Building a wine cellar can create the ideal environment to store your wines. Temperature is always a major consideration in wine storage and the ideal wine storage temperature is between 55ºF and 58ºF (13ºC–15ºC), although any temperature between 40º–65ºF (5º–18ºC) will suffice as long as it doesn’t fluctuate too much. Ideally, the humidity should be around 70%. If you can’t achieve these temperatures in your passive wine cellar then you may require a wine cellar cooling unit.

A standard home refrigerator makes a poor wine cooling solution for several reasons. It is designed specifically to store and look after food products, not to store wines. An atmosphere that works well for meat and vegetables is far too cold and dry for your expensive wine. The preferred temperature for home refrigeration is somewhere between 35ºF and 38ºF (1.7 to 3.3ºC)

Home – or even commercial – refrigeration equipment is built to cool food quickly to prevent it spoiling. This is achieved by blasting cold air until the desired temperature is reached. Then a cycle kicks in whereby once the set temperature is reached, the refrigerator shuts off. When the temperature rises to a pre-determined point, cold air is again blasted. This continuous fluctuating temperature cycle isn’t good for your wines.

Standard refrigeration equipment is designed not only to cool but also to remove moisture. Wine gives off neither heat nor moisture so you end up with an environment that’s way too dry for wine. This will cause wine corks to shrink, which will allow air to get in. Once the air is in contact with your wine the irreversible process of oxidation begins and your wine is ruined!

Vibration can also be an issue with a home refrigerator. Wine requires a calm vibration-free environment in which to develop so any vibration will eventually destroy a fine wine.

Similarly, home air conditioning provides a poor environment for aging your wines, as it removes the humidity from the air which can lead to corks drying out. Additionally, if air conditioning is only turned on at certain times during the day then the wine will become subject to wide temperature fluctuations, which will inevitably cause irreparable damage to your wine.

To properly cool and humidify a cellar you will need a cooling system designed specifically for cooling a wine cellar.

Wine cellar cooling units can be set at any temperature within the optimum range for successfully aging wines and they cool the air slowly and gently. They are designed to maintain humidity rather than dehydrating the cellar although sometimes additional humidification may be required in extremely dry climates. This type of wine cellar cooling unit is usually installed approximately 18 inches from the top of the room in order to achieve maximum cooling. The unit will also require an unobstructed airflow and adequate ventilation to dissipate the heat generated by the unit.

It is also possible to install a split air system into a wine cellar although these units can be very expensive with prices running into many thousands of dollars.

A split air system is installed outside the wine cellar and the supply and return air is ducted to and from the wine cellar. This wine cellar refrigeration system works like a central air-conditioning system and is similarly quiet. This system would usually include electronic controls and a digital display. There are many options available with split system cooling including humidifiers, dehumidifiers and alarm units. With the addition of the options, a split air system will provide you with total control of your wine cellar refrigeration, albeit at a large cost.

If you find that your wine cellar requires a cooling unit it is worthwhile shopping around and comparing brands. There are few bargains, however, you should be able to save money with a little research.

If you compare your home refrigerator and a wine refrigerator, some differences will become apparent. A food refrigereator is kept well below 50 degrees fahrenheit, much too cold for a wine refrigerator. Wine should be stored at around 55 degrees. Another difference between the two refrigerators is the the one for food is opened multiple times during a day. Opening a wine refrigerator that many times would make it very hard for the refrigerator to maintaing the correct temperature.

The Size of a Wine Refrigerator

You may wonder which size of wine refrigerator to choose. There are a number of models and choices. Some wine refrigerators hold 6 bottles while other models hold 20 or more bottles. The six bottle units sit nicely of your counter top while you will need some floor space for the bigger models. One of the advantages of the bigger wine refrigerators is the individual cooling compartments. This allows you to put red, white or rose in the wine refrigerator and each type of wine will have its own section.

What Temperature Should I Store My Wine?

Storage of wine can be critical to the final product in your glass. Too warm and the wine will age to fast but too cold is just as harmful as the colder temperatures don’t allow the natural aging process to continue. Different wines have different temperature tolerances. If you are a fan of blush, rose or dry white wines or even light red wines, then that dial for temperature should be set to between 40 and 52 degrees. Don’t put your champagne or other sparkling wines in the wine refrigerator. The temperature for full-bodied wine should be stored at temperatures in the 52 to 60 degree range. These temperatures in your wine refrigerators makes for a much better end product.

The Difference between a Wine Cellar and a Wine Refrigerator

Basically the difference relates to the amount of wine that can be stored. Obviously the wine cellar will hold more bottles and is much more expensive since it usually takes up one or more rooms in your house. These rooms are usually in a basement that gets litte light and essentially acts like a big refrigerator with different “temperature zones” for different wines that you’re storing. While the idea of a wine cellar may be very attractive to the wine enthusiast, they had better have deep pockets. They are quite a bit more expensive than even the best wine refrigerator.

Where to Purchase a Wine Refrigerator

Purchasing a wine refrigerator can seem like a daunting task but it really need not be that hard. There are several places you can purchase them. Online, you may want to check out a specific manufacturers web site. Offline you can go to home improvement stores or appliance dealers. Just be sure to compare prices when you decide you want a good wine refrigerator. Learn about the different models and their features. That way you won’t be talked into a model that you either can’t afford or one that has features that you don’t need. You will see and taste the benefit of a good wine refrigerator in your glass.