Wine Coolers 101
Friends, please welcome Shireen Qudosi as today’s guest author on Winehiker Witiculture. Shireen’s 5-year career as a brand identity executive has allowed her to pair her expertise in product research with her interest in fine wines.
If one of your hobbies is collecting exotic or expensive wines, then the next step on the path in your wine storage evolution is how you’re going to maintain your investment. There are a lot of different types of storage units for properly storing wine at home, yet between wine bottle coolers, wine racks, portable wine coolers and custom walk-in wine cellars, it’s easy to get confused.*
However, with an easy-to-follow guide about the importance of storing your investment properly and a quick breakdown of the different types of wine storage, you’ll have this category covered. Before discussing the different options, however, it’s important to understand why simply sticking a bottle or two in the fridge is far from adequate for storing your precious bottle of wine.
Why Refrigerators Don’t Work
A wine refrigerator is only a quick, easy way to store wines in the short term – often only a maximum of one year; the same goes with a traditional kitchen refrigerator. However, even a year is quite a long time; with refrigerator temperatures varying, its likely that your kitchen fridge is just not set to the proper temperature for storing your bottle of wine – typically between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
However, with a wine cooler you can easily maintain a correct constant temperature range for storing your wines so they will be ready to serve at all times.
Types of Wine Storage
When it comes to choosing a method for wine storage, you want to consider and compare the different features available to you. There are three basic types of wine cooler storage devices: wine bottle coolers, (multiple bottle) wine coolers, and wine cellars.
If you’re new to collecting wine, you may want to consider a wine bottle cooler, which also works great for dinners and smaller events. With a wine bottle cooler, the temperature of the bottle can be maintained while you dine. This is a particularly key table setting item if you expect the meal to last through a number of courses. A wine cooler also adds a level of sophistication to any dinner or cocktail party, an element you can never go wrong with.
If your collection is a little larger, consider a wine cooler that comes equipped with wine racks to prevent your bottles from coming into contact with each other. Wine cooler technology has advanced a long way and most (such as NewAir wine coolers) now also feature thermoelectric multiple independently-controlled temperature zones for both red and white wines and complete with touch screens, sleek lighting, glass doors, casters for mobility and a wide variety of styles for various space needs. Plus, depending on the model, you’ll have the ability to store anywhere between 14 to 32 bottles.
When buying a wine cooler, you should also understand the specific differences between a wine cooler and a wine cellar. If you have wines that are currently aging, wines that will require long term wine storage or expect to require more storage capacity for your growing collection, then you may need a more sophisticated wine cellar. Small or large, a wine cooler unit protects your investments until you’re ready to drink them.
Wine Cooler Capacity
Wine coolers come in a variety of sizes, ranging from small coolers with a capacity to store 6 to 20 bottles to larger models, such as wine cellars, that can accommodate 100 to 200 bottles. If you plan to store several hundred bottles of wine, you might want to consider having a wine cabinet or wine room installed in your home. For avid oenophiles, it is generally a good idea to buy a wine cooler that can hold at least double the number of wine bottles you currently own; you’ll find that it’s often quite easy to fill up the space you have quickly, especially if you are constantly looking to buy wines.
Of course, you also need to consider the capacity you have in your home for a wine cooler. If you don’t have a lot of room, then a small 6- to 12-bottle wine cooler can be an excellent space-saving option. If you don’t drink wine very often, it can be a good idea to get a small-footprint single- or double-bottle wine cooler in order to meet your practical needs.
Choosing a Wine Cooler
Once you’ve narrowed down and determined the capacity and features you need, it’s time to consider the prices of 
various models of wine coolers. Wine coolers, like all other appliances, should have you looking for good quality. Durability and reliability are still key and, after all, we’re talking about your precious wine collection! And yet if you cannot spend a lot of money on a wine cooler, you should at the very least find a wine cooler that has all the features you need for a reasonable price.
An added benefit to wine coolers and wine cellars is that they’re far more eco-friendly and cost-efficient compared to traditional wine cooling options. Traditional cooling methods include refrigerators that use an R-22 compressor to run. (R-22, also known as Freon, will be outlawed for domestic sale effective January 1, 2010.) While some wine coolers also use a compressor, select wine cooler manufacturers ensure that their products feature thermoelectric cooling, which makes wine cellars not only chic but smart.
Above all, when it comes to home wine storage, don’t store your wine merely to hoard it. Remember your friends, and that wine is for enjoyment!
Shireen Qudosi currently lives in Orange County, California and loves to chill down with a fine glass of wine. To learn more about wine coolers, such as dual temperature zones, control features, dimensions and technical specifications, Shireen recommends visiting the Air & Water, Inc. website.
*Editor’s note: In case you’re confused already, you should probably know that we’re talking about home wine storage, not comparing wine coolers such as Seagram’s vs. Bartles & Jaymes.
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August 24th, 2009 09:42
What a great article! I’ve been storing my wine upright in my pantry. I guess it’s time to invest in a wine cooler to protect my growing collection. Thanks for the tips!
August 24th, 2009 18:15
Wow, I never knew anything about wine coolers. This is amazing! I usually just keep them in my refrigerator or just on the side somewhere. Who knew they had to be kept at a steady temperature?!
August 25th, 2009 13:01
Hiep and Amy, thank you for writing. We’re glad you enjoyed Shireen’s article and glad we could help! Yes, two important things that will allow fine wines to last are stable storage temperatures and keeping the corks moist by laying the bottles down while storing. Those, and actually avoiding the temptation to drink them all too soon!
September 1st, 2009 18:10
Compressor units are more efficient, but thermoelectric units, in addition to being earth friendly, are quieter, have long lives and are suited to lower outputs like wine coolers. Thanks.
http://www.winecoolersguide.com/wine-coolers-guide/resource-center/thermoelectric-wine-coolers-or-wine-refrigerators.aspx
September 1st, 2009 18:28
Jonathon, your comment finds me suddenly curious. I believe it would be quite helpful to understand why compressor-driven coolers are more efficient than thermoelectrics. Can you provide a breakdown that offers a compelling illustration of this difference in efficiency? I believe my readers may wish to know. Certainly I would! Thanks in advance.
September 20th, 2009 21:09
I’m certainly not a physicist, but the ability of thermoelectric’s semiconductor material to use electricity and remove heat is not as efficient as a compressor unit. For smaller enclosed spaces where a compressor could be overkill, thermoelectric works. It would not be the same for cooling a home or larger kitchen refrigerators.
“Thermoelectric junctions are generally only around 5–10% as efficient as the ideal refrigerator (Carnot cycle), compared with 40–60% achieved by conventional compression cycle systems (reverse Rankine systems like a compressor). Due to the relatively low efficiency, thermoelectric cooling is generally only used in environments where the solid state nature (no moving parts, maintenance-free) outweighs pure efficiency.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_cooling
“The heart of a thermoelectric refrigerator would be a material that generates a significant temperature gradient in response to an applied voltage, explains Terry M. Tritt of Clemson (S.C.) University.
The greatest cooling efficiency comes from thermoelectrics that conduct electricity well but heat poorly. Unfortunately, “only a handful of materials fit in this category,” Vining says. Often, optimizing one property sends the other one plummeting.
Scientists who work with thermoelectrics have devised what they call a figure of merit, or ZT, which combines a material’s electric and thermal conductivities with a measure of its capacity to generate electricity from heat. Bismuth telluride, still state-of-the-art after 40 years, has a ZT of about 1. For a thermoelectric material to come close to replacing the compressors in standard refrigerators, Lyon says, it would need a figure of merit of 4 or 5. ”
http://sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc97/9_6_97/bob1.htm
“The best commercially available thermoelectrics have a figure of merit of ZT ~ 1, corresponding to an energy conversion efficiency of about 10% of the Carnot value. Whereas this relatively low efficiency limits thermoelectrics to niche applications, a significant increase in efficiency would have substantial economic impact. For instance, an effective thermoelectric may be used to partially recycle waste heat from the exhausts of car engines, potentially leading to significantly improved gas mileage. Thermoelectrics can also be used for silent refrigerators that have no compressor or refigerant”
http://www.uoregon.edu/~linke/res_thermoelectrics.html
September 21st, 2009 13:07
And there you have it, folks. Thank you, Jonathon, for delivering the science!
So, if you plan to store your wines in a relatively small space, prefer quiet motorless cooling and durability, obviously a thermoelectric wine cooler is your choice. As you scale up the size of your wine collection, you may want to consider a compressor-driven model. I’m sure Shireen will be happy to help you decide which is right for your space.
February 5th, 2010 02:47
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