

For serious wine collectors, the cellar is not so much a party room as a safe house for investment purchases.

Such is the case with Breitstein and her husband, David, who turned a passion into a career. The owners of the Duke of Bourbon store in Canoga Park, the Breitsteins not only have made many wine-collector friends over the past 35 years but also learned a lot about wine cellars and the obstacles they present.

David Breitstein explains that his home was not only built on a cement slab but didn't have a lot of extra space.

So he and his wife designed a ``wall wine cellar'' that looks like an elegant china closet from the outside, while inside the stained-glass doors are 1,000 bottles of their favorite wines aging at the proper temperature.

Breitstein's friend Bob Klingensmith of Thousand Oaks also longed for an honest-to-goodness underground cellar but made do by turning his garage into one.

``There's just a small tasting table made of wine cases, and it wasn't meant to be fancy. It's what you'd call storage-oriented,'' says Klingensmith of the room that stores almost 4,000 bottles. With a cellar in the garage and a standard temperature of 54 degrees, Klingensmith notes that his guests don't spend a lot of time there, but it's still the talk of the Lake Sherwood Country Club.

Before choosing your wine cellar

Before you jump into a vat of misconceptions, check out David Breitstein's tips on how to store wine and buy a rack or cellar:

-- If you have just a few bottles of wine and want a decorative rack or armoire, look for one that stores the bottles on their side and thus keeps the corks moist. Racks range in price from $50 for a 12-bottle rack to $250 for a 74-bottle wrought-iron cabinet.

These nonrefrigerated wine racks should be placed out of direct sun, in the coolest, darkest place possible - hopefully with a temperature of about 60 degrees. So that means avoiding the top of the TV set or refrigerator, where it will get overheated.

-- If you're ready to start some serious collecting, you'll need to invest in a larger or refrigerated storage unit. But shop around. In addition to simple mini-fridge styles, you can find thermostat-controlled cellars with exotic leather finishes, wrought-iron detailing, hand-carved wood and stained-glass French doors. Wine racks, consoles, refrigerators or cellars vary in size. Rather than cubic inches, the sizes are given by the number of bottles they hold and usually range from a dozen bottles to 6,000. More bottles means more money, and most electronic types can range in price from $200 to $2,000. A room-size cellar can cost at least $25,000. Experts suggest buying the biggest cellar you can afford, because you'll fill it up sooner than you think. Also look for shelves that keep the bottle on its side but at a slight downward tilt.

-- Remember that refrigerated units do make noise, so you probably don't want it in your bedroom or living room. Typically you'll have it near a bar, in a closet or out in the garage.

-- Make sure the refrigerated unit has space around it to avoid overheating.

-- Don't spend a lot of money for a multiple-temperature cellar - but do consider humidity. All wines will age well at 54 to 55 degrees, with the humidity control set at 65 to 75 percent (which keeps the labels from peeling off and the corks from getting dry). If you're going to drink a white wine soon, chill it quickly in the kitchen refrigerator, as red wine prefers the warmer climes.

-- Remember that white wine can take the cold better than red wines, but white wines need to be consumed within two to three years, where red wines can last for 15 or more years and tend to mature with aging.

-- When stocking a wine cellar, keep in mind that inexpensive wines (those popular $5 varieties) are designed to be drunk now. Most will not get better with age. On the other hand, a very old fine wine may not taste good, either, especially if it's been subjected to temperature extremes. After a number of years, a wine's value is not always in the flavor but the age and history associated with it.

- Barbara De Witt

CAPTION(S):

8 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) On the cover: Weinstock's walk-in, temperature- controlled cellar was created by Ben Benoit of Cellar Masters.

(2 -- color) David and Judy Breitstein's built-in wine cellar in their Woodland Hills dining room is designed to look like a china closet and keeps 1,000 bottles at 54 degrees.

(3 -- color) George Weinstock of Encino does some research on vintages in his above-ground wine cellar, which was designed by Marlene Rice to look like a rustic cellar complete with faux stone walls and a slate floor.

(4 -- color) Bob Klingensmith couldn't fit the kind of wine cellar he wanted into the interior of his Thousand Oaks townhouse, so he turned to his garage, which now stores almost 4,000 bottles.

(5 -- color) no caption (Wine bottles with corks)

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

(6 -- color) Wine storage units can be as simple as this grapevine-themed design in pewter by Bombay Co., priced at $59.

(7 -- color) Sears has addressed the wine-cellar trend with its new Trio refrigerator with wine compartment, priced at $2,000.

(8) Temperature-controlled wine cellars can be as small as this 18-bottle leather-covered wine canteen ($3,000) from Formitalia of Los Angeles.

Box:

Before choosing your wine cellar (see text)