Wine is a perishable good. Some of the basic enemies of wine, from a preservation standpoint, are temperature and humidity. A typical household’s internal temperature can range between 68 degrees to 78 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees to 25 degrees Celsius) and experience frequent and sudden changes in sunlight and humidity, especially during the changing of the seasons. Under these household conditions, wines really shouldn’t be kept for more than three to five months. Beyond five months, sometimes sooner if it is summertime and a household is warmer than normal, most wines will begin to deteriorate from a preservation and taste standpoint.

A wine cooler, also referred to as a wine refrigerator, helps keep wine’s basic enemies at bay and allow you to store wine for longer periods of time. The basic functions of a wine cooler are maintaining a constant wine appropriate temperature and humidity and minimizing sunlight.

Do not store your wines in your kitchen refrigerator for extended periods of time. A kitchen refrigerator’s temperature is too cold for wine, there is little humidity in the refrigerator (corks will dry out and potentially shrink allowing air to reach the wine) and the unit is constantly opened and closed making it hard for the unit to maintain a constant temperature. Further, in a kitchen refrigerator, most people stand wine bottles straight up. In a wine cooler, bottles are laid on their side, so that the wine stays in contact with the cork, thereby keeping the cork moist and secure within the bottle’s neck and ensuring a tight seal.

Published 06/30/2009

Tags: Temperature, Humidity