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World's oldest wine cellar -

The world's oldest wine cellar is believed to be the Tel Cabri wine cellar discovered in present-day Israel in the ruins of a city constructed and lived in by the Canaanites. The remains of the jars found date back to about 1700 BCE.

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Roman civilization -

The Romans were very fond of their wine and were among the first to properly store it, by accident! The first underground cellars were Roman catacombs or underground tombs, where out of necessity through lack of space amphorae (containers) were stored in cool, dry conditions.

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Medieval wine cellars -

In the Middle Ages, monks practiced viticulture to produce the wine necessary for the celebration of mass. In time, however, they acquired a more general taste for the tipple. This in turn led to wine barrels being stored underground along with grains, vegetables, and other perishable foodstuffs.

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Monk wine -

The medieval period saw abbeys and monasteries across Europe making their own wines. Religious rites required a great deal of it. However, it was also a staple of the monks' diets. Vineyards expanded, as did cellars, making so-called monk wine some of the most influential of the modern era.

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French wine cellars -

France has always shared a special relationship with wine. But it was what the Romans left behind that helped advance the country's affinity with the vine. Pictured are Roman cellars at Reims, built during the Gallic Wars. As early as the 1600s, French champagne makers were repurposing old Roman mining caves for the storage of their effervescent wine.

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Subterranean storage facilities -

Soon, thousands of bottles of champagne were being stored and left to mature in these ancient subterranean storage facilities. Taittinger's Gallo-Roman chalk mines, for example, can be traced back to the 4th century and are located nearly 18 m (60 ft) below the earth's surface.

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Wine cellars across Europe -

Pictured is the entrance of an underground wine cellar at Saumur in Maine-et-Loire, around 1911. From France, the practice of storing wine in underground cellars quickly spread across Europe.

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Transition -

Storing wine exclusively underground continued until the modern era, when new technology allowed for climatic conditions to be controlled automatically in purpose-built cellars above ground. They accomplish the same purpose of protecting wine from vibration, erratic fluctuating temperatures, damaging UV light, and more.

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Cattier cellars -

But some of the most historic wine cellars remain those established centuries ago and set underground. Pictured is the Cattier champagne cellar located in Chigny-les-Roses. The Cattier family has owned vineyards since 1625.

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Château Margaux cellars -

The wine cellar of Le Château Margaux in Bordeaux. A renowned wine estate, it achieved premier cru (first growth) status in the Bordeaux Classification of 1855. Its limited edition 2009 bottles are some of the most expensive wines ever to be sold.

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Eberbach Monastery -

The former Cistercian monastery of Eberbach in Eltville, Germany dates back to 1136. The refectory is home to 12 historic wine presses. The cellars, meanwhile, are still used to store wine. In the winter of 1985/86, some of the interior scenes of 'The Name of the Rose' (1986), starring Sean Connery, were filmed here.

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Château Beychevelle cellars -

Barrels lined up in the wine cellar of Château Beychevelle in Saint-Julien-Beychevelle, France. This is a perfect example of how architects can transform hallowed Bordeaux wine cellars into art pieces worthy of a museum installation.

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The largest wine cellar in the world -

The cellars of the Mileștii Mici wine-making plant in Moldova contain over 1.5 million bottles of wine—the largest wine cellar by numbers of bottles in the world, according to Guinness World Records.

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Tufa wine cellars -

The ancient wine cellars of Italy's Basilicata region are carved out of the soft tufa, or "tuff," limestone rock the area is famous for. The cellar pictured is owned by the Cantine del Notaio winery, one of the most important wine producers in southern Italy.

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Napoleon's wine -

A large oak wine cask dated back to 1810 and donated by the French Emperor Napoleon I to Moët & Chandon is seen in the winery's cellars in Epernay in the champagne production region of eastern France.

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L'Intendant Grands Vins de Bordeaux -

Wine cellars can make an extraordinary impact within commercial premises. Pictured is L'Intendant Grands Vins de Bordeaux, a Bordeaux wine store that features a cellar in a staircase.

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Bodegas Salentein cellars -

Wine cellars are often used as stages on which to host special occasions, for example music concerts. Pictured is the underground amphitheater-style cellar hall at Bodegas Salentein in the Valle de Uco district of Mendoza province, Argentina.

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Hotel wine cellars -

This exquisitely carved wine barrel was photographed in the wine cellar of the Hotel Astor on Broadway in 1904, the year the famous New York property opened. The Astor closed in 1967. Many hotels around the world are renowned for their wine cellars.

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The Forge cellars -

The wine cellar of The Forge, one of the oldest restaurants in Miami Beach, Florida. Its roster of celebrity guests include Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Sinatra.

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Wine revolution -

The Tavern of the 7 Juanes in Villa Clara, Cuba famously sells an astonishing variety of wines and has put this city on the world map, helped also by the fact that Santa Clara is the location of the Che Guevara monument and mausoleum.

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Bodegas Ysios -

Wine cellars don't have to be hidden away underground. This is the remarkable Bodegas Ysios located in Spain's Álava province near Bilboa.

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Bodegas Cabriñana cellars -

The cellars of Bodegas Cabriñana in the Sierra de Montilla near Córdoba in Spain. Like many wineries, Cabriñana is set on a national wine route and allows visitors to tour the premises before tasting a selection of wines.

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Napa Valley wineries -

Similarly, the wine cellars at the Schramsberg Vineyards winery in California's Napa Valley are designed to host wine tastings and other social events.

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Château Cheval Blanc cellars -

The cathedral-like interior of the Château Cheval Blanc wine cellars. Established in the 19th century at Saint-Emilion in southwestern France, Château Cheval Blanc is one of the region's most recognized labels.

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Gombos Hills cellars -

The highly unusual Gombos Hill wine cellars in Hungary’s famous Tokaj wine region are characterized by their unique triangle-shaped design. The cellars are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site cultural landscape.

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Viña Cousiño Macul cellars -

Located in Santiago in Chile, the Viña Cousiño Macul winery dates back to 1870 and features a wine cellar fashioned out of a library where shelves now serve as wine racks. Wines found here include a legendary 1927 Finis Terrae, a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The vineyard, founded in 1856, is the oldest in the country.

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Changyu Wine Culture Museum Yantai -

Oak barrels over a hundred years old stand in the Grand Cellar under the Changyu Wine Culture Museum in Yantai. Established in 1892, Changyu is China's oldest and largest winery.

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Tom McDonald cellars -

The Tom McDonald wine cellar at Church Road winery at Hawkes Bay in Napier on North Island was built as a tribute to the pioneering father of quality red winemaking in New Zealand.

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Bremen Ratskeller -

Barrels of wine are stored in Bremen's Ratskeller in Germany. Among the wines stored in the vaults is the oldest German cask wine from 1653. The Ratskeller is located under Bremen's city hall, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.

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Hungerford Hill cellars -

The eye-catching architecture of Hungerford Hill wine cellar, restaurant, and winery complex in the heart of the Hunter Valley wine region, just a two-hour drive north of Sydney, Australia.

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Bodegas Güell -

The odd-looking Bodegas Güell in Garraf near Barcelona was designed as a wine cellar by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926). It now serves as a restaurant.

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Sherry Triangle -

In this February 1954 photograph, a glass of sherry illuminated by candlelight stands next to a cobwebbed barrel of sherry in a wine cellar in Jerez de la Frontera in Spain. Jerez sits within the Sherry Triangle, an area in the province of Cádiz noted for the production of the famous fortified wine.

Sources: (USA Today) (Heritage Vine Inc.) (Second Bottle) (Worldwide Wine Tours) (Guinness World Records)

See also: How to taste wine like a pro

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