Commonly used term for the place where wine is usually stored in bottles or other containers. In the original sense, it refers to an underground space, but the term also applies to a ground-level arrangement. A winery, on the other hand, is usually a production facility that, unlike an independent winery, does not have its own vineyards and processes grapes delivered by grape producers, as is the case, for example, with winegrowers' cooperatives or other processing associations. Likewise, however, Kellerei is also used to refer to a wine shop (Vinothek). The old wine cellars dug below the level were usually located next to each other outside the actual winegrowing community in the so-called Kellergasse and formed a typical picture. In front of the actual wine cellar was the press house, where, as the name suggests, pressing was carried out. The pressing house was connected to the cellar tube, the actual storage cellar, via the cellar neck. The dark cellar mould (also known as cellar cat) that often occurs in such cellars was or is desirable.
Fermentation produces fermentation gas (carbon dioxide), which is toxic to humans. In order to determine the level of gas present, the extremely unsafe method of candle testing was used in the past. The gas used to be discharged via two structural devices. These were the fermentation grate fitted in the cellar door and the steam pipe (ventilation shaft). However, both are only suitable to a limited extent because the carbon dioxide is heavier than air and collects at the...
