What is a Cellarette Used For?

Did they drink their wine warm? Wine collectors of the 18th to 19th centuries kept an exclusive item in their dining rooms, the cellarette or cellaret.

Owned primarily by the wealthy, a cellarette or “little cellar” was a lidded wood container with a trunk-like, round, hexagonal, or sarcophagus-like shape. Cellarettes were also known as bottle chests or wine coolers. Made of Mahogany, cellarettes were ornately decorated. Inside the cellarette were spaces or racks for wine, insulated using zinc or lead. Before a dinner party, servants would visit the wine cellar and fill the cellarette with wine. The cellarette was placed under the sideboard of the dining room, where servants could easily access wine to serve. The cellarette kept the wine at the perfect serving temperature. Owning cellarettes and other beverage accessories was considered sophisticated and in fashion.

36-Inch Double Door Wine Cooler by Vinotemp

The modern-day equivalent of a cellarette is a wine cooler or wine cabinet. A wine cooler is an appliance designed specifically for wine storage. Wine coolers can be programmed to storage or serving temperature. Before a special occasion, you can retrieve bottles from your wine cellar and use your wine cooler to bring your wine to the ideal serving temperature. Wine cabinets are furniture-style appliances with a wood exterior. Wine cabinets, like wine coolers, are designed for wine storage and often include temperature control. Both wine coolers and cabinets make great additions to the dining room, giving you convenient access to wine for dinner parties. Like a cellarette, wine coolers and cabinets are considered sophisticated, luxury items and are always in fashion.

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