Wine Fridge Vs. Regular Fridge
by David L., Wine Enthusiast Companies
I don’t make a habit of scoping out the contents of people’s refrigerators, but when I’m asked to “help myself,” I notice things. One of the things I observe occasionally is a bottle or two of white wine. I rarely see a bottle of red in a fridge. Maybe it’s because people think reds don’t have to be refrigerated. Reds actually require the same storage environment as whites, one that’s a cool 53-57°F with 55-70% humidity. (For more on wine storage temperature, read Wine Storage Misconceptions: The Truth About Your Reds and Whites.) In any case, there is wine being stored in regular refrigerators all around the world, I’m sure. That’s why I’m writing this post; not to pronounce any “rights” or “wrongs” about what folks put in their fridges, but merely to point out the differences between everyday refrigerators and wine refrigerators or wine cellars, and what those differences mean to the storing of wine.
Temperature, humidity, and vibration are the key distinguishing factors between conventional refrigerators and wine refrigerators. Without delving into the fascinating world of evaporator coils and sensors, it’s easy just to say that a regular fridge is designed to drop temperature rapidly and drive out humidity, whereas a wine refrigerator/cellar is designed to lower temperature gradually and maintain a level of humidity conducive to wine storage. Essentially, they have two different functions. An everyday fridge is made to keep a wide variety of perishables cold and dry, so salad, bread, baloney, and beer all live happily together in an average temperature of 40°F—too cold for the fragile makeup of your wine, and too dry to keep corks moist. Why is it important to keep corks moist? A soy-stained carton of leftover Chinese may be one answer.
Prevailing odors, in addition to cold and dry conditions, can adversely affect wine in a regular refrigerator. It’s possible to get a hint of Kung Pao Shrimp in your Pinot Noir if left on the same shelf too long. How could this happen? If the cork in your Pinot bottle shrinks and becomes porous, due to the lack of humidity, and lets surrounding odors seep into your wine. Remember, conventional refrigerators are made to suppress humidity, not sustain it. High-quality wine cellars such as EuroCave are engineered to maintain ideal humidity levels so corks stay moist and impermeable, not allowing air to seep in and spoil the wine.
Another “enemy of wine” present in conventional refrigerators is vibration. Unlike thermoelectric wine refrigerators, all-purpose refrigerators run on compressors which cause vibrations that interrupt wine’s maturation process, not to mention make a mechanized racket. Some wine cellars and non-thermoelectric wine refrigerators run on compressors too, but they have a special vibration absorption system to reduce the impact of tremors and noise, allowing wine to mature at a natural pace.
Well, I hope I’ve been able to clear up some things regarding refrigerated wine storage. While it’s not a mortal sin to store wine in a kitchen refrigerator, it’s not the most ideal environment either, particularly for long-term storage. If you’ve been wondering all along what the difference is between a wine refrigerator or a wine cellar, read Hmm, Refrigerator or Cellar? Here’s something I’ve been wondering: Do most people really store reds outside of a refrigerated environment? Post a comment if you wish to share your insights on this. Thanks for reading!
Filed under: Wine Storage
April 8th, 2008 at 9:18:11 AM
Question: If refrigerators are made to drive out humidity, wouldn’t it be better to store your wines outside then? What’s most important, temperature or humidity? (If you have to choose)
This from a non wino looking to learn…
April 8th, 2008 at 10:19:58 AM
To the comment above: I don’t think it’s one or the other, you want the best of both. Perfect humidity doesn’t do you any good if the temperature is 75-80 degrees.
On the other hand, humidity is less of a concern if you are not storing wine for long periods. I don’t know how long a fridge would take to dry out a cork. Maybe 8-12 months? But, the other problem with the fridge for long-term storage is the vibration. You can store an open bottle of white wine in the fridge for a week or so without any problems.
We love our thermoelectric wine refrigerator! We decided on the 35 Bottle Vino View from Wine Enthusiast for our “cozy” apartment. We didn’t have a good place to store wine since the closet we would have used had ductwork from the furnace behind the wall so it was too warm. The summertime temp fluctuations are easily 20 degrees between night and day, and 15-17 degrees in the winter (we turn the thermostat down at night). We wanted a small wine cellar so our wine could be kept at a constant (and ideal) temp. The only complaint we have now is: We should have bought a larger one!
April 18th, 2008 at 11:09:28 AM
Henre as stated above a consistant temperature, around 55-57 degrees, and humidity, 50-80 %, are ideal. A standard refrigerator is going to be much cooler and this will slow down the natural maturation process. In terms of humidity, a standard refrigerator does tend to dry out the air and if you are storing wine for more than a year the corks will begin to dry out and shrink, air will then enter the bottle and the wine will begin to spoil. If you are looking for a small unit we have many to choose from, 6-50 bottle capacity, that will do a great job for you. If you’re looking for anything larger I would recommend our Eurocave models that will accomodate from approximately 54-200 bottles. Cheers!
April 19th, 2008 at 9:31:59 AM
I collect wine bottle labels. How can you easily remove labels from used bottles?
April 21st, 2008 at 9:36:38 AM
@Chris R, we sell a product called a Label Saver which will help you remove labels: http://tinyurl.com/4yo2yw
Enjoy!