Wine fridge

Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum

Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Winetaster

Junior
Joined
Apr 25, 2012
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Last edited by a moderator:
I have 64-bottle Vinotemp. Definitely consider going bigger, in the 52- to 64-bottle range, if you are going to be making wine. I very much suggest Craigslist, where you can find them really cheap now and again. I got the $999 stainless steel Vinotemp for $125 barely used and delivered by the owner. I am awaiting another cheap one close by so I can double my storage. I have seen 60-bottle units for as cheap as $50 on there, just a little too far away for me.

These are a good economical alternative to building a cooled wine room for those who do not have cellar or basement. They will keep wine at anywhere from 50-60 degrees. One thing, though, is that they do not do well in uninsulated garages or sheds. They can't keep up with the temp swings in those.
 
I'm sure someone else could speak to this better than I, but from my understanding, a wine fridge is -not- a great way to store wine long-term. Yes, it will help you control the temperature perhaps, but it will not help you control the humidity, which is really needed for long-term storage. That's my understanding anyway. Short-term (~1 year) the fridge is fine, but beyond that not so much. Perhaps someone else can confirm or deny that though.
 
I keep my most of my wine in a ~68 +/-1 area in my basement. I have an 18 bottle, dual zone wine cooler in the kitchen that gets the wine when it's ready to drink.

So far, 2 years (or so) is the longest I've manged to keep bottled wine around. If I ever look for longer term storage, I'll figure a way to keep the wine storage part of my basement cooler - I can't see trying to keep hundreds of bottles cool inside of appliances.
 
That's because you have a cool basement, Bob. The high water table keeps basements from being built where I live, and it is 90+ degrees for 7 months a year. I love the Vinotemp, looking to add another one when it comes up on CL used. I guess I will worry about long-term storage when I have any wine that is around longer than 18 months. Gee, that might be never! :D
 
:) For a bottle count in the hundreds, I would still consider cooling a room rather than have a collection of frig units. Then again, I don't know your environment like you do. On the up-side, you have lotsa' wine you've made that you like well enough to be concerned about how it's stored - Bravo!
 
If you have hundreds of bottles, why not just buy this one and store 440 bottles.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11748725&search=wine&Mo=30&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=wine&Ntt=wine&No=21&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

I've seen these on Craigslist for $1,200-$1,500 used. They work in garages, too.

The other way to do it is to store the wine in the crawlspace in Rubbermaid totes and then transfer it to a 60-bottle cooler as the stock runs low.
 
Last edited:
Find a small corner store that is remodeling and ask about thier old coolers ( Pepsi Coke etc ) perfect for chilling and holding a few hundred bottles..
Temp range on most are from 25 degrees to 60. Most can be had for little to free.
 
Find a small corner store that is remodeling and ask about thier old coolers ( Pepsi Coke etc ) perfect for chilling and holding a few hundred bottles..
Temp range on most are from 25 degrees to 60. Most can be had for little to free.

I have been looking for an inexpensive one of these for years. Even hitting up the Coke delivery people for leads. No go here on "little to free." Not much of a go on availability. I've seen a very few $250 and up.
 
Back
Top