Wine cellar: we tell you everything about wine refrigeration!

Why is the choice of wine cellar so important?

The temperature of the wine is a key element …

For its preservation, wine must be stored in a suitable place, ventilated, protected from light, vibrations, with a constant hygrometry at the risk of damaging the corks if it is too low…

The wine must also be stored where the temperature does not vary too quickly.

And as we do not all live in the same climate, the wine cellar is the ideal tool to fulfil all these conditions.

What the wine cellar guarantees for your wine:

If we go back to the parameters of wine storage explained in the introduction, here is what happens with a little more detail:

It is necessary to favour ventilated areas (hence the presence of ventilation in the cellars fitted out as such) in order to be able to ventilate and avoid any strong odours that could influence the flavours of the wine.

Light protection prevents the aromas of the wine from being altered by UV light. This is the reason why natural cellars are often found underground and with little light.
Protection against vibrations, which are a real risk of stress for the wine and cause it to develop in a negative way.
The hygrometry must be between 60 and 75%. This is a very important parameter in order to preserve the corks of wine or Champagne. As cork is a living material, it requires a fairly high level of humidity to preserve all its sealing qualities and thus prevent the wine from oxidising on contact with the air.
These fundamental parameters are essential for good wine conservation. A wine cellar provides you with all these criteria!

There are several types of wine cellars, so how do you find your way around?

The most common model is the free-standing wine cellar.

Whatever its size, a 12-bottle wine cellar as well as a 100-bottle wine cellar will bring you the same benefits:

all the above criteria plus a constant temperature!

Set it to 12°C for the conservation of all types of wine. This is the temperature at which wines are best kept.

We will address the serving temperature later.

If you have little space, you can opt for a built-in wine cellar.

Under your worktop, in a cupboard or placed in any other piece of furniture in your house/apartment, the built-in wine cellar is discreet and well integrated with the surrounding furniture…

The smaller 30cm built-in wine cellar can also do the trick if you are really short of space but still a real wine lover who needs to cherish his few bottles.

Storage wine cellar

This difference in name is due to the fact that we consider that we are going to put in a wine cellar for ageing wines that we are going to leave for 10 years or more.

The conservation wine cellar, on the other hand, is a cellar for storing wines that are about to be served.

These conservation wine cellars, when they have several temperature zones, can also fulfil the function of a service wine cellar.

Wine serving temperature

Wines are not served at their storage temperature.

If you set your serving wine cellars to 12°C , then you will be a little too warm to serve Champagne (recommended serving temperature between 9 and 11°C) and a little too cold to enjoy a bottle of red wine (served between 14 and 18°C for most).

A multi-purpose wine cellar is the best solution to this problem.

If you opt for a wine cellar that offers a multi-temperature setting (usually 2 zones) you will be able to put a so-called cold zone with 9°C for your whites and Champagnes, and a higher zone like 14°C to serve all red wines that are served from 14°C and above.
The countertop wine cellars fulfil this function perfectly.

A wine cellar for better wine enjoyment

In fact, as you can see, there are wine cellars for all wines, all needs, all spaces, etc…

They all fulfil almost the same function, that of preserving your wine in the best possible way and allowing you to serve it at the best temperature.

Also, the best wine cellar is the one that meets your needs, and your aesthetic criteria as well.

You can opt for solid glass, anti-UV glass or mirror glass.

You can choose wooden or aluminium shelves, LED backlighting…

You can choose to install it in your kitchen or in the middle of your living room.

All choices are possible, as long as the wine is well preserved and your wine cellar fulfils its essential functions!