How to Choose a Wine Fridge: The Ultimate Buying Guide for Wine Coolers and Refrigerators

Why Do You Need a Wine Fridge?

A dedicated wine fridge is designed specifically to address the needs of wine. It provides a steady temperature year round while blocking out excess sunlight and keeping artificial light to a minimum. Many wine fridges are designed with floating shelves and cooling systems that minimize vibrations.

Proper wine storage is crucial for maximizing your enjoyment of each bottle, whether you're an experienced wine connoisseur or just starting to develop your taste. A wine refrigerator, whether it's a built-in cooler for your kitchen or a freestanding fridge for a wine cellar, is the best way to ensure that your wine stays fresh and ages perfectly while also allowing you to effortlessly serve it at the ideal temperature for optimal flavor.

With a plethora of cooling units available on the market, it can be challenging to select the perfect wine fridge for your needs. That's why we've created a comprehensive guide to buying a wine refrigerator, covering all the essential features and taking into account your budget, preferences, and style.

Even if you're new to the world of wine, don't worry! We'll provide you with a basic understanding of wine storage so that you'll know precisely how to keep reds, whites, and sparkling wine for both short-term enjoyment and long-term storage. With the right wine storage solution, you'll be able to impress your guests and look like a wine expert. 

Section 1: Wine Storage Basics

Wine is a delicate, natural product. Like the fruits that it's made of, wine will eventually spoil if not properly stored. When wine goes bad, the compounds that make up its complex flavors and aromas break down, leaving you with something that tastes more like vinegar than vino.

To keep this from happening, wine must be protected from three big enemies: extreme temperatures, ultraviolet rays, and vibrations.

Section 2: Light, Temperature and Vibrations

UV rays can damage wine the same way they damage your skin. Too much sunlight will cause the delicate compounds in your wine to break down, leaving you with wine that doesn't taste like it should. Experts describe this as a "cooked" flavor. Keeping wine in protective storage that minimizes exposure to sunlight and artificial light is key.

Temperature

The all-around best wine storage temperature is 55 degrees, which is about the same as the year-round temperatures found underground. Caves and actual cellars were the original wine storage facilities in the days before refrigeration, because they made it easy to keep wine at these temperatures. When wine is kept at 55 degrees, it slows that aging process significantly, so you don't have to worry about losing color, flavor, or aroma.

Maintaining a steady temperature is also important. When wine is subjected to dips and spikes in the temperature, it speeds the decaying process. It also leads to fluctuations in relative humidity, which can damage corks and break the seal on your wine bottles. Shrunken corks can cause wine to spoil in just a few days.

Vibrations

Wines have a small amount of sediment in each bottle. If your wine is moved too often, that sediment can become agitated and spread throughout the bottle, where it causes chemical reactions that change the flavor of your wine. If the sediment is present when you pour, it also ruins the mouth feel when you take a sip. Wine should be kept as still as possible and protected from excessive vibrations from appliances.

Section 3:

The Drawbacks of a Standard Refrigerator

Unfortunately, a standard kitchen refrigerator does none of these things. Keeping wine in your kitchen fridge will leave it too cold, since the standard temperature for food storage is 38 degrees, not 55. The interior is also much drier, which can shrink corks and break the seal on your wine. Large food refrigerators tend to have large compressors, which create excessive vibrations. If you keep wine bottles in the refrigerator door, they'll be moving all the time, and subjected to plenty of temperature changes as you ponder what you want for a snack. All things considered, this is not a good way to store your wine.

Section 4: Understanding Wine Serving Temperatures

Another reason to consider a wine fridge is to make sure that your wine tastes its best when you're ready to drink it. While the ideal temperature for wine storage is 55 degrees, the best temperature for serving wine is another story. Wines can be broken into three basic categories when it comes to serving temperatures:

• Red Wines: Traditionally, red wines are served at room temperature. Today's houses are kept much warmer than they were in the past, so this really means somewhere between 60 and 65 degrees.
• White Wines: White wines typically taste better chilled, but not so cold that you can't distinguish the delicate