Newbie Question-Wine Coolers/Cellars

Being fairly new to the wonders of wine, I would like to buy a small wine cooler; somewhere from 24 to 35 bottles. Right now I'm on a tight budget so I'm looking for value, without too much of a sacrafice in quality. I drink mostly reds, but I'd like to have a few whites on hand for my lady friends. Would someone be so kind as to make some recommendations. Thank you.

Reply to
Steve Dannenbaum
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Welcome, Steve.

"Steve Dannenbaum" in news:pj%Re.73757$DW1.27686@fed1read06:

Done. Vast info on this subject in newsgroup archives from the past 23.5 years. For example, at groups.google.com .

(Example of a classic "Frequently Asked Question.")

-- max

Reply to
Max Hauser

"Steve Dannenbaum" skrev i melding news:pj%Re.73757$DW1.27686@fed1read06...

There's indeed much to glean from older threads, but my direct advice is: don't buy. Unless, of course, you live in a very hot area and need to have a 50-55F storage for short term use (4-5 months).. If you are that new to wine your best bet is to buy as needed from a reputable dealer (with good, cool warehouses). Browse around the world of wine, note what you like and find that your taste will change. Why then fill your cooler with something you will not want in

5 years time? Storing wine till maturity is an expensive and tricky business but some rules of thumb apply: If you plan for an average 7 years storage and want to drink 2 bottles a month, you will need space for 7*2*128 bottles... Now, if the idea is to have a bottle or two ready for the ladies the fridge will do. A lady a week will probably mean a bottle a week :-) and it will surely keep in good shape in the refrigerator for double that time. Reds may need a little chill from an hour or a half in the fridge, btw (best served at 60-65F). Whites may need to be taken out half an hour early to warm to 45-50F is your fridge is cold. hth Anders
Reply to
Anders Tørneskog

"Steve Dannenbaum" wrote in news:pj%Re.73757$DW1.27686@fed1read06:

Anders gives good advice. As one who lives in a hot zone (even with the AC temps are in mid 70's much of the year) I drink most of my wines young becasue "proper" storage would require, as some friends do to have closet and bigger sized units. I have a small refrigerator that I keep at 55 thanks to a separate control unit and thermostat this works well for the few "keeper" wines that I accumulate, though I wish I had the nice cool under the steps storage that I had in Minnesota. If only I could accomplish this without Minnesota winters!

Reply to
jcoulter

Wine keeps well in a regular fridge-- I've read all this stuff about corks drying out, etc. but I've probably had a couple of dozen bottles sitting for a year before I opened them, with no problems at all. But if you want inexpensive storage for a couple of dozen bottles, Home Depot has some small wine fridges, or you could buy one of the waist-high ones they make for dorms and turn the thermostat to as warm a setting as it has. And if that's not warm enough, at least one wine accessary store sells a thermostat with a probe that you put in the fridge-- the fridge plugs into the thermostat, and it cuts off the power when the fridge gets too cold. Not the most efficient way to do things, but a little fridge averaging 57 degrees doesn't use too much electricity anyway.

Shaun Eli

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Brain Champagne: Clever Comedy for the Smart Mind (sm)

Reply to
Shaun Eli

We do, and I don'r believe ANYONE knows the answers. There are so many variables involved.

I would also want to know from the OP (if he is still with us) what his requirements are for long term storage. Why does he think he wants a Wine Cooler/Cellar?

From the rest of his post, it seem like he should simply put a bottle in the fridge when he thinks he will get lucky. And maybe buy a wiine chiller sleeve for those unexpected visits..

Reply to
Steve Slatcher

True-- nobody that I know of has done any scientific testing of storing wine at various temperatures for years. The wine industry says 57 degrees is optimum storage, but that number was chosen pretty much because that's the average underground temperature in much of France, where wineries store their wine before release.

Over 70 or 75 for long enough, and wine goes bad faster.

In general chemical reactions go faster at higher temperatures. But some reactions may speed up more than others, so unfortunately you can't take a bottle of young Bordeaux, stick it in 130 degree water for an hour and call it twenty years of aging. On the other hand I once left an inexpensive Bordeaux in a car for a few hours in the summer, put it in the fridge to cool it back down, and it was much better than any of the other 11 bottles of the same wine I had. So you never know...

I just don't think it makes a lot of sense to spend $2000 to cellar 400 bottles of wine you're going to drink within a couple of years, if you have a basement that stays below 70 degrees all year. But if it gets hot where you live, or you want to store some wine for 20 years, you may not have any other choice.

Shaun Eli

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Brain Champagne: Clever Comedy for the Smarter Audience (sm)

Reply to
Shaun Eli

I'm the OP and the reason I think I need a cooler is that I live in Arizona which is about 3 miles from the sun!

It gets really hot here and I entertain a couple-three times a week.

Reply to
Steve Dannenbaum

Hi Steve

But how long do you keep your wines before drinking?

Does your place have air-conditioning? Or can you find a cooler dark place somewhere? If so, wine should be fine for a few months at least. Only if you are thinking in terms of years do you you need to worry.

You also kind of imply that you can deal with red wines, which implies to me you don't need a cellar. White wines do not tend to go bad any faster than reds, and do not need to be stored at a different temperature. You just need to cool them for serving.

Best wishes

Steve

Reply to
Steve Slatcher

Returning to the point of the original posting, which was recommendations:

A very quick check on groups.google.com disclosed several hundred _threads_ on such keywords as refrigerator, cooler, vinotemp, or vinotheque (the latter being brand names) on alt.food.wine, rec.food.drink (pre-1995 when it carried mostly wine info), and net.wines. (Beginning approximately with one on "refrigerators" from Bob Niland, a prolific and venerable poster, in

1986.) Specifically, one search gave 658 threads within AFW alone, increasing (interestingly) only slightly to 660 with addition of the further trade name subzero.

Some of these threads are irrelevant, but since relatively little product advice and experience has _not_ already been posted on these newsgroups, the existing postings are rich ground for the searcher willing to lift a finger. That's a practical first step anyway, and any residual questions may possibly fall into the particular experience of the current crop of experienced readers -- which changes constantly.

Reply to
Max Hauser

Steve, Thanks for the reply. I have A/C and keep it around 78F. I think that might be too warm for wines. I think that I might want to keep some wines for several months; perhaps for special occassions. I'd prefer not to keep them in my fridge. Do you think that I should just store them at room temp?

Steve

Reply to
Steve Dannenbaum

"Steve Dannenbaum" wrote in news:KPMSe.69361$Ji4.22706@fed1read03:

I used to have a larger unit in my garage, but it failed and my wine was cooked (90+ when I found it) since then I have a small fridge that is capable of holding up to 40 bottles. In here I keep the few long term holdings that I pick up from time to time. mosty I drink currently avbailable vintages. though to be honest I tend to likethe wines that I buy such as Loire Valley reds that go really well with a ide range of foods.

Reply to
jcoulter

For several months? Yes, personally I would just store at room temperature.

Keep the bottles in a dark place. And cooler if possible, but I would not worry too much about that. You implied that you have not had problems with reds, so your white wines should be OK too.

Just one proviso. As you mentiioed a tight budget, I presume you are not talking about wines that typically cost 100s of dollars per bottle here. If you have a high value cellar it might be reasonable to spend a few more hundreds of dollars on a wine-fridge as an insurance against A/C failure.

Let's see what others think. At least we have more facts to work with now.

Best wishes

Reply to
Steve Slatcher

For less than six months, storing wine in the back of a closet should be fine. You want to have a dark space, and as cool as possible while fairly regular in temperature (you don't want it to be 65 one day and 80 the next). I'd go to Radio Shack and buy a digital thermometer with memory (should be less than $15) and check out a seldom used closet to make sure it stays consistent.

You do not want to store wine (red or white) in the refrigerator for any length of time.... white wines maybe a couple of days and reds less than an hour. If storing wine in an un-regulated space (i.e. closet), I'd put the reds in the fridge to get them down to cellar temperature before drinking (about 10-15 minutes).

I managed to keep several good bottles this way for more than a year without any problems.

Good luck, Gary

Reply to
g_h_obrien

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