Wine Fridges For Your Home

Wine fridges are a great way to safely store wine in your home. Wine storage needs special standards to protect your wines.

Installing a full size wine cellars is expensive and most homes just don't have enough room available so more and more people are checking out small wine fridges.

There are several important differences between a wine fridge from a standard kitchen fridge.

First is the temperature. Your regular fridge is designed to cool items quickly to a temperature of around 40F. Instead a wine fridge is designed to cool your wine more slowly to 53-57F.
A wine cooler maintains the higher humidity that helps keep the wine cork moist whereas regular refrigerators are designed to remove humidity to better store perishables.
A wine fridge will also be devoid of the pungent smells and odors (think onions or leftovers) that could ruin the flavor of your wine.
Finally, wine fridges are designed to minimize the vibrations that can cause your wine to spoil. Just think about how many times the doors to your kitchen fridge are opened and closed each day.
Fridges for wines come in a variety of finishes that can easily be matched to your other kitchen appliances.

What Size Do You Need

Consider how many bottles of wine that you might want to store then double it. Once you start storing your wine, your collection will likely grow as you find favorites.

You can find countertop units that hold just a few bottles or larger freestanding units that can hold hundreds of bottles.

Just like there is a wide range of sizes available there are also a wide range of prices.

Wine Storage Do's and Don'ts

Do store bottles on their side. Storing them on their side keeps the cork in contact with the liquid and thus keeps the cork moist. A dry cork can create an imperfect seal with the neck and opening of the bottle and potentially let air in. This can cause oxidization and cause premature aging.

Do place the bottle in a cool place. High temperatures are very damaging. High temperatures will speed up chemical reactions and dramatically shorten a wine's life.

Do store in a dark place, especially if the bottle is clear. Dark bottles are better than clear or green bottles at protecting liquids from light, but regardless, dark areas are best.

Don't use your kitchen refrigerator as a storage or aging device. A kitchen refrigerator is too cold and can dry out the cork allowing air into the bottle. Further, a kitchen refrigerator is constantly opened and closed making it harder to maintain a constant temperature. Lastly, when the bottle is put in a kitchen refrigerator, it is usually stored standing up and thus does not keep the cork moist.

Don't store bottles in a cabinet above an oven or microwave or in the kitchen. Heat from ovens, stoves and microwaves can shorten wine's aging potential and or destroy its taste and balance.

Don't store near windows, fireplaces or other appliances or areas that give off heat or are heat sources.

Wine coolers and wine refrigerators are excellent storage devices. A wine cooler can maintain a constant 55 degrees Fahrenheit temperature (which is the ideal long term storage temperature) and provide a cool and dark environment. Lay bottles flat in a wine fridge or wine refrigerator and let the wine cooler do the rest.

Storage Racks for Your Wine Collection

Collecting wine is a hobby for many people, both the rich and the not so rich. Wine collectors take pride in finding the finest tasting wines in the market. They travel from all points of the globe just to find the best wines there is.

Like any other collector out there, wine enthusiasts take pride in their collection. They look for ways to display their collection and brag it to their pals. Because these collections are composed of consumable and perishable items, it is important to find a perfect storage for such a precious assortment.

Wine storage racks are great ways to store and display a wine collection. Wine racks come in different sizes and dimensions suited for various uses. For home and personal use, there are small racks available. For more heavy duty use, like in store cellars, garages and warehouses, there are tall and big wine storage racks. Collectors can choose from pre-measured wine racks or they can simply ask a woodworker or metal craftsman for customized racks.

Wine storage racks are made of various materials like wood, metal, glass or alloy. Choosing what material the storage rack is made of depends entirely on the collector. If you must know, the most common choices for materials are wood and metal.

Buying or constructing wine racks is definitely not cheap; but nothing compares to the price of a collection. Expect to shell out several hundred dollars for a collection of less than one hundred wine bottles. And expect to spend even more if there is more than one hundred wine bottles in a collection. Because of the price of racks, it is best to consider your choices before buying wine storage racks.

Dedi Walker shares additional information in websites such as Square Dinnerware and Dinnerware Sets.

Wine Storage Systems

Generally, many people store wine because of its investment value. During the last few years, the value of wine, which is purchased young and properly stored, has appreciated several times over. With the popularity of wine increasing, growth in this trend is expected to continue. Also, several people work on a kind of a rotation system, storing wine for their own utilization in the future. The best system is to buy fine wines when available and store them properly until they fully mature.

There are several different ways to store wines appropriately to ensure that the quality doesn't deteriorate. What storage system one opts for depends on personal requirements and needs. Wine coolers maintain the wines at an ideal, constant temperature and these are considered to be an excellent option for short-term storage or for use during parties. These self-supporting boxes or bins might have castors so that they can be moved to a convenient serving area during a party or to get closer to an electrical outlet. Some wine coolers even come with a car lighter adapter and are handy enough to take on short trips.

Wine refrigerators are another excellent option for short-term storage and these maintain your wine at an ideal temperature, for drinking at any time. These refrigerators come in many different styles and designs ranging from a mini-fridge handy design that holds four bottles to a large stand-alone or built-in model that will hold several hundred bottles.

Thermoelectric wine refrigerators are attractive and energy efficient. They can be added to your bar, dining or kitchen area. A traditional bar-fridge or mini-fridge will also serve the same purpose for maintaining your wine at an ideal temperature. The price of these refrigerators may vary as to their design, size and features.

Wine Storage Racks

Wine racks are an important piece of furniture for an avid collector of wine and can serve more than just a decorative purpose. They aid in the correct storage of wine thereby helping preserve its quality. There are a variety of wine racks available ranging from metal to wooden wine racks. These racks are also available from purely functional to elegant and in a wide price range.

A relatively cheaper wine rack consists of cube boxes that have diagonal shelves so your bottles form a triangle when stacked. Another inexpensive option is a stackable wood wine rack that has scalloped bars to hold a large number of wine bottles. These are especially useful for small spaces and practical as additional levels can be added when required. More expensive choices include intricately designed wrought iron wine racks and wine trees that present your wine collection in an attractive fashion. Some of these may include a wood or tiled top for serving wine and cheese, and stem glass holders. Some wine racks also come with rolling castors so that you can move them around while serving. It's important to consider lockable castors to prevent a rollaway cart, especially if the wine rack is functioning as a serving cart. If you have a stationary bar or wine rack and serving area, a hanging stemware rack can add a nice touch and keep your glasses dust free. These racks can be hung from the ceiling or a wall and have slide-through slats that hold the bottom of the glass upside down.

Wine storage is as an integral part of wine making itself. Unless stored properly, wines can worsen in quality and taste, thus rendering the entire process of winemaking futile. Choosing the correct wine rack can help you avoid such a situation.

Wine Storage Cabinets

The construction of a wine cabinet is often the most overlooked aspect in building a good wine collection, though it is of great importance. The purpose of a wine cabinet is simply to prevent fine wines from spoiling due to environment fluctuations resulting due to temperature, sunlight and vibrations. Storing fine wine allows it to develop its full flavor over the years, and as a result, the value of the wine increases.

Wine cabinets can be separate box-like structures or elaborate pieces of furniture that complement the décor and ambience of any room in your house. They can also be built as part of the cabinets in the kitchen or any other room. Built-in wine storage with the temperature and humidity controlled is among the fastest growing trends in wine collecting today.

Wine cabinets can serve many a purpose, ranging from wine displays and wine storage to serving even as a wine cellar with proper humidity, temperature and light control required for long-term storage and maturation. The most well-designed and attractive wine cabinets will combine many different features such as a storage compartment with scalloped or circular racks, stemware racks, accessory drawers or compartments and a serving top. Some wine cabinets have a temperature-controlled storage compartment, giving it the status of a wine cooler or even a wine cellar, depending on how many climate elements it is designed to control.

Wine cabinets are available in a variety of styles and materials and with varying capacity, from a few bottles to several hundred. The cost of these cabinets will depend on the size, material and the climate control features that a cabinet offers. There is no right wine cabinet for everyone, so the right one for you depends on what you are looking to accomplish and your budget.