You don't have to live in a big home with a big basement--a spare closet, bedroom or den does just fine. With some planning, you can build and stock your own wine cellar.

A wine cellar can be any location from a dead space below the basement staircase to a room outfitted especially for this purpose. Innovative homeowners often design a cellars which might include carvings, pillars, molding along the wall and perhaps a decorative wine-tasting table that is usually positioned outside the cellar.

Wine should be kept at 49-56 degrees Fahrenheit. Good solid insulation can go a long way towards keeping your basement in that range. However if you are living somewhere where it tends to get very hot, you may want to consider installing an air conditioning unit for this area. That is because even though insulation will keep heat out, and prevent rapid temperature changes, it will also keep heat in.