Why do I need a wine cooler?

Reasons you need a wine cooler

If you're asking yourself "Why do I need a wine cooler"? then you're probably aware that there are seemingly innocuous elements in your home that can harm your precious wine collection's ability to age and mature if left to fester!

But what are these malodorous elements and how does a good wine fridge subvert their malicious intent?

Well, read on intrepid wine explorer and learn more than anyone should admit to knowing about the mind blowing world of wine cooler technology.

There are four dastardly elements that can harm your wine collection, some operating in plain sight, some subtle but nevertheless intent on being a nuisance.

SUNLIGHT

A friend to wine in its infant days on the vine, were it not for sunlight and photosynthesis there would be no wine to store. However, as a wine matures in bottle one of it's greatest enemies is sunlight. The UV rays from the sun penetrate the bottle and within 3 hours cause damage by exciting key elements in the wine. These overly excited molecules react with amino acids and voila, they produce sulfur compounds which, to put it nicely, smell a bit. The more sunlight, the more sulfur, until eventually your wine is ruined.

How does a wine cabinet/wine cooler help? Wine cabinets have a solid door putting your wine collection entirely in the shade. All our wine fridges have UV protected glazed doors that stop UV rays in their tracks.

HUMIDITY

Wine bottles like a very specific humidity range, somewhere between 50-80%, anything less than this and corks dry out potentially causing a loss of wine from the bottle and potential oxidisation causing wine colour to brown and aromas such as nuts and bruised apples to appear. If the humidity is too high then mold can appear, labels can start to lose their stickiness and degrade.

All our wine coolers have humidity control and keep their fridges at a constant between 50-80%. All our wine coolers have their humidity ranges detailed in their feature tables.

VIBRATION

Whilst it's great fun for the rest of us, wine does not like to jiggle. Stirring up the sediment in wines and creating complex chemical reactions in the bottle from the vibration can lead to a decrease in certain acids naturally present in the wine and dull flavours.

All our wine coolers have anti-vibration technology usually bespoke to the individual wine cooler brand. The shelves remain still despite the energy and sound present in the wine cooler.

EXTREME/FLUCTUATING TEMPERATURES

Harmful to wine and many other living organisms, extreme heat or cold or constantly fluctuating temperature can cause your wine to fail. It doesn't take much heat to taint a wine, a constant 21c or more will cause your wine to degrade, summer temperatures of 30c+ will cause your wine to cook and perhaps even leak out of the bottle.

Extreme cold can cause the bottle to crack or lead to oxidation as the wine unfreezes again. 

The most basic function of every wine fridge is to keep your wine at a steady, pre-set temperature. The ideal temperature to store both red and white wine is around 12c. All wine fridges, from single to triple zones all allow this programmable number and most allow you to move temperatures up to 18c to mature reds or lower than 12c to offer service.

I do need a wine cooler!

If you have a serious wine collection and want to mature them, even a British home is not moderate enough in temperature or humidity to ensure the safe maturation of your collection. Unless you have a perfectly humid cellar it's likely you would benefit from a wine cooler. The great news is, we have 100 in all kinds of price ranges, styles and sizes.

If you need any help choosing your perfect wine fridge use the chat button to speak to one of our team.

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