green wine storage

[earthburr]

I'm going as green/sustainable/eco-friendly as I can in my kitchen remodel. I'd like to find an energy-star wine fridge, but wine fridges don't seem to qualify. All I've found so far is Danby's small refrigerator. Are there any other wine lovers out there who want to go green? How have you done it? Small scale? Large scale? And, does anyone else want to have both cold beer and chilled wine on hand? So far there seems to be a moral dilemma: either you can go green, or you can have chilled wine and cold beer. Can't we do both? I'd love any advice you all can give me about this topic, thanks very much.

[zin1953]

I've been storing my wine "green" for 30+ years . . . passive cooling, no electricity, stored underground . . . .

[Niki in Dayton]

Ditto (well, except for the 30 years part ;-) We converted an old coal cellar under the front porch to a wine cellar about 10 years ago, and so far, so good...

[Longing for Italy]

Niki in Dayton,

Nothing about "green wine," but I noticed your favorite meal! Gionfranco Bovio sold Belvedere about 4 years ago and opened his new ristorante (Bovio) about 1/2 mile from there. We stayled in La Morra for over a week and ate at Bovio's in 2008--from all accounts, Bovio surpasses Belvedere at nearly every turn. Next time you're in Piemonte, give it a try!

[Niki in Dayton]

Thanks for the info! And just to keep this wine-related, the 6 of us shared two fabulous bottles of Barolo with that particular meal, but I'd have to check my notes to remember the producer and year ;-) I'm also longing for Italy; Piemonte is my favorite region!

[Longing for Italy]

We had Gionfranco do the pairings at Bovio; our meat course was paired with a riserve Barolo from his own vineyards. I've had a terrible time finding Bovio in the States, but did stumble upon some in Boulder, CO. Go figure. I see you're a beef a barolo fan--if you can find one, I suggest getting Matt Kramer's A PASSION FOR PIEMONT book. Great insights and recipes.

[Niki in Dayton]

Thanks, I have it as well as Vin Italy and a host of others ;-)

[goodhealthgourmet]

you actually have quite a few options - VinoTemp and Wine Enthusiast both offer eco-friendly refrigerators in a wide range of sizes/capacities...

http://www.vinotemp.com/Browse.aspx/411/Eco-Series

http://www.wineenthusiast.com/E/resul...

BTW, according to the EnergyStar website, wine refrigerators actually don't qualify for a rating!