Wine coolers can get rather pricey, especially if you’re looking to store larger quantities of wine. There are also many variables to consider – do you want a built-in wine cooler, or a freestanding wine fridge? Let’s take a look at when you should invest in a wine cooler to store your red wine.
Quirks of red wine
Perhaps most importantly, what is red wine? Red wine is a type of wine, which gets its colour from the pigment found inside the skin of darker grapes. The colour can change with age, with violet telling you the wine is relatively young, brick red for more matured wines, and brown for older red wines. Red wine requires a slightly higher temperature than white wine when it comes to storage, around 13 degrees Celsius. Red wine can also go flat – or lose its undertone taste, if left open for too long. It’s recommended that you consume any red wine within three days of opening the bottle.
What kind of wine cooler should you buy?
Now that you have some knowledge of red wine, you need to consider what kind of wine cooler you would like to purchase. Let’s take a look at the different variables you should take into consideration when shopping around for a wine cooler. Firstly, is size. Do you live in a rather spacious home with a cellar, or a studio apartment? If you have space to spare, then a large freestanding wine fridge might be the right fit for you – simply put it in your cellar, and store upwards of 100 bottles of wine. If you’re stuck for space, then a built-in wine cooler is what you’re looking for. You can hide it away in a kitchen cabinet, or simply under your counter. While offering less storage space, you can still store around 20-30 bottles of wine.
One important thing to note is the difference between freestanding and built-in wine coolers – while both operate using a thermoelectric cooling system, wine fridge freestanding have a back facing vent, meaning they cannot be pressed up against a wall. Built-in wine coolers have a front facing vent, meaning they can press up against a wall without any risk of overheating.
Next is the temperature setting. Unless you’re a wine connoisseur who knows what temperature, wine should be stored and served at, you’re going to want a wine cooler that does it for you. Thankfully, the majority of wine coolers, both built-in and freestanding, have dedicated temperature settings for serving wine, both red and white, as well as storing them.
So, when should you buy a wine cooler for your red wine?
You should buy a red wine cooler when you feel confident that your red wine collection is worth storing away safely. That, or when you’re fed up of finding bottles of red wine tucked away in every corner of your kitchen. Whichever comes first, really.
Conclusion
Hopefully this helped you decide whether or not you require a wine cooler to store your red wine. There are many different models out there, so you’re sure to find the right one to fit your needs.