Utilising A Wine Fridge For Home Improvement
Wine coolers are becoming increasingly popular - in fact, they are becoming the norm in most kitchens, alongside regular fridges and freezers.
Wine coolers are appliances that store your wine in the correct way - but what else can they be used for?
If you’re planning on redesigning your home, or simply want to add a useful appliance to your home, then this article is for you.
Keep reading to learn more about wine coolers, and how you can utilise a wine fridge for home improvement.
What Is A Wine Fridge?
A wine fridge is an appliance that keeps your wine at certain temperatures. Most wine is best stored at temperatures between 11°C and 14°C, and wine coolers can accommodate this.
If your wine isn’t stored at the correct temperature, it will go bad quicker - it will oxidise, resulting in unwanted chemical reactions causing it to age quicker.
This can leave your wine tasting sour, bitter, and generally unpleasant.
Wine fridges are also designed to protect your wine collection from sunlight, as sunlight can also speed up the ageing process of wine, resulting in discolouration and an unpleasant taste.
Another thing that wine coolers protect your wine against is humidity.
Wine should be stored at humidity levels under 70% - too much humidity offers the perfect environment for mould - and it can also cause wine labels to deteriorate, which is the last thing you want if you’re a collector.
However, the main reason that your wine should be protected from humidity is that moisture from humid conditions can cause the cork to moisten, allowing oxygen to enter the bottle.
Once oxygen enters the bottle, the shelf life will begin to shorten by the hour - so a wine fridge is a must-have for any wine lover.
If you have a larger wine collection, you’ll benefit from a wine fridge that offers dual or multiple temperature zones.
This allows you to store your different wines at separate temperatures - for example, you can store your sparkling wines at the recommended 10°C, and your reds and whites at anything between 11°C and 14°C.
Having multiple temperature zones also allows you to have wine ready to be served, while the rest of your collection remains undisturbed at a different temperature.
What Types Of Wine Fridge Are There?
The three main types of wine fridges are freestanding, built-in, and fully integrated.
Freestanding is probably the most common type of wine fridge - it’s versatile, easy to install, and you can place them pretty much anywhere.
They come in all shapes and sizes, with some storing fewer than 15 bottles of wine, and others storing upwards of 150.
Although freestanding wine coolers give you more freedom and flexibility when placing them, it’s important that you leave space for ventilation.
When placing your freestanding wine fridge, leave around three inches to allow the air to flow around the rear and sides of the unit freely.
Failing to leave the recommended amount of space can result in the unit overheating, which most likely won’t be covered by your warranty.
Built-in wine coolers are designed to fit under kitchen counter space, which is perfect for modern homes. Many will have glass doors so you can show off your most expensive bottles.
When placing built-in wine fridges, it’s also important to leave room for ventilation.
However, unlike with freestanding fridges, you’ll only need to leave a couple of centimetres around the unit for optimal ventilation.
You’ll find that built-in wine fridges are similar to fully integrated wine fridges - however, the main difference is that fully integrated fridges are fully integrated into your home.
This means that the fridge will be completely enclosed by cabinet space, so the fridge door won’t be visible.
How Can A Wine Fridge Improve My Home?
More and more people are purchasing wine fridges - whether you choose a wine fridge to simply store your wine, or use it for other purposes, a wine fridge can improve your home.
For our buyer's guide on wine coolers, click here.
You Can Use A Wine Fridge For Cheese
If you have space in your wine fridge or want to use your wine fridge for something else, you can use it as a cheese fridge.
Regular fridges tend to dry out cheese due to their humidity levels, but wine fridges are perfect for storing cheese as they have the right levels of humidity.
Cheese and wine make a great combination, so why not double up your wine fridge and use it as a cheese fridge too?
You Can Keep Mixers In A Wine Fridge
Any wine fridge can be used to store other beverages. Have you ever tried a warm diet coke? It’s not pleasant.
Well, storing your mixers and other beverages in a wine fridge is sure to keep them fresh and cool, ready for serving.
Why not place a wine fridge in your living room or dining room and store your drinks in there so you can easily access them? Or place a wine fridge in your home gym, so you have cold bottles of water ready to grab whenever you need.
Your Wine Fridge Can Become A Medicine or Beauty Cabinet
Many medications need to be stored at cool temperatures - and medicines can take up space in your regular fridge.
You don’t want to have to spend a few minutes rummaging through your fridge to find your medication, so why not set a wine cooler to the right temperature and store your medications in there?
You can also store your face creams and other skincare products in a wine fridge.
Beauty products will last much longer if kept in the right conditions, and a wine fridge can provide the perfect conditions for your beauty products.
Applying a cool face mask or using cooler makeup wipes will feel much better, and will do a better job of tightening your pores.
You can store much more in a wine fridge - click here to learn more!
Wine Fridges Look Amazing
No matter what type of wine fridge you decide to purchase, you’re certain to find a design that matches the interior of your home.
You can find wine fridges that will seamlessly match the aesthetic of your home, and wine fridges that will stand out and become a focal point of any kitchen, living room, or dining room.