A strong burgundy, a refreshing Riesling or a sparkling champagne: A well-stocked supply of fine wine is the dream of every wine lover. For these treasures to last a long time and not lose their quality, they must be specially stored. However, not everyone has a dark and optimally-tempered wine cellar at home - in this case, a wine fridge is the solution. The adequate storage of wines has special requirements: especially for fine and rare wines, it is a serious loss if they become undrinkable due to incorrect storage. A professionally designed wine cooler ensures optimal conditions in which the wines can mature in peace and fully develop their aroma. Within our product range, however, there are different models and functions to choose between.
Depending on the grape variety, the requirements for optimal storage and drinking temperature differ. Red wines, white wines, rosé wines and champagne must therefore be stored at different temperatures in a wine cooler. Strong and full-bodied red wines develop their aromas between 15 ° C and 18 ° C. On the other hand, white wines require a slightly lower storage temperature, which is between 11 ° C and 14 ° C. Rosé wines store optimally in a wine fridge at a temperature between 7 ° C and 12 ° C. Champagne and sekt are also often stored along with the wine supply, and as sparkling wines they require a temperature of 5 ° C and 7 ° C. To enable the storage of different wines in a wine fridge, many models have several temperature zones. The most common is the 2-zone wine fridge. For example, red and white wine can be stored in the same fridge but at different temperatures.
A wine cooler differs significantly from conventional refrigerators that are found in every kitchen. It allows the dark storage of the bottles, because sunlight, UV radiation and even neon light damage the wine. The most important aspects of storage are temperature and climate. Even if a basement is present in the home, it often does not offer the ideal temperature or climatic conditions to function as a wine cellar. Wines must be stored at a specific and above all constant temperature.
With a wine cooler, this can be optimally adjusted and checked. It also provides the required humidity of about 70%, which prevents wine corks from drying out and protects the wine from evaporation. Similarly, a wine fridge must provide the necessary ventilation of its precious contents. Wines should not be stored with other foods because the wine must be able to breathe, and can also absorb the flavours of other substances through the cork which may eventually spoil it. Thus, the wine fridge should not be used for storing open food. Also, the wine must rest, and should not be moved or exposed to vibration.
A wine fridge is therefore equipped with special shelves in which the wine bottles are stored in a constant fixed position. The many wine fridge models on the market differ in size mini small large, price and functionality. In addition to the classic wine fridge, there is also a so-called wine tempering cabinet. These two models are not to be confused, however, because they are intended to serve different functions: while the wine cooler is used for the permanent or long-term storage of wines and usually has several temperature zones, the wine tempering cabinet is for quickly reaching an optimal serving temperature shortly before consumption.
Before purchasing a wine fridge, it is important to decide how and to what extent it will be used. The following points give a rough guide:
Do you know what the actual difference is between champagne, sekt and prosecco??
Sekt is a sparkling wine with at least 10% alcohol, in which the carbonic acid is produced by the natural fermentation process. If the fermentation takes place directly in the bottle, it then belongs to the class of wines that are produced in specific wine regions, to which also the well-known Champagne belongs. This is named after the area from which it originates - Champagne in northern France. Incidentally, Prosecco is not a separate variety, but actually a sparkling wine or wine from the Venice area.
Did you know that there is more than one way to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew?
If you want a glass of wine but don’t have a corkscrew to hand, there are a few tricks to help you uncork a bottle anyway. One way is to put the bottle in a shoe and then tap it with the sole carefully against a wall. Due to the abrupt shocks, the cork can work itself out piece by piece from the bottle. But beware: if you knock too hard you will quickly have wet shoes and a broken wine bottle! Another possibility is opening it with a screw or a key. Just gently push in the cork and lever it out or pull. If all that does not help, you can simply push the cork into the bottle with a solid object. Bottoms up!
Did you know that during Prohibition there were ways to make wine?
It was quite legal to sell grape concentrate with the explicit warning not to disperse the concentrate in water and to store it for twenty days, otherwise it might turn into wine. Pretty sneaky!
Get £10* off by signing up to our newsletter
Registration also possible after order
