Storing Red Wine in Wine Bottle Refrigerators
Posted onWhen you think of wine bottle refrigerators, chances are, you think of storing white wine there. In North America, most people are accustomed to serving red wine at room temperature and white wine chilled. This is actually not necessarily the best way to go.
You see, red wine is meant to be served at room temperature . . . but not the room temperature that we are accustomed to. Consider that for centuries, wine was stored in wine cellars, which were almost always underground. If they were not built below the earth, then they were in heavily walled rooms without windows, providing a cooler “room temperature”.
These days, our homes are fairly warm and not really suitable for wine storage. Since the vast majority of people don’t own a wine cellar, we need to improvise. Wine bottle refrigerators offer a carefully controlled climate that you decide. It will help the wine mature correctly and provide better flavor, since the temperature is just right and these refrigerators are built to eliminate the harmful vibrations that most kitchen fridges have.
Not everyone will need a wine refrigerator, of course. If you are someone who rarely drinks wine, then it probably isn’t necessary. However, if you drink or serve wine on a regular basis, at least twice a month, you should definitely consider investing in one.
Your red wine will have a fuller body to it, better flavor and more complex components when stored at the correct temperature. Every wine expert knows that your red wine should not be kept at the average room temp, but at around 55-60°F / 12.7-15.5°C. This mimics the coolness of a wine cellar where your wine would be allowed to mature at a gentle rate.
Most people don’t realize just how bad it is for their wine to be kept in the kitchen fridge or pantry. If you plan to use it for cooking, go ahead and do that, but if you want to really get the most out of your evening cup, then you need to take a little better care. Whether your wine is the finest Italy has to offer, a Chilean brand or something you whipped up yourself, it is vital that it be stored correctly.
There’s no reason to ruin a great bottle of red wine. If you don’t have an adequate place to store your wine, it is time to consider investing in a wine bottle refrigerator that will allow you to maintain those bottles at the proper temperature in a cool, dark environment.