Wine Storage Solutions: IDEAL WINE COOLER VIDEO
Wine Tasting Tips: Wine Temperature Basics
What is the best temperature to serve and store your favorite wines? I have been asked this question many times. Trying to be responsive to Blog readers and business clients, I embarked on what turned to be a two-day research project. What I found is hundreds and hundreds of websites that present information on wine storage and serving temperatures. As you can imagine, the opinions about temperature facts were all over the board.
Keeping your wine at the correct temperature is critical to maximizing its value and taste. Wines kept at too high of a temperature will age faster than desired. Wine stored at too cold of a temperature can develop deposits or other sediments in it. Each type of wine has its own desirable storage temperature range. Keep in mind the ideal storage temperature is not always the same as the ideal serving temperature.
Some general information was reasonably consistent from one website to another. The common refrigerator generally operates at 35 degrees F. The lighter the wine the cooler it should be served. The warmest you should serve any wine is 60 to 65 degrees F. Wine should be stored where humidity is about 70 percent. If you had to pick one temperature to store wine, store it at 55 degrees F.
Based on website research, the following table represents averages of all the information that was found. This table for obvious reasons cannot be portrayed as the definitive answer to the best temperatures for storing and serving your wine. It can be used as a guide for your information and use. With over 1,000 different types and variations, the wine temperatures evaluated were limited to a few varieties that are more common.
No one can tell you the precise storage or serving temperatures of wine. The biggest variable to consider is what your own personal tastes tell you. Having a wine refrigerator to better control the temperatures of your stored wine can help you experiment to find just the right temperatures for your tastes.
For more information and temperature management solutions see: idealwinecoolers.com.
| WINE NAME | STORING TEMP | SERVING TEMP |
| Vintage Port | 65 | 65 |
| Bordeaux | 63 | 63 |
| Merlot | 62 | 63 |
| Red Burgundy | 63 | 63 |
| Cabernet | 63 | 63 |
| Shiraz | 62 | 62 |
| Pinot Noir | 61 | 63 |
| Rioja | 61 | 62 |
| Chianti | 56 | 60 |
| Zinfandel | 59 | 64 |
| Rhones | 58 | 60 |
| White Zinfandel | 43 | 60 |
| Cabinet Sauvignon | 45 | 59 |
| Maderia | 57 | 58 |
| Tawny Port | 52 | 58 |
| White Burgundy | 50 | 57 |
| Rose | 44 | 48 |
| Beaujolais | 52 | 48 |
| Viognier | 50 | 52 |
| Sauternes | 51 | 51 |
| Chablis | 50 | 52 |
| Chardonnay | 52 | 47 |
| Riesling | 46 | 46 |
| Champagne | 45 | 45 |
| Sparkling Wines | 45 | 45 |
| Ice Wines | 43 | 43 |
| Asti Spumanti | 50 | 52 |
Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, Jan/2010
Wine Storage Solutions: Space-saving Wine Coolers
For those of us that really enjoy wine, there is always the question of how best to store it properly. If your home has lots of space, the options for wine storage are nearly unlimited. However, in some homes, finding space for a wine cooler to store your best vintages is a challenge. Many people reside in apartments, condominiums, and other small homes that require a real sensitivity to space-saving opportunities. There are solutions to this very dilemma by purchasing a countertop wine cooler.
Kitchen countertops usually vary between 24 and 26 inches in depth. Overhead cabinets in kitchens are usually between 16 and 24 inches above the base cabinet countertop. Another critical dimension of concern is the width of the product you purchase as it relates to area you have available on your countertop. Of course, if you have some extra floor space but no countertop space, your small space-saving wine cooler can be placed on a small table. Again, the dimensions of the wine cooler you purchase are still critical to consider.
Countertop wine coolers are normally 10 to 19 inches wide, 19 to 25 inches deep and 11 to 21 inches in height. A few “tower” type wine coolers will be 6 to 11 inches wide, 20 to 22 inches deep and 20 to 26 inches in height.
One new product now available is a wall-mounted wine cooler that is 18 inches wide, 19 inches deep and 30 inches tall. This wall-mounted wine cooler can easily be mounted on any wall where you might have space.
The countertop wine cooler class has a broad array of wine bottle capacities. Wine coolers are available to store 4, 6, 8, 12, 16 or 17 bottles of your favorite vintages. Almost all of the wine coolers in this class feature thermoelectric cooling systems that use no compressor chemicals. Wine cooling results from using thermal coupling technology. Generally, the only moving part to one of these wine coolers is the fan that circulates the air within the interior of the product.
Most of the countertop wine refrigerators come in classic black. Several models sport a black cabinet but will have silver, platinum or stainless steel door trim. There is a wide range of temperature controls, door handles, and shelving styles to fit any body’s needs.
Do not let limited space in your home keep you from investing in a wine cooler that will provide the preferred storage for all your best vintages. For more information see: http://idealwinecoolers.com/page/countertop_wine_coolers.html.
Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-President, Ideal Wine Coolers 1/2010