Wine is becoming an ever-increasing favorite of many people. With over 1000 different wine varieties, the choices one has seem nearly infinite. As wine’s popularity with us increases, the requirements for good wine storage need consideration. Wine is a perishable food that when improperly stored will lose value and flavor and eventually could end up undrinkable.

How does one get the right wine storage appliance to meet their needs? If you are the person that brings home the occasional bottle of wine for that special dinner or party, it is okay to store the wine on its side in the refrigerator until you use it. However, if you are thinking about having several bottles of wine on hand for future use and aging them to perfection, your refrigerator is a poor choice for storing your wine. Several factors need your consideration to find the wine cooler that fits your needs.

FIRST, you need to decide what your wine storage objective is. How much wine do you want to store? What kinds of wine do you want to have on hand? How long do you plan to store it? Wine coolers are available that can store from a few bottles to hundreds of bottles. If you plan to store a mix of red and white wines, a dual-zone wine cooler would be a good choice; different wines should be stored at their optimum temperature. The best place to store your wine undisturbed until it reaches it best age is a wine cooler.

SECOND, especially in today’s world, the cost of the wine cooler is an important factor. Wine coolers range in price from under $100 to several thousand dollars. Custom built wine cabinets can easily cost over $10,000. Dual-zone wine coolers will cost more than single-zone coolers and front-venting wine coolers for under-counter applications will cost more than freestanding ones. Some beverage centers can store wine as well as a good mix of canned beverages.

THIRD, the space you have available for a wine cooler is another important consideration. If you live in a small apartment or condominium, several wine coolers are available that can fit on top of your kitchen counter. Freestanding wine coolers come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and can be installed anywhere you have a niche to fill. Built-in wine coolers, designed to fit under your countertop, come in the same dimensions as standard kitchen cabinets.

FOURTH, consider your home’s decor when selecting a wine cooler. Wine coolers on the market today come in all different styles and colors. From basic white and black to models with gleaming chrome or stainless steel finishes, there are many choices that will make your wine cooler accent your décor instead of detract from it.

I truly believe that an investment in a wine cooler that fits your needs is an investment in improving your enjoyment of wine. You will need to evaluate and balance all the decision criteria. Consider the factors that are appropriate for you and then invest in a cooler that will keep your favorite wine cool and ready for you to serve.

For more information see: http://www.idealwinecoolers.com/page/home/index.html

Author: Ronald Senn, VP Ideal Wine Coolers, September 2009

Ideal Wine Coolers is pleased to announce a new partnership with EdgeStar, which will give our customers another choice of brand name wine coolers to purchase.  Our customers will be able to compare the EdgeStar products to products currently offered from Danby, Haier and Vinotemp.

Edgestar is an industry leader in the compact appliance field, developing compact, portable appliances and winecoolers designed for today’s busy lifestyles.  When you purchase an Edgestar wine cooler, you are guaranteed to get a quality, innovative product and you can count on Edgestar’s top-flight customer service with all aspects of customer support and service.

Edgestar wine cooler products are brought to the market on the belief that thoughtful, well-designed products can fit into your life and make it easier; giving you more time to spend on doing what matters.

For more information see:  http://www.idealwinecoolers.com/page/edgestar_wine_coolers.html

Author: Ronald Senn, VP Ideal Wine Coolers, September 2009

Edward FitzGerald first translated the Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyan (1048-1123) from Persian to English in 1859.  Over the years, there has been much debate about the accuracy of his translation.  The fact remains that the words penned by FitzGerald remain remembered today.

I first heard the following infamous, translated lines in my high school English class:  “A Book of Verses underneath the Bough, A Jug of Wine, a loaf of Bread – and Thou.”  Only a few things taught during my high school years remain as vivid to me as those words from the Rubaiyat.

Later, I became a Forester who led a life that was often “underneath the Bough” in one forest after another.  Instead of a “Book of Verses,” I carried and read my official USDA Forest Service timber field manual.  When in the woods, my “Loaf of Bread” was really a double-decker baloney sandwich.  I could not carry “a Jug of Wine” while working so water was the substitute of choice.  “Thou” for me at the time was my many co-workers who walked the forest with me.  I spent over 30 years living the life that Omar so ably described.  It was a good life for me—even though I regretted missing the “Jug of Wine” part.

What about wine?  The ever-increasing favorite of many people, including myself, is wine.  The choices one has today seem nearly infinite with over 1000 different wine varieties available.  Omar touted wine as a key ingredient to enjoyment “beneath the Bough.”  Some wines may even have beneficial health effects when taken in moderation.  Many of us now agree Omar was on to something.

In Omar’s day, the old fashioned wine cellar or cave stored that era’s favorite wines.  The cellars and caves were dark, humid and maintained a relatively constant cool temperature, nearly perfect for wine storage.  Today, access to those storage facilities is not readily available to most of us.  Fortunately purchasing products to fit anyone’s wine storage and serving needs is now easy in the market place.  There are wine coolers that fit small spaces, can be freestanding any where in the home, can be installed beneath your countertop, and can other accommodate beverages as well as wine.  There are even wine coolers with thermoelectric technology that are eco-friendly.

Life during Omar’s era is oft romanticized.  However, trudging up and down those dark, moss covered wine cellar steps could not have been an easy task. I submit to you that there would have been many serious falls with their associated concussions.  Imagine instead if they had been able to fetch a bottle of wine during the 30-second commercial time out while watching the Super Bowl.  There are real solutions available today to allow that possibility.  The long and short of it is to buy good wine, store it properly, and serve it at the right temperature. Your enjoyment of wine will last a life time.  I have a feeling Omar did.

For more information see:  http://www.idealwinecoolers.com/page/home/index.html

Author: Ronald Senn, VP Ideal Wine Coolers, September 2009

Our old refrigerator suffered multiple forms of discrimination and was found guilty of not “fitting in.”  Ultimately, a sentence of hard labor in our garage became its fate.  In a few short months, it died.

How did this happen?  It all started one day when my wife said, “Honey, I want to show you something in the kitchen.”   Apprehensively I arrived in the kitchen, and she started her discourse aimed at demeaning our existing refrigerator.   First came, “It’s the wrong color and doesn’t match anything in our kitchen.”  Then, “It’s not big enough to hold everything I need it too, especially with all the entertaining we do.”  Lastly and with no less derision, she said, “its way too old to do the job any longer.”

In a matter of a few minutes, she had discriminated against “Old Harvest Gold” with respect to color, size and age.  However, I knew better than to argue.  I relented and a new refrigerator became a family household primary and the old one became an outcast in our garage located in the Sonoran Desert.  The first few months the garage temperature hovered around 105 degrees.  The next few months the temperature cooled to a balmy 95 degrees.  The refrigerator’s death was predictable and ultimately final in month number five.

In the garage, we had used “Old Harvest Gold” for storing canned and bottled beverages, extra milk bottles, and other items the new larger refrigerator could not hold.  We even used the vegetable drawer to keep our batteries fresh.  After the death and subsequent recycle of the old refrigerator, our new refrigerator had to accommodate “Old Harvest Gold’s” contents.  Putting that collection in the new frig was a solution my wife did not think was useful.

I went searching in the market place and found some consumer products that offered an easy, space-saving solution to our dilemma.  These products were beverage coolers and chillers.  Some of these products could accommodate over 100 canned beverages, five 2-liter beverage bottles and even store our favorite wine.  I could purchase stand-alone or under-the-counter models in several different sizes.  I was lucky to fine one that fit nicely under the counter where my old trash compactor currently existed.  I purchased it and easily installed it myself.  Dilemma solved—or at least I thought it was.

About a month later, I again heard the plaintive cry from the kitchen, “Honey can you come here please?”  This time, her complaint focused on the kitchen’s appearance.  She said, “The modern refrigerator is great, but the cabinets and counter tops now look out of date.”  She went on to say, “I love the beverage center and since we’re going to remodel the kitchen, can we find a larger built-in model that will hold more cans and wine?”

I sold the smaller beverage center and went back to the store, where I found what “we” wanted.  I brought it home for the kitchen remodel contractor to install.   I also stopped at the local hardware store to buy some earplugs just in case “Honey” came floating over the airwaves again.

 For more information see:  http://www.idealwinecoolers.com

Author: Ronald Senn, VP Ideal Wine Coolers, September 2009