Understanding Wine Preservation

The five most important conditions to consider when you're storing wine are:

• 1. Temperature - Ideally you want your wines to be store between 50° and 59° F
• 2. Humidity - Your storage humidity should be at 70%
• 3. Light - Low to no light conditions are ideal
• 4. Movement - Minimize movement and vibrations
• 5. Exposure - Prevent exposure to oxygen

We go into how these factors affect wines in detail in our article HERE.

All these conditions need to be optimal in order to create the perfect environment for protecting and preserving wine. We find that the best means of storing wine in a controlled and optimal environment is inside a wine refrigerator. A wine refrigerator allows you to set and maintain the perfect temperature for preserving wine. Additionally, wine refrigerators have built-in humidity control and UV light protection.

Read about the five reasons you need a wine refrigerator HERE. Also, we listed the top wine refrigerators chosen by wine professionals in this article HERE.

Can you put a wine refrigerator in the garage?

If you are trying to determine in your garage is ideal for storing your wine refrigerator, you need to consider these two important factors.

• 1. Ambient Temperature - Depending on the region in which you live, you may find your garage too hot or too cold to store a wine refrigerator. When a wine refrigerator is put through extreme temperature conditions, the unit has to work harder in order to maintain the ideal storage temperature.

  Even if you live in a milder climate, you need to be aware of heatwaves and other sudden changes in ambient temperature. Additionally, your garage may be insulated or lack insulation because of these factors and more, the ambient temperature can vary wildly.

  In order for your wine refrigerator to run optimally, you will want the ambient temperature to be between 32 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In general, many wine refrigerators will begin to work harder when placed in an environment with an ambient temperature above 85 and below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. This means that a unit operating in 100-degree heat that is set to 55 degrees could be 70 degrees inside because the ambient temperature is so much higher.

  This is because wine refrigeration technology is based on the concept of the temperature difference between the outside and inside of the cabinet. When the ambient temperature is too high or too low, the imbalance causes the wine refrigerator to function inefficiently.

  We recommend if you'd like to store your wine cooler in the garage to ensure that the temperature of your garage does not often swing to the extremes.

• 2. Light or Direct Sunlight - Direct and even indirect sunlight may affect the preservation of your wines. Ideally, you will want to avoid placing your wine refrigerator in an area exposed to direct sunlight. For example, if you have windows in your garage or if you open your garage frequently, this direct sunlight will affect the temperature of your unit, causing it to work harder.

  Light exposure can cause wines to age prematurely. Luckily, many wine refrigerators have a UV tinted protective glass door, however, glass is not a good insulator and contribute to temperature fluctuation issues.