Wine Storage Question

[Agordo]

Hi all,

I received an expensive (by my standards!) 6 bottles of red wine. It will probably take me a few months to drink all 6- I will save them for special occasions. My problem is that I live in a very hot and humid climate- high 90s daily (and my house does not have AC in the daytime while I am at work) and 90% humidity.

Is it smarter to store the wine in the fridge or leave it out in the heat and humidity?

Thanks!

[eber85]

like others have said the fridge will be fine for a few months, however if you plan on getting a wine refrigerator make sure that the max ambient temperature rating is high enough, I know a lot of the thermoelectric units are not rated to be in a really high temperature environment.

[Agordo]

THANKS EVERYONE.

I am looking at a small (18-24 bottle) cheapish wine fridge and in the meantime, I have stored the bottles in the fridge.

[WineStorageBellevue]

Neither option is ideal, but the refrigerator will do less damage in the short term. If you keep it there, however, the sub-fifty-degree temperature of the refrigerator will actually arrest the development of the wine and will likely dry out the cork. Since you are not looking to save it more than a few months, I might suggest a small, 6-bottle wine cooler that fits on your kitchen countertop. Haier, Vinotemp and Danby are some reputable brand names to look for. This type of cooler will also keep your wine bottle horizontal, which keeps the wine in contact with the cork and keeps the cork from drying out.

[Fowler]

"the sub-fifty-degree temperature of the refrigerator will actually arrest the development of the wine and will likely dry out the cork"

Why would the temperature likely dry out the cork? Just asking because I thought humidity was what determined the dryness of a cork? You have me wondering now!

[ChefJune]

It IS the humidity difference in the regular fridge that will dry out your cork.

[PolarBear]

Humidity and temperature are related, the colder the air, the less moisture it is able to hold and vice versa as the air becomes warmer.

[WineStorageBellevue]

You hit the nail on the head with that answer, PolarBear. Humidity is relative to the temperature of the local environment. 60% relative humidity, which is ideal for storing wine, is not achievable when you're refrigerating a space to 55 degrees Fahrenheit (the optimal temperature for storing wine), so you typically need a humidifier to add humidity back into a proper, temperature-controlled wine storage environment.

[wattacetti]

««60% relative humidity, which is ideal for storing wine, is not achievable when you're refrigerating a space to 55 degrees Fahrenheit (the optimal temperature for storing wine), so you typically need a humidifier to add humidity back into a proper, temperature-controlled wine storage environment»»

I wouldn't say that. It's harder to do in an enclosed system like a wine refrigerator but my proper temperature-controlled wine storage environment (an insulated space with an INOA25) had the hygrometer at 62% when the space was first fired up and it hasn't budget more than one or two % since. I'm sure a lot of other spaces are like that too (perhaps not in Arizona).

I think Agordo's going to be okay leaving his wine in the regular refrigerator for a couple of months. You can lay a bottle on its side in a regular refrigerator too (and don't have to if Agordo's bottles are under Stelvin).

[PolarBear]

Should have been a little more clear, relative humidity, refers to the relationship to temperature, i.e. (just making up numbers for illustration) given a 30% relative humidity at 90 deg F the air will contain a much greater amount of moisture than say 80% relative humidity at 35 deg F. At what "fridge" temp proper moisture is achievable, I haven't a clue, but adding a water component to a wine fridge set around 58 deg F would seem to be the desirable level.

[Midlife]

I may be misunderstanding but I though that a wine cellar "conditioner', like the INOA25, controlled the humidity in the cellar or unit. What's the difference between what a conditioner and a humidifier provide in a storage area?

[wattacetti]

The INOA doesn't regulate humidity; it can return some moisture back to the room so it theoretically won't dry out a space like other units. Apart from that, the control module sets a temp and turns the unit on/off.

[Midlife]

I was looking into this at one time and thought all "conditioners" controlled humidity, thus the term "conditioner" and not simply 'temperature controller'. Here's an example of one that appears to do both: http://www.eurocave.com/thema-com/win...

[wattacetti]

From the manufacturers of the INOA. They're very careful to say that humidity control is within the self-enclosed units. The freestanding units for spaces is temperature-only but will return water back to the system. If you were in Arizona or any other hot dry environment, I suspect that a bucket of water might be required as a routine supplement.

[Midlife]

Fridge. Definitely if those are your only choices.

[pinotho]

definitely put it in the fridge.

[Lixer]

I'd put it in the fridge. I'm in Texas and even with my AC on 82 I have had a few bottles go bad in under a month.

[skaboy]

The wine will not achieve it's potential in the "Fridge", but it will also not deteriorate...as least in the short term in the fridge.