You love wine, you regularly buy a few extra bottles to put away, but your house has no real cellar. Familiar. More and more wine lovers ask the same thing: how do you store wine without a cellar, without losing quality? The good news is that you do not have to renovate to store wine well.
This article explains what wine needs to stay good for years, what a real wine cellar costs, and why a proper wine storage cabinet - specifically the Liebherr WSbli 7731 GrandCru Selection - is a full and often smarter alternative for most people.
Torn between building a wine cellar and placing a wine cooler?
That doubt is fair. A wine cellar has a romantic pull, but not every house can take one. Few homes have a cellar that suits wine: too little space, no stable temperature, or no cellar at all. Renovation is then the only path, and that is exactly where the hesitation starts.
Especially in an apartment, a new-build without a basement or a house with no room set aside for wine, the question is not whether you should do something, but what the smartest alternative is. A wine cooler answers that question more and more often, not as a stopgap, but as a full alternative.
What does wine need to stay good for years?
Wine stores best at a constant temperature between 10 and 16 degrees Celsius, with 60 to 80 percent humidity (Jos Beeres Wijnkoperij). That is exactly what a good cellar offers by nature, and exactly where most living rooms, cupboards and garages fall short.
Too warm and the wine oxidises faster; too cold and the cork can shrink so air gets in. Too dry and the cork dries out; too humid and mould appears on the label and cork. UV light and vibration are two underestimated problems: both affect flavour development. A regular fridge does not fix this. It cools too cold (0-5°C) and is far too dry for wine in the long run.
That is the heart of it: you do not need a cellar, you need cellar conditions. And you can create those in more than one way.
Building a wine cellar: beautiful, but not for everyone
Having your own wine cellar built or converted is a serious investment. Expect €15,000 to €90,000 or more on average, depending on size and finish, with prices from €600 to well over €3,200 per square metre (Offerteadviseur, 2026). You often still need a separate cooling unit, such as a Norcool Coolmaster, to keep the cellar at temperature (see our article on wine-cellar cooling).
Budget aside, you need a suitable space. In a small house, an apartment or a home without a basement, a cellar is simply not an option. And even when it is possible, months of renovation is out of proportion for many people whose goal is simply to store wine well.
| Building / converting a wine cellar | Liebherr WSbli 7731 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | €15,000 - €90,000+ | €2,049 |
| Space | Suitable cellar or basement | 75 x 76 cm floor space, freestanding |
| Lead time | Weeks to months of work | Ready to use after delivery |
| Climate control | Separate cooling unit needed | Built in, incl. HumidityControl |
| Warranty | Depends on the contractor | 10 years after registration with Liebherr |
The Liebherr WSbli 7731 GrandCru Selection: cellar climate without building
This is where the Liebherr WSbli 7731 GrandCru Selection comes in. This freestanding model holds 324 bottles based on a standard Bordeaux bottle, across 7 adjustable wooden shelves, and uses one temperature zone that you set between 5 and 20°C.
The cabinet has HumidityControl, which actively keeps humidity in range, and a FreshAir charcoal filter that refreshes the air without letting outside odours in. TempProtect Plus watches the temperature with two sensors, the door closes by itself to limit heat loss, and at 38 decibels it is quieter than a calm conversation, so it works in a living room or kitchen.
Extras such as a mechanical door lock, a lockable touch display, a visual and acoustic alarm and the SmartDeviceBox for phone alerts make it as secure as a locked cellar room. Energy use is 102 kWh per year (energy class E), and Liebherr gives 10 years of warranty after you register the appliance.
"I get this question every week: build a cellar or buy a cabinet? With capacity like this, 324 bottles at exactly the temperature and humidity wine needs, most people no longer have a good reason to renovate. This Liebherr does what a cellar does, without builders, without waiting, and for a fraction of the cost."
- Bert, co-owner of Xaro, 25+ years of experience with wine storage and wine-cellar interiors
Liebherr GrandCru Selection wine storage cabinets
The WSbli 7731 (324 bottles) and more compact GrandCru models. Current price and stock on the product page.
Who is this wine storage cabinet the right fit for?
This cabinet is especially useful if you doubt whether a renovation is worth it. If you have a small space, an apartment or a house without a suitable cellar, the answer is usually simple: start with a wine cooler instead of a building plan.
Even if you already have a serious collection, 324 bottles is enough to keep going for years. And because the appliance is freestanding and runs on any socket, you can place it where you want: utility room, office, living room or a quiet kitchen corner.
How to get the most from your wine storage cabinet
A few rules still matter without a cellar. Always lay corked bottles down so the cork stays moist and airtight. Open the door as little as possible except when you refill, and after placement let the cabinet stand upright for 24 hours to acclimatise before you fill it.
Never place the cabinet right next to an oven, a heater or in full sun, even though the insulation of the WSbli 7731 handles that well. Check the display now and then: for most red wines, 12-14°C works best for long-term storage; with a mix of red and white, stay closer to the middle of the range.
Price and value: why this is Xaro's pick
For €2,049 incl. VAT and free delivery in the Benelux you get a cabinet whose storage climate is close to a professionally fitted cellar, with a 10-year factory warranty. Per bottle of capacity that is still under €6.50, against tens of thousands of euros for a renovation that does not fit every home.
That balance of capacity, storage quality and price is why we recommend this model at Xaro in this segment: if you want to store wine seriously but have no cellar, this is one of the few appliances that truly delivers. Browse the full Liebherr range or the wider wine storage cabinets at Xaro if you want to compare sizes.
Conclusion
You do not need a cellar to store wine like a collector. What counts is a stable temperature, the right humidity and protection from light and vibration, and the Liebherr WSbli 7731 GrandCru Selection offers that in abundance. With 324 bottles, a 10-year warranty and a price that does not compare to a renovation, this is the logical choice for most wine lovers without a cellar.
View the Liebherr WSbli 7731 GrandCru Selection - 324 bottles, HumidityControl and a 10-year warranty. Free delivery in the Benelux.