Wine Cellar - Mitigating Volcano and Earthquake Risks

Looking for feedback. Building a below grade wine cellar in Hawaii, about 1000 bottles. Thinking about volcanic rock cinder block storage modules rather than racking or refrigeration units. The island is prone to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and some major rain/wind storms (yes - why build at all!). Have been told I need back up solar power and lots of monitors, and that “vog” can screw up a cooling system. Do I need to give up on volcanic rock cylinders? Angle them to reduce breakage risk? Anybody done this already?

Haven’t a clue but would LOVE seeing pics when it’s finished!

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I want pics of the entire process from excavation to design changes to construction and wine placement. [popcorn.gif] hitsfan

Pro tip: Build it for 2,000 bottles [pwn.gif]

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I have no good advice for you, but I sort of share your concern. I live in a place prone to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and some major rain/wind storms (the PNW). I have a basic basement wine cellar which accounts for temperature and humidity, but does not account for any of the other listed factors. I figure if my house is being damaged by an earthquake (predicted 9.0) or a volcano (I can see Mt. Rainer), I have bigger problems to worry about. At least I live on a hill, so flooding is not an issue. My other plan is to drink a good bottle whenever the hell I want.

probably one of the best options for your cellar is gonna be insurance!

but i agree sounds like a cool project and I wanna see pics of it too!

I have no idea either but I have questions and I’d also like to see pictures.

I lived on a tropical island that wasn’t volcano-prone (Puerto Rico) for a long time. The good thing is that keeping the optimum relative humidity shouldn’t be hard. Of course, the whole humidity thing may be a myth and so may be needing to store wines sideways (which may actually hurt the cork), so angle away, or just store upright. Upright might limit easy access to individual bottles, though. So, I’d love to see what solution you come up with.

Heat and water leaks would be my main worry in Hawaii. So my main question is, what are you planning to do to seal/insulate the cellar?

It’s incredible how much water can come into a place from the tiniest of holes when it decides to rain in the tropics, and how hard it is to track down the entry point. The concern here isn’t just for the wines, it’s also for the humans.

As to temps, even day/night shifts would concern me depending on your location on the islands. But, since you bring them up, are volcanic eruptions an issue because they heat up the surrounding ground too (which would be scary to me), or only because of vog? If so, then I’d think any sort of stone or cinder block would be a bad idea because I believe they transfer heat much more easily than softwoods, and avoiding temperature fluctuations is the primary goal of wine storage. Don’t they have vog filters for cooling units?

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To touch on one of Guillermo’s points, if there is lava close enough to your house that it is going to cause heat damage to your wines, your house is toast anyway so that shouldn’t be a concern.

Are you on the Big Island? Oahu? Maui? Your risks will be significantly different depending on where you are. If you’re on the Big Island, which side? Do you get the brunt of storms or is it quieter where you are? Are you in an evacuation zone?

I would strongly advise against rock storage in your cellar. If you’re on the big island, the earthquakes you’re likely to experience on a timescale of 30 years or so almost certainly include something of Magnitude 6.5 or greater. If you’re on Oahu, it’s a bit more hit-or-miss.

Before I entered the wine industry I was a geologist and volcanologist. I haven’t done much work on the engineering side of things but may be able to provide some general guidance.

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Sounds expensive, and assuming you need a cooling system/active cooling it might be more cost effective to get 6 sub zero or equivalent 150 bottle storage units and use them instead.

What island are you on?

I was thinking more about the hot spot below ground heating up the ground without actually having lava flowing next to his house, but I think you’ve answered my concern.

Also, when can we expect your next book entitled Volcanic Wines, on the interplay of volcanic soils in wine across regions?

Yeah, with the exception of active fissures and vents, the hot stuff is pretty far underground.

Re: my book :slight_smile: Charles Frankel’s “Volcanoes and Wine” is a reasonable overview of the topic, as far as these things go…

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Thanks for all the feedback! Building on the Big Island. Sadly think I agree that a few rows of wine fridges makes more sense, but where is the beauty in that? The point about the risk of stone breaking is pretty much unassailable. Depressing.

You can design for earthquakes (up to a point). Not sure about active lava, which as others point out is going to create bigger problems.

I’d just build a normal cellar, well insulated, with wood racking designed to withstand some shaking. Take appropriate precautions, like rubber bands or similar solutions to keep bottles in rack. Make sure you have a good cooling system. If groundwater is a legit concern, put the racking up off the floor and a bit away from the wall, and install a sump pump.

And maybe have a “go bag” or five ready for your most prized bottles should the lava start flowing.

I don’t see this as much different from any other cellar build except for risks that can’t be controlled for.

Based on the current rain what is the plan for flooding?

Only ten inches of rain annually. Flood risk is low.

Thanks again for all the great feedback. The advice seems solid. The design i want doesn’t work for the ecosystem. Nature must be honored.
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The design i loved was from Blackberry Farm in Tennessee.

A few more pics of the blackberry design i wanted to mimic with black volcanic cinder. Clearly does not work but wow. Apologies for making folks hungry.
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