Beginning of Essay
A cellar may be humble or grand, large or small. But if it is to qualify for name, it must achieve three things. It should be dark, it should be free of vibration and, above all else, and it should reduce both daily and seasonal temperature variations to a minim ....

Middle of Essay
.... and thereby oxidation. Ullage is the air space present in a bottle of wine between the cork and the surface of the wine. In old wines it is fairly reliable indication of likely quality: the greater the ullage the more suspect the wine. Excessive ullage indicates a loose cork, widely or frequently fluctuating storage temperatures, or low humidity (Gold 31). Some ullage with age is inevitable, but anything more that 12 mm (1/2 inch) per decade is avoidable. Excessively high relative humidity inevitably leads to mold. The carbohydrates in your wine cellar: cork stoppers, paper labels, paper surface of the drywall, and wooden shelves can all beco ....