Buying A Refrigerated Wine Cooler

Is your wine poorly stored and subjected to fluctuations in temperature? Temperature fluctuations can destroy your valuable wine collection by prematurely aging it.

You need a temperature controlled refrigerated wine cooler.

Standard home or commercial refrigeration equipment is not well suited to cooling wine for four main reasons:

It's designed for food products – standard refrigeration equipment is designed specifically to look after food products, not to store your wines. What works for T-bone and vegetables is not the best thing for your expensive wine.

Designed to cool quickly – commercial refrigeration equipment has to cool things quickly to stop it spoiling. Usually by blasting cold air to reach a desired temperature. The system then works on a cycle. Once a set temperature is reached, standard refrigeration equipment shuts off. When the temperature rises to a pre-determined point, cold air is blasted in again. This continuous up and down temperature cycle isn't good for your wines. A refrigerated wine cooler eliminates this problem!

Designed to remove heat and moisture – Standard refrigeration equipment is designed to remove heat and moisture from food products. Heat has to be quickly removed to stop frost and moisture forming that will in turn form mildews. Wine does not give off heat or moisture. So we end up with an environment that's way too dry for wine. This will cause wine corks to shrink and then air can get in. Once air can get in, wine can get out and your wine is ruined. A refrigerated wine cabinet will not dehydrate the atmosphere. It is designed to retain the ideal level of humidity within the cooler.

Built to a price, not a standard – home refrigeration equipment is designed to be price competitive so vibration, noise and appearance aren't high priorities. Vibration will eventually destroy a fine wine. A wine cellar is a real conversation piece and you'll always have people 'inspecting' your collection. Something that's loud, shaking and looking decidedly industrial will detract from the appearance of your wine cellar. Refrigerated wine cabinets can be quite plain in construction but can also be designed as beautiful pieces of furniture.

Remember that the way wine is stored has a direct impact on the way it ages. Wine not stored in ideal temperature and humidity conditions will not develop as the winemaker intended and may age too quickly destroying the taste and beauty of the wine along the way.

So, if you don't have the space to build your own wine cellar, to properly cool and humidify your wine you'll require a refrigerated wine cooler or wine cabinet.