There are, of course, less-expensive options. If you re handy with tools, there are kits you can buy, complete with racks and cooling units, to turn a spare room or closet into a temperature-controlled cellar. There are also self-contained units that store from a few dozen bottles to hundreds of bottles. I have two of the no-frills units, and they are very sturdy. Wine stored in them suffered minimal breakage during the Loma Prieta earthquake, even though I live in the hard-hit Santa Cruz Mountains.
Prices vary by location, but long-term storage can get expensive.
If you have the space, it s better to put in some sort of cellar at home. Then you can pull out a special bottle whenever the mood hits. The information you receive online from SV, the Magazine of the San Jose Mercury News and Mercury Center is protected by the copyright laws of the United States. The copyright laws prohibit any copying, redistributing, retransmitting, or repurposing of any copyright-protected material.