Is the wine fridge the same as the wine cooler?
3 min read
What are wine coolers? Wine coolers look like standard home refrigerators but with a much smaller size. They are used to store wine at a constant temperature. Refrigerators typically stand 3 feet tall or less and fall over in small areas of your home. Wine fridges are better suited for storage for a year or less. Use refrigerators for the short-term storage of multiple bottles of wine. Wine coolers and fridges differ in different aspects, some of which will be discussed below:
- Size
A wine cooler is usually smaller and more portable than a wine fridge. The wine cooler could hold about 10 to 18 bottles of wine, although we now have larger ones.
Wine fridges are usually larger. They can accommodate about 50 bottles. You can choose between a wine cooler or a fridge based on the space available or the size of your wine collection.
- Ventilation and humidity setting
If the moisture is not enough, the cork stopper in the wine bottle will shrink or even crack, from the problem of opening the bottle to loss of sealing function, causing air to enter. This can result in the oxidation of the wine and make the wine sour.
If the humidity is too high, it will cause mould to grow in the mouth of the bottle. It also makes the wine label easily moulded and falls off. This greatly reduces the image of the wine.
The wine cooler has a perfect ventilation system due to the difference between the temperature in the wine cabinet and the outside temperature. Humidity is generated in the wine cabinet, which can properly increase the internal humidity. Refrigerators are much less professional in terms of ventilation and humidity regulation.
- Temperature control
The storage temperature for most wines is around 13℃. Some scholars have made a special analysis and thought that the ideal temperature is 12.8 ℃. Although the wine fridge can also be set to a constant temperature, the actual temperature in the refrigerator wine coolers is quite different from the set temperature. It is often unstable, making it difficult to guarantee the temperature requirements for wine storage.
There are professional precision compressors and temperature controllers in the wine cooler. The precision and stability of temperature control of wine coolers are better than that of the refrigerator.
The best environment for storing wine is constant temperature, humidity, light and shock, ventilation, and no odour. The wine must be placed on a stable shelf, allowing the cork to come into contact with the wine to maintain the humidity and tightness of the cork. Many people choose to use the wine fridge to store wine. This is the last resort. If you have the conditions, you still need to choose a suitable wine cooler.
- Cooling Technology
A wine fridge uses compression cooling technology, while a wine cooler uses thermoelectric cooling.
One major advantage of the wine cooler is that the Thermoelectric cooling technology is quieter than the compressor technology in the wine fridge. Also, thermoelectric cooling lacks moving parts; therefore, there is no requirement for any circulating liquid. There is no problem of leaking and compact size in thermoelectric technology. You should note that the cooling system in the wine cooler is more expensive when compared to compression cooling.
- Operating Temperature
A wine cooler does not have a temperature setting below 45 degrees Fahrenheit (7.2 Celsius). A wine fridge can get to lower temperatures. This makes wine cooler better as it keeps wine at a constant temperature. Very low temperatures in a wine fridge can lead to the breakage of bottles.
