Protecting Your Wine With A Wine Refrigerator
Wine cooler refrigerators are a lot like they sound: a refrigerator specifically designed to store wine. Wine refrigerators are specifically designed to not just preserve but to age your wine. Storing and aging wine properly, brings out its true characteristics and full flavor potential. While not everyone's home or budget may be equipped to handle placing and purchasing a large wine cellar, everybody's home can have a wine refrigerator! From the casual wine enthusiast to the wine expert, wine cooler refrigerators offer one of the most affordable and efficient means of wine storing and wine aging on the market. With a controlled environment perfectly suited to meet the needs of both young and aged wine, a wine refrigerator not only protects and stores wine but does so efficiently and affordably.
Wine Refrigerators = Consistent Temperature Range for Wine Storage
Wine refrigerators are designed to create a stable temperature zone that you can set between 50°-59° Fahrenheit. In this temperature range, wine will not only keep excellently for short term storage but will age perfectly for longer term storage. Temperature stability is the primary reason why storage in a normal refrigerator is not the best of ideas as your typical household refrigerator is kept at temperatures well below 50° Fahrenheit. Such cool temperatures may keep wine from going bad but it will also keep wine from developing to its full flavor potential. For example, a properly aged Cabernet Sauvignon will evolve from tannic red wine to a softer complex wine with subtle nuances of wood and leather.
In addition, a wine refrigerator offers constant and stable temperatures whereas a regular refrigerator experiences temperature fluctuation throughout the day, since it is opened and closed so often. Temperature stability is extremely important to the life and flavor of your wine, as extreme heat will prematurely age wine while extreme cold will stunt a wine's growth.
Wine Refrigerators = Decreased Vibration from Compressor
Another advantage wine refrigerators offer to wine storage seekers, is a completely vibration-free environment. Vibrations, such as those found in regular refrigerators, disturb the naturally occurring sediment in wine which in turn disturbs the wine's natural aging process. Vibrations cause movement which will prematurely age wine as surely as excessive heat. Lucky for you, wine refrigerators are designed to limit vibrations as much as possible so that your wine rests disturbance free.
Wine Refrigerators = No Natural Light
Natural light is natural enemy of wine. Dark and thickly constructed wine bottles offer some protection; however, prolonged exposure to natural or fluorescent light will break down and destroy your wine's flavor overtime. Wine that has suffered exposure tastes flat and uninteresting.
Luckily wine refrigerators are either outfitted with solid doors or glass doors with built-in light protection to insure your wine avoids such damaging effects.
Wine Refrigerators = Dedicated Wine Environment
Wine refrigerators are simply a fabulous place to store you wine because unlike other environments say the fridge or a closet that happens to have the right storage conditions, wine refrigerators are dedicated solely to storing and preserving your wine. This means no disturbing your wine to reach for a bottle of cranberry juice in the back of the fridge or accidentally kicking your case of prized wine from Napa Valley while searching for your old tennis racket. Instead, wine stored in a wine refrigerator will lie gently on its side to ensure preservation while enjoying perfect temperatures, perfect quietness and stillness and no bright lights.
Wine Refrigerators = Meeting Storage Needs
Wine refrigerators both store and age wine. In the short term (under 6 months), wine is kept in ideal storage conditions as to ensure preservation of the flavor you want to enjoy either tonight, or 6 months from now. Wine refrigerators also keep your wine nice and cool so you can enjoy it close to proper serving temperature when it is time to drink up!
In addition to short term storage, wine refrigerators offer excellent environments to age wine anywhere from a year onwards. Considering that more than 80% of the worlds wine is meant to be consumed upon bottling, wine refrigerators will meet the majority of wine lovers storing and aging needs. For those into more serious aging, wine cellars may be the best long term option due to their proper humidity control. For more on wine cellars and long term aging, click here.
Wine Refrigerators = Proper Wine Serving Temperatures
Wine refrigerators, in addition to achieving proper storage temperatures, create the perfect temperature to serve your wines whether you enjoy white or reds. Wine refrigerators, when kept at temperatures close to 55° to 57°, will leave you with wine that is at perfect drinking temperature. Many wine consumers tend to chill their white wines in a regular refrigerator which leaves their wines too cold at levels around 35° and drink their red wines at levels much too warm as they are usually stored at a room temperature of 70°.
Wine refrigerators ensure that all your wines are at the optimal temperature point for enjoying and drinking. Serving wines at 55° will even benefit a $8 bottle of wine, as it will give the wine a fuller and mellow flavor that is extremely palate pleasing!
Wine Refrigerators = Convenience
Wine refrigerators offer the convenience of being able to store your wine in one dedicated spot that can fit anywhere from a kitchen counter to a built-in unit which fits right in with your cabinets. Rather than storing your wine in a basement or closet, your wine can be right there in your kitchen near your preferred serving area.
Of course, what is so great about wine refrigerators is that they are portable so if you do not have room in your kitchen or are looking for a larger unit, you can put them where you like in the home.
Wine Refrigerators = Affordable Wine Storage
BeverageFactory.com offers such a wide and varied selection of wine coolers you will be sure to find one that meets your needs and your price range. In regards to price, keep in mind the merits of buying a slightly larger wine refrigerator as your collection will expand over the years. If you choose wisely, you will not have to go out and buy a new wine refrigerator as the one you purchased with much thought and consideration (and with BeverageFactory.com's Wine Cooler Buying Guide) can accommodate your growing wine palate.