How to choose a wine fridge?
A glass of cool wine on the terrace or balcony overlooking the orange Lithuanian sun - what could be more romantic? .. We do not encourage drunkenness, but enjoying quality wine that has been maintained for several years is no great sin. Good wine lovers know that wine has to stand in certain conditions, otherwise it will lose its smell or even taste. When there is no cool underground cellar, other technological solutions have to be used - wine refrigerators.
Necessarily a wine fridge? Ordinary does not fit? In order to understand why wine has its own refrigerator, some basic wine storage principles should be considered:
1. Wine must be kept at a constant temperature of 5 to 20 degrees. The difference between the storage temperature of white and red wine is small. White wine should be kept at 8-12 degrees, red wine at 12-20 degrees and sparkling wine and champagne at 5-8 degrees.
2. The wine must be stored at 70% vol. in moisture. Fluctuations in humidity damage the cork and then can damage the wine.
3. The wine must be stored in a ventilated room, free of any foreign smell, otherwise it may be absorbed by the cork and affect the taste and smell of the wine.
4. The wine bottles shall stand still and vibrate. Vibration shakes the wine, causing some of the substances in the wine to be released during beating, which can trigger a variety of chemical processes that can affect the taste and smell of the wine.
5. Wine must be kept in the dark as far away from the sunlight. Although the bottles are of dark glass, they may not always protect the wine from the sun's harmful rays.
Now, why is there a need for a wine refrigerator?
Essential functions of a wine refrigerator
The wine refrigerator has several essential functions that are used in many models.
Tinted doors. The doors of wine refrigerators are either blinded or very tinted. This is to protect the wine from sunlight.
Temperature control. The LED display and a few buttons are all control of the wine cooler. That's what you need, because the main function is to cool the air from 5 to 20 degrees Celsius. There can be no negative temperature or frost in such a refrigerator, so you will definitely not be able to keep ice cream near the wine.
Retractable drawers. Like the oven, the drawers with wine bottles are pulled out to make it easier to grab a bottle of wine. Usually wine bottles are placed with the bottoms facing forward, so the thick end is definitely not very comfortable to grab and pull out the bottle.
Foldable drawer. Most wine refrigerators have one or more drawers that fold down. This is for wine presentation because the wine bottle in the tilt drawer is viewed without opening the door.
The fan. The job of the fan is to maintain a certain level of humidity in the refrigerator.
Built-in or under construction?
When choosing a wine refrigerator, one should decide basically - whether it will be built into the furniture, close to being built. If the wine fridge is standing in the kitchen, it is recommended to choose a built-in one. This will lessen the attention of minors. It should also be borne in mind that wine is an expensive beverage, so thieves who accidentally turn around may no longer look for family jewelry that
would cost less for a bottle of good wine.
Placed right in the living room or lounge. It should be remembered that its design should be matched to existing furniture.
Most wine refrigerators are built-in, and this trend is less likely to change. By the way, some manufacturers make built-in wine refrigerators that are reminiscent of built-in ovens. This allows them to be mounted side by side and maintain style integrity.
Wine refrigerator capacity
The capacity of the wine refrigerator is calculated by two parameters. One capacity is liters. This is the internal size of the fridge. Another size is the number of bottles. The standard measure is taken as the standard
Bottle of Bordeaux. It is a round, 750 ml (0.75 l) bottle. The technical specifications indicate how many bottles such a refrigerator can hold, so this should be a valid choice.
The actual capacity should not be overlooked. Wine refrigerators are too expensive to store other foods.
Noise level
The refrigerator mechanism uses a compressor which drives the freon and thus cools. The compressor itself is quite a noisy device, but manufacturers are working to reduce noise levels as much as possible. Wine coolers now make 32-40 dB noise. This level of noise can be heard in the library. From 40 dB a person is considered to start paying attention to ambient sounds. High-quality standard refrigerators produce the same sound.
If the wine fridge is on the living room, it's worth looking for a very quiet fridge so you don't feel like you're in the kitchen.
Temperature distribution
Some models have the ability to split the temperature on two shelves. This makes it possible to store red wine and sparkling wine in a single refrigerator, which requires 5-8 degrees Celsius.
One or more fans contribute to the moisture distribution.
Wooden shelves
Why not iron or plastic? All because of the vibration. The wooden surface absorbs vibration and the bottles stand still. It is also stylish and reminiscent of a real wine cellar.
Racks with rails, extendable. Some have a folding mechanism so the drawer can be tilted to show the bottle labels.
Some models include an additional drawer for wine.
Wine refrigerators are an expensive pleasure, so be sure to look at all the technical options before investing $ 1,000 or more in a wine refrigerator.
