What is a wine fridge for?

A wine cooler, or wine fridge, is a great way to store and preserve your wine while keeping it safe and fresh. If you have a large number of wine bottles, then a wine cooler is a great alternative to a normal refrigerator that can keep the bottles too cold and inhibit the aging process.

What is the point of a wine fridge?

The main function of a wine cooler is to keep your wine cool. Some wine coolers offer dual temperature zones, which enable you to store your red wine and white wine at different temperatures within the same unit.

Is a wine fridge cold enough for food?

These items are actually much happier at a temperature of 46-55 degrees, and your regular fridge is 35-40. A wine fridge, especially one with a precise temp control, can keep your cheeses and cured meats both safe and at optimal temps. This is a great use for a countertop models.

Does a wine fridge keep drinks cold?

A wine fridge is perfect for chilling bottled water, soda, sparkling water, juice, energy drinks, lemonade, and even other alcoholic beverages like beer and wine coolers.

Do I need a wine fridge for red wine?

Yes, for long term storage you should store your red wine in a wine cooler or temperature controlled wine cellar. The best temperature to store all types of wine at is 55°F, which is called the "cellar temperature", and is designed to replicate the original wine cellars used in France.

Watch this Before Buying a Wine Fridge - Guide on which Wine Storage Cooler is Best for You

Why red wine should not be chilled?

According to wine experts, red wine is best served in the range of 55°F–65°F, even though they say that a room temperature bottle is optimal. When red wine is too cold, its flavor becomes dull. But when red wines are too warm, it becomes overbearing with alcohol flavor.

Can you put red wine in the fridge and then take it out?

If you put a wine in the fridge and chill it down, is it OK to take it out and let it warm up again, then chill it again later? Sure. It may not be ideal, but it's not likely to do much harm.

What's the difference between a wine fridge and a regular fridge?

In a wine refrigerator, humidity levels are maintained so that corks remain impermeable and moist. On the other hand, traditional fridges are designed to suppress humidity—shrinking your corks and letting neighboring odors seep into and overpower your wine's natural flavors.

Can you put liquor in a wine fridge?

It's Not Just for Wine

You can present your drinks in a fun, socially exciting manner that makes it a great addition to your décor. Wine coolers can hold wine, beer, and various liquors you prefer chilled. But they can also hold cans and bottles of water, soda, and juice.

Is a wine fridge OK for beer?

So if you mainly need to store beer and soft drinks you should go for a bar fridge. Wine cabinets, as the name suggests, are made for storing wine. Red wine, white wine and champagne all benefit from the slightly higher temperature in a wine cabinet (10-15 degrees).

Can you put normal drinks in a wine cooler?

Storing other drinks

Any soft drinks that can be stored at ambient temperatures (which is most of them) can be kept in a wine cooler, too. The same goes for other alcoholic beverages including beers and ciders – there's nothing wrong with using a wine fridge for beer, thereby freeing up space in your main fridge.

Can you store eggs in a wine fridge?

If you're collecting chicken eggs and storing for incubation later, wash any foreign material off the shell and refrigerate at 55 degrees Fahrenheit with 70-75% humidity. Wine refrigerators set at the white wine setting of 55 degrees Fahrenheit work great for this!

Is a wine fridge a good idea?

A wine fridge is helpful because it can maintain the proper temperature for your wine. Your regular fridge likely gets opened and closed quite often, which can cause its temperature to fluctuate. Constant temperature fluctuations are harmful to bottles of wine.

Is a wine fridge just for white wine?

You can store both white and red selections in a wine refrigerator. The key to storing wine properly is to achieve the right temperature setting. You can purchase a dual compartment fridge if you wish to keep a variety of wines.

What happens if you don't refrigerate wine?

Some wines will become more expressive with that initial exposure, but after a while, all wines will fade. Oxygen will eventually cause any fresh fruit flavors to disappear and aromatics to flatten out. Drinking a wine that's faded due to oxidation won't make you sick, it will just taste unpleasant.

Are wine fridges for red or white?

The rule of thumb is: reds are best stored at room temperature and whites and bubblies, chilled. Let's uncover the ideal wine storage temperature (including the perfect temperature range) for different wine styles. We'll then cover why wine fridge temperature matters and go over six tips for using a wine fridge.

What is the difference between a wine cooler and a wine refrigerator?

A beverage cooler and refrigerator are similar to each other, but beverage coolers frequently do not offer the adjustable shelves or door storage that a refrigerator often does, and they often have glass doors in order to display the contents.

Can you ruin wine if it gets too cold?

Extreme cold is not nearly as bad for wine as extreme heat. Cold slows down the aging process. And even if your wine is fluctuating from the ideal 55° F temperatures down to as low as mid-30s, as long as the fluctuation is happening gradually, it's not that bad.

What wines need a wine fridge?

Lighter, fruitier, and drier white wines such as Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc are ideal at colder temperatures, usually between 45-50 degrees. Bubbly bottles such as Champagne, Prosecco, sparkling brut, and sparkling rosés should always be chilled to 40-50 degrees.

How long does unopened wine last?

When stored properly and kept unopened, white wines can often outlive their recommended drinking window by 1-2 years, red wines by 2-3 years, and cooking wines by 3-5 years. Fine wine — as you may have guessed — can typically be consumed for decades.

How long does red wine last once opened?

When sealed and stored in a cool, dark place or a fridge, red wines like Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec can last for around four days. As a general rule, red wines with higher tannin and acidity tend to last longer once opened. Late harvest reds can also stay fresh for up to four days.

How long should wine be in the fridge before drinking?

In the fridge, it took 2.5 hours for red wine to reach its ideal temperature of 55° and 3 hours for white wine to reach its ideal temperature of 45°. In the freezer, it took 40 minutes for red wine to reach its ideal temperature and 1 hour for white wine to reach its ideal temperature.

Which wines should not be chilled?

White, Rosé and Sparkling Wine: Whites need a chill to lift delicate aromas and acidity. However, when they're too cold, flavors become muted. Like reds, fuller-bodied wines like Chardonnay from Burgundy and California shine between 50°F and 60°F. Dessert wines like Sauternes fall into the same range.

Do they chill red wine in Italy?

Tip #1 – Temperature is Everything

The general advice for serving Italian wine is to go for slightly chilled below room temperature. You don't want it chilled to the level of a white wine. But a couple of degrees below room temperature is best.

How do you properly drink wine?

To drink the wine, take a small sip and swirl the wine in your mouth, so you can fully absorb the flavor with your taste buds. You can hold the wine for about five seconds, then swallow, and savor the aftertaste. Fine wines linger on the palate for longer. This is especially true when drinking red wine.