ChangeMe
Grape Picker
Posts:15
 | | 09/23/2005 7:28 PM |
| Qucik question. I live in an apartment in DC. My 60 bottle unit is full with long term storage.
I have two cases of decent wine (Beaucastel CdR and a Langedoc) which will be completely drunk Nov-March of 2005-2006. Would it be better to store some of these bottles in a normal refrigerator rather than leave it to the temperature variances of a typical apartment in winter? Thanks | | | |
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TBird
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5167
| | 09/23/2005 7:30 PM |
| | i see no problem whatsoever. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Grape Picker
Posts:15
| | 09/23/2005 7:39 PM |
| Tbird, do you mean no problem with the fridge storage? Would this actually be better for the wine than potential temp changes?
Thanks! | | | |
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TBird
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5167
| | 09/23/2005 7:51 PM |
| | sorry, i should have been clearer. i see no reason to put your wine in the fridge. those months are relatively cool which would do no harm at all to your wine, so unless there is major heat spike during that period, you should be fine with a cool, dark closet....imo.... | | | |
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David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
Master Sommelier
Posts:15701
| | 09/23/2005 9:06 PM |
| DON'T put it in the refrigerator.
Find a nice cool* and dark corner in a closet and lay the bottles on their sides. With only 2-3 cases you can leave them in the box and stack the boxes.
If you can put it in a closet that has a northern exposure (so to speak). That should insure less temperature variation in the closet. East, south and western exposures will have the sun part of the time making the closet's temperature variate.
VARIATE. Is that a word? I hope you know what I mean | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:12891
| | 09/23/2005 11:15 PM |
| | no worries mon, just relax and enjoy the wine. | | | |
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Eric White
San Ramon, CA
Advanced Sommelier
Posts:9054
| | 09/24/2005 1:03 AM |
| | I always keep a supply of vino stored outside my cellar (in racks in our "dining" room) for everyday consumption. Temperature in the house generally ranges from the low 60s to the low 70s, and it's never a problem. I wouldn't store fragile wines in this manner (old wines, for example), but it's perfectly fine for your everyday drinkers. | | | |
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Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13627
| | 09/24/2005 1:51 AM |
| | Don't worry, dude. I keep 4-6 cases of stuff that way almost in perpetuity (thpough not always the same wines, natch) as O have ridiculously little store that is proper too. So far no ill effects. Most goes in a nice cool closet and the stuff that is really ready to go in the next 4-6 weeks is in the racks closest to the dining room and kitchen for ease of grabability. | |
www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
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Erin Ann
Grape Stomper
Posts:144
| | 09/24/2005 7:29 PM |
| Doesn't a refrigerator tend to dry out things? If so, the corks would get dry, and then cause leakage or seepage. Thats what I was told by a local wine shop.
You should be able to store for a couple weeks in the big white box if desired. | | | |
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David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
Master Sommelier
Posts:15701
| | 09/24/2005 9:52 PM |
| Refrigerators that do not need defrosting (usually called Frost Free) are what 99.5% of American's have in their kitchen. In the late fifties this system was developed to replace refrigerators that would build-up frost and ice on the inside of the freezer compartment. I required defrosting one's refrigerator 6-8 times a year. It was always great for people who sold refrigerators because people would take an ice pick to the frost buildup and eventually put a hole in the freon line with the pick.
Any way... the reason refrigerators don't need defrosting today is because the system is a dehydration machine. It takes all the water/moisture it can out of the refrig. So, yes! It will definitely cause a cork to dry out if left in the refrig for any length of time. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:12891
| | 09/24/2005 11:28 PM |
| | off topic but can anyone tell me how a wine cooler unit is able to keep the humidity right? also another question??? it might be because it has been extra humid here this year but my cooling unit is expelling water every now and again. not a big deal because the humidity is still correct. | | | |
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David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
Master Sommelier
Posts:15701
| | 09/25/2005 5:16 AM |
| Quote:
off topic but can anyone tell me how a wine cooler unit is able to keep the humidity right? also another question??? it might be because it has been extra humid here this year but my cooling unit is expelling water every now and again. not a big deal because the humidity is still correct.
It doesn't.
It does operate just like an air conditioner though in that it draws only a little moisture from the air. The reason that most wine coolers are vented on the bottom front of in the read is so that it will maintain humicity.
Way back when I had a wine cooler I measured the humidity alot. Without intervention the humidity hung around 35% (nowhere near what it should be). I would take a gallon pot of water and put a small towell in it and hang the end of the towel over the edge of the pot lick a wick. That water would be gone in less that 12 hours. The humidity would go up to 60-70% for a couple of days but after that right back down. I'd fill that damn pot two times a week. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:12891
| | 09/25/2005 11:32 AM |
| | thanks. my humidity level has never been a problem. | | | |
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pizinah
Barrel Filler
Posts:1313
| | 09/25/2005 8:40 PM |
| Quote:
Any way... the reason refrigerators don't need defrosting today is because the system is a dehydration machine. It takes all the water/moisture it can out of the refrig. So, yes! It will definitely cause a cork to dry out if left in the refrig for any length of time.
davidn (or anyone else) -- How long do you feel is safe before corks are adversely affected in a regular fridge? I have an extra fridge in the garage which I use for short-term overflow wine storage when my home wine fridge (a ~60-bottle Haier) is full and I don't have the chance to get to my off-site wine lockers for a little while. The garage fridge is a recent model (2001) Kenmore Coolspot I keep at 55 degrees (maintains that temp reasonable well) and fill with beer, mineral water, sodas and overflow wine. It doesn't have much noticeable vibration, which (aside from temperature) is what most people comment on when discussing using a regular fridge for wine storage. Are corks okay for a few months in a fridge like my Kenmore...?
And following up on Anthony's question, should I be worried about the humidity level in my Haier unit? | | | |
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wineismylife
Arlington, TX
Master of Wine
Posts:11872
| | 09/25/2005 8:54 PM |
| | Humidity is highly overrated IMO. Yes, I've changed my mind on this issue over the past few years. | |
Joe
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Wine is like potato chips around me...if it's open, it's gone. | |
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Eric White
San Ramon, CA
Advanced Sommelier
Posts:9054
| | 09/25/2005 9:56 PM |
| | I completely agree WIML. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:12891
| | 09/25/2005 9:59 PM |
| Quote:
Humidity is highly overrated IMO. Yes, I've changed my mind on this issue over the past few years.
care to explain a bit more? i have never fussed over it because mine has always been fine. | | | |
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wineismylife
Arlington, TX
Master of Wine
Posts:11872
| | 09/25/2005 10:14 PM |
| Quote:
Quote:
Humidity is highly overrated IMO. Yes, I've changed my mind on this issue over the past few years.
care to explain a bit more? i have never fussed over it because mine has always been fine.
Check out this brief thread on the WS Forum. There was an extensive discussion before this one but WS nuked it long ago.
In a nutshell, the inside of the bottle is 100% humid, the cork at the bottom properly expanded so very little gets in or outas long as the bottle is laying on its' side. As long as you live in an environment that is in the 30% plus humidity range you're probably A-OK. Only in the most arid environments would you possibly need to worry about humidity.
I maintain to this day that wine is much more resilient that most people give it credit. The most important factors IMO are 1) temperature in the 55 degree plus or minus rangeover the long haul without extreme fluctuations and 2) see number 1 again and 3) direct sunlight. Humidity and vibration are minor irritations by comparison. | |
Joe
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Wine is like potato chips around me...if it's open, it's gone. | |
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Eric White
San Ramon, CA
Advanced Sommelier
Posts:9054
| | 09/25/2005 10:20 PM |
| | What I mean is simply that I believe the importance of humidity in the wine cellar is greatly overstated. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:12891
| | 09/25/2005 10:20 PM |
| | thank you. that makes sense. | | | |
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