A wine cellar, or wine cooler, is a great way to make sure your wine is stored properly and to make sure it maintains its flavor. In recent years, sales of wine cellars have been increasing and it seems that there are more and more people taking their wine very seriously. If you have decided to buy a wine cellar, you may have a lot of questions about what you should look for. That is precisely why we put together this brief wine cellar buyer’s guide. We want to help our readers by telling them what to look for so that they can get the best wine cellar that will meet their specific needs.
What Type of Wine Do You like to Drink?
One of the things that will be a major factor in choosing a wine cellar is the type of wine you will be storing in it. If you are drinking white wine or if you drink relatively inexpensive red wines, almost any wine cooler will do because all you need to do is keep your wine cool until you’re ready to drink it. If you have invested in more expensive bottles of wine or you plan on aging your wine, you may want to invest in a more expensive wine cellar to protect the investment you have made in your wine.
If you like to drink both red and white wines, you may want to purchase a dual zone wine cellar so that you can store different kinds of wine at different temperatures. Red wines are normally stored between 55 and 60°F while white wines are stored between 49 and 56°F. As you can see, there is some crossover in the temperature range so it is possible to store both red and white wines in the same cooler, but a dual zone wine cellar will let you select the perfect temperature for different types of wine.
Bottle Capacity
You can find wine cellars or wine coolers in a wide range of different sizes. If you only like to keep a few bottles of wine on hand for a nice dinner or a small gathering, a smaller wine cellar will suffice. If you are planning on collecting wine or aging your wine, you may need a wine cellar with a much larger capacity. If you are collecting wine, it would be a good idea to purchase a wine cellar that has a larger capacity than you think you might need. This will give you room to grow your collection.
Shelving
Shelving is an important consideration if you are buying large or oddly shaped bottles of wine. If that is the case, you will want to look for a wine cellar that has removable shelves so that you can make room for larger bottles.
Keep Your Budget in Mind
Wine cellars can range in price from a couple of hundred dollars to thousands of dollars depending on a number of different factors. The amount of money you have to spend may limit your options but it’s also important that you invest enough money to purchase a quality unit that is going to last. Buying a cheap wine cellar only to have it break down after a year or two is a mistake that you will want to avoid.
Research Customer Reviews Online
One way to know if a particular wine cellar will last for the long haul is to find customer reviews online and see what other people have to say. People that have purchased a wine cellar you might be considering, will tell you everything you need to know about it, both good and bad. Hearing what people like or don’t like about a wine cellar will make it a lot easier to make an informed buying decision.
