A wine refrigerator may seem like a frivolous expense that only rich people and "wine snobs" would concern themselves with.
But, in truth, if you enjoy entertaining and you enjoy wine, it can be a great addition to your home appliance collection-especially if you are someone who likes to collect and serve vintage wines.
A "wine cooler" as this refrigerator is sometimes called, keeps the wine at an ideal storing and serving temperature.
It is a lot less expensive and takes up a lot less space than a wine cellar, so it is affordable for even beginning wine enthusiasts.
Is It Different Than A Regular Refrigerator? A wine refrigerator is different from your regular refrigerator in many important ways.
This is why many people choose to get a special refrigerator for their wine.
Your food refrigerator is kept at well below 50 degrees-this is well below the ideal temperature for storing wines.
Also the refrigerator in your home is opened and closed several times each day which alters the temperature many times which is bad for wine storage.
A wine refrigerator maintains the temperature at the perfect level for wine and it is not opened and closed several times every day.
Size When you are shopping for your first wine refrigerator you may wonder what size you should get.
There are models which hold only six bottles and will fit nicely on your countertop, and also models that hold twenty or more bottles and would not fit on your countertop, but would allow for different temperatures in the different sections of the wine refrigerator for the different types of wines.
Temperatures To guide you in what temperatures you should store and serve wines here are some basic guidelines: Blush, rose and dry white wines should be stored in your wine refrigerator at around 55 degrees and served at between 46-57 degrees.
Champagne and sparkling wine should not be stored at all, but should be served at 43-47 degrees-think of the ice bucket.
Light red wines should be both stored in your refrigerator and served at 55 degrees.
Full-bodied wines should be stored at temperatures below 55 degrees and served at 59-66 degrees.
What About A Wine Cellar? A wine cellar is actually a room in your home that acts as a big refrigerator.
It does not necessarily have to be in the cellar, but it should be dark and also it should have humidity.
A wine refrigerator does not provide the humidity for storing wine that a cellar does.
The ultimate wine cellar will have different "climate zones" for different types of wine and when a connoisseur is storing and serving wine he can bring a bottle from one zone to another to prepare it for serving which you cannot usually do with a wine refrigerator.
Although all of this may sound very appealing to some, it is very expensive to carry out.
The construction of the cellar itself is expensive and unlike a wine refrigerator, you also need to have the extra room in your home to build a cellar.
The refrigerator is much easier to accommodate.
Where To Purchase When you are ready to buy a refrigerator for your wine there are several places that you can look to for purchase and also for information.
You can go online to a manufacturer's website and get particulars on different makes and models.
Many home improvement stores and appliance stores now offer wine coolers as part of their regular inventory.
Comparison shop for size and storage capability to find the cooler that will best suit your needs.
Don't let a sales person talk you into something that you can't afford and don't need.
Once you have found your perfect cooler, celebrate with a glass of perfectly chilled wine.