This article develops a mathematical model for determining the annual cycle of air temperature inside traditional underground wine cellars in the Spanish region of "Ribera del Duero", known because of the quality of its wines. It modifies the sinusoidal analytical model for soil temperature calculation. Results obtained when contrasting the proposed model with experimental data of three subterranean wine cellars for 2 years are satisfactory. The RMSE is below 1 degrees C and the index of agreement is above 0.96 for the three cellars. When using the average of experimental data corresponding to the 2 years' time, results improve noticeably: the RMSE decreases by more than 30% and the mean d reaches 0.99. This model should be a useful tool for designing underground wine cellars making the most of soil energy advantages. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.