About
Wine Refrigerators and Coolers
“He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate- bringing forth food from the earth, wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart.”
Psalm 104
Even the Psalmist realizes that wine can do wonders for the heart of man bringing both gladness and health. This is why wine has been a favorite drink for eight thousand years.
Plenty of people today enjoy the endless varieties of wine from all over the world. Most, though, are not aware of the extra work in the handling and storing of wine before they were purchased at the wine store.
Storing wine is not easy. Many factors have to be controlled. Foremost are light, humidity, and temperature. Both incandescent and sunlight can adversely affect the color, taste, and mouthfeel of wine. Humidity has to be controlled to avoid oxidation or spoilage. Excessive exposure to high temperatures “cooks” and spoils wine, while very low levels freeze and expand it, thus pushing the cork and allowing oxidation.
When purchasing bottles of wine, you will need to continue exercising care in their storage. Unless you plan to drink all of them within 24 hours, you will need to store them in a wine refrigerator thus avoiding too much light, and extreme levels of humidity and temperatures.
Your regular kitchen refrigerator is not up to the task of properly storing your wine. It is too cold. Wine is best kept at temperatures ranging from 13° to 15°C depending on the type of wine you have. Red wine is usually stored and served at 15°C or higher, while white wine is better at 13°C or lower.
A wide range of designs of wine refrigerators and coolers are available. You can have a free-standing or built-in unit; one with a 6- or 260-bottle capacity, a manual or electronic thermostat, a conventional compressor or thermoelectric cooling system. There are also refrigerators with locks, reversible door hinges, and different door styles –stainless steel, wood, or glass. Your options can be as many as the different brands of wine.
This site will introduce you to them. It will provide you with the basic information about wine refrigerators, and hopefully, will help you enjoy better tasting and more aromatic wine. CHEERS!