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The Basics Of Wine Refrigeration And What Every Wine Lover Should Know

Guest Author: Cynette Montoya is a writer for Wine Cellar Innovations, a company specializing in wine cellars, wine racks, and all of your wine storage needs. She enjoys talking about style, design, and customizing wine cellars. Check out her fun and upbeat articles in the Wine Cellar Innovations Blog on wine cellar transformations.  You can follow them on Facebook.“Wine makes every meal an occasion, every table more elegant, every day more civilized.”~Andre Simon~Iron wine door

Just how much do you love your wines? A certified wine lover would treat his precious collection as well as possible. For sure, he would want to see every bottle aging gracefully and achieving its peak taste. But in order to accomplish this, he must create the best environment for his prized bottles. After all, wine is naturally delicate. It will not survive frequent fluctuations in temperature and humidity. It will also deteriorate if it is exposed to extreme heat or cold. That’s why if you care for your wines, you should seriously consider investing in the right wine refrigeration system.

The appropriate wine refrigeration cooling unit can provide wine cellars with consistent storing conditions. This would mean an ideal temperature range from 55-58 degrees and humidity of around 55-75 percent. If your wine refrigeration unit cannot meet these conditions for your wine cellar, then you should have it replaced as soon as possible. This can usually happen if the unit has already outlived its productive lifespan due to the wear and tear of everyday use. You cannot afford to scrimp on something so vital, otherwise, all your bottles, including your best vintages will age prematurely.

This is not the only thing a connoisseur should think about. There’s also the question of keeping your bottles nice and fresh and in proper serving temperature the moment you’ve popped open that cork. Keep in mind that serving temperature is different from the wine storage temperature levels we’ve earlier pointed out. The serving temperature varies with every kind of drink you open, unlike wine storage temperature which is generally constant for the entire wine cellar, no matter what bottles you put in there. For example, dry white wines should be stored at 55 degrees Fahrenheit and served between 46-57. Light red wine need to be stored and served at 55 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas full-bodied reds need to be stored below 55 degrees but served at 59-66 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wine refrigerator

For this purpose, you will also need a good quality wine fridge to store those bottles which you have recently opened. After all, it’s inevitable that there will be bottles that you will not finish on just one occasion. By keeping them stored in the fridge with the right temperature levels, your wines can still remain fresh and in the best of taste conditions the next time you serve them. So basically, a proper wine cellar needs BOTH the suitable wine refrigeration cooling unit and wine fridge in order to give the best care to each and every bottle stored there.

Now would the location of your wine cellar matter when it comes to establishing the ideal wine storage conditions for your collection? Not at all! You can add wine racks anywhere in your home: in the basement, under the stairs, attached to your dining area, or even by converting an unused space anywhere in your home. As long as you install the appropriate wine refrigeration cooling unit, you can keep those bottles safe and sound, no matter where in the home your wine cellar will be built. So if you truly care for your wines, spend a little more time learning how to store and serve them the right way!

*Cheers*