Wine cellars are designed to maintain proper wine storage conditions (ie 55-60 degrees & 60-70% humidity), whereas wine coolers are designed to maintain proper wine serving temperatures (ie 55-58 degrees for red wines and 45-48 degrees for white wines).  So, what about putting a wine cooler INSIDE a wine cellar – it’s the best of all worlds, right?

The answer is:  maybe.   Since the wine cooler would be located entirely inside the wine cellar, all of the heat load generated by the wine cooler would go into the wine cellar, and therefore it would need to be included in the box load of the wine cellar.  For a 50-bottle wine refrigerator, the total additional cellar load would be approximately 1000 BTUH, which is not insignificant.

So will it work?  Yes, of course - just make sure that the wine cellar refrigeration system is sized appropriately, and the thermal load is calculated to include the additional heat generated by the wine cooler. 

For more information, including box loads assuming various dimensions, construction materials and configurations, please visit http://www.cellarprocoolingsystems.com/information-center_cp/cooling-unit-buying-guide, or contact us and we’ll get back to you within 1 business day.

We are excited to announce the launch of our Dual Zone Modification for Le Cache Wine Cabinets.

The dual zone modification provides two completely separate temperature zones inside Le Cache wine cabinets, with optimal storage conditions in one hald of the cabinet, and optimal serving temperatures in the other half.

The zone modification is available exclusively with larger Le Cache wine cabinets – ie sizes 3100, 3800 and 5200. This modification is perfect for restaurants, hotels and bars that need to maintain both serving AND storage conditions inside one cabinet. Please note: the dual zone modification automatically includes an upgraded CellarPro 1800XTS cooling unit, which provides additional BTU required to handle the additional thermal load.

The dual zone modification will be available and ready to ship with cabinets at the end of November. The price of the dual zone upgrade (including the upgraded cooling unit) is $399.

For more information, please click on the following link: www.lecachewinecabinets.com/wine-cabinet-accessories-lc/dual-zone-modification.

We currently offer U-Line and Danby wine coolers, and wanted to see how well these wine coolers perform in a head-to-head competition.

By and large, both wine coolers did a fine job of maintaining proper and consistent wine storage temperatures in both the upper (warm) and lower (cold) zones.  Both wine coolers look great, are super quiet and have minimal vibration when running.  Refer to the following performance charts for more information:

• Danby DWC518BLS Wine Cooler – Temperature and Humidity Performance
• U-Line 2275ZWCS Wine Cooler – Temperature and Humidity Performance

As shown in the charts, Danby’s wine cooler failed the humidity test, maintaining humidity around 40 percent inside the wine cooler (60 percent is ideal for proper wine storage and aging.)  On the other hand, U-Line’s wine cooler did an excellent job of maintaining appropriate humidity levels at an average of 59 percent inside the wine cooler.

U-Line’s wine cooler is more powerful than Danby’s wine cooler, with a bigger compressor and almost double the refrigerant charge.  U-Line’s wine cooler also is more energy efficient than Danby’s wine cooler, by approximately 25 percent.  And U-Line’s wine cooler is made in the USA, whereas Danby’s wine cooler is made in China.
Danby’s wine cooler (Silhouette DWC518BLS Stainless) can be purchased for $949, and U-Line’s wine cooler  (Echelon 2275ZWCS Stainless) can be purchased for $2,399.  Is the difference in price worth it?  If you plan to use the wine cooler to store and age wine for 2+ years, humidity becomes an increasingly important issue.  Also, if you plan to “build in” your wine cooler, U-Line is perceived as a higher-value brand, and probably will create more resale value. But if you are planning to use the wine cooler simply for chilling and serving your wine, the price / performance combination of Danby’s unit can’t be beat.

I just read a post from a contractor who struggled with a faulty wine cooler and poor customer service from the wine cooler manufacturer.  To read the post, click on the following link:  “Vinotemp doesn’t deliver customer satisfaction.”

The point of this post isn’t to slam the Vinotemp, but rather to highlight the importance of doing your research when it comes to purchasing expensive products online.

Wine storage, wine racking and wine accessories are sold by all kinds of companies, including small,  large and everything in between.  Here are five rules before spending money on wine storage products online:

1. The lowest price may be lowest for a reason.  If you purchase the lowest price item, be prepared – and willing to accept – a certain failure rate.
2. Read and understand the retailer’s return policy.  Are there restocking fees? Who pays freight?  Can anything/everything be returned?  For how long?
3. Investigate online what other customers have to say about the product and the retailer.  Take what you read with a grain of salt – some people have axes to grind – but trust your gut, because it’s not hard to get  a pretty good sense for whether you’re about to step into a pile of poop.
4. What does the product warranty cover?  Ie which parts? what about labor? Are you responsible for any fees?  How long does the warranty coverage last?
5. Does the online retailer have a phone number and physical address?  Can you find names of owners or senior managers in case you need to escalate an issue?  Read “About Us”  to learn about the owner’s of the company, their values and how they do business.

In the wine accessories business, shopping is fun and bargains abound.  Just remember:   an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure!

At Le Cache, we have a 30-day return policy on our wine storage cabinets, but not all companies stand behind their products.

The poor guy (below) purchased a wine cabinet but didn’t measure properly, and now he’s going to lose a lot of money, because neither the dealer nor the manufacturer will take back the wine cabinet, even in its original crate!

Before you spend thousands of dollars on a new wine cabinet, get the return and cancellation policy IN WRITING. Caveat emptor!

“The cabinet was purchased from [an online retailer]. Here’s a link to the product page:

http://www.vintage…odcategoryID=46

The wine cabinet line is called the Vintage Series Premier Cru, but it’s made by Wine Cellar Impressions, which makes cabinets for a number of stores, who sell them under different names, such as AmeriCave at winecellars.com, the Estate series at IWA (iwawine.com), as well as the Vintage Series line at Vintage Cellars.

I did a bad job of measuring to make sure this cabinet would fit down my stairway to where it needed to go, and it turns out that it won’t fit, so I need to sell it and buy a smaller one. The cabinet is being stored at the local shipping company, still in its original shipping crate.

As shown in the above link, the model I bought is the Premier Cru 420. It’s made of oak, with a Breezaire cooling system. It has redwood racks, with bulk storage at the top. Total capacity is about 396 bottles. Note that the $1995 price shown on the web site is for an unfinished cabinet, with solid doors. I stayed with the solid doors, and added the following options: light oak finish – $180, top vent upgrade – $215 (so that it could be placed flush against the wall), interior light – $39, and lock – $50.

I’m asking $1900, with free shipping and inside delivery (shipping on these units is normally $600 – $700). Free shipping is for continental U.S. only.”

We get a lot of calls asking if we offer wine cabinets with dual temperature zones – “you know, to store the reds at a warmer temperature and the whites at a cooler temperature.”

Actually, all of our wine cabinets come with single temperature zones – we do not offer dual temperature zones, and here’s why: while it’s true that red wine, white wine and sparkling wine are meant to be served at different temperatures, they all should be stored at the same temperature to ensure their proper aging and biochemical development. We believe that all wine should be stored at temperatures ranging from 55 to 60 degrees. In addition to constant temperatures, ideal wine storage conditions include humidity in the range of 50-70%, clean air, minimal vibration and protection from harmful UV rays. Read more about Proper Wine Storage techniques.

Serving wine is a different story. A wine’s body, sugar perception, aroma and acidity all will be affected by the serving temperature of the wine. For example, red wine that is served too warm (a common mistake) will convey more alcohol aroma than fruit, and the wine’s flavor will be compressed. Conversely, white wine served too cold (another common mistake) will convey more acidity and the aroma, body and sweetness will be muted.

Ideally, each wine should be served at the proper temperature based on the type and style of the wine. Most red wine should be served at “room temperature”, which term has historic roots in 18th Century Europe and refers to temperatures ranging from 60 to 65 degrees. Most white wine should be served at “cellar temperature”, which term refers to temperatures ranging from 50 to 55 degrees. Sparkling wine should be served “iced”, which refers to temperatures ranging from 40 to 45 degrees.

Look for dual-temperature zones when considering wine coolers for storing wine that will be consumed in the near term. For long-term storing and aging of fine wine, remember that all wine should be stored between 55 to 60 degrees, regardless of the color of the wine.

Wine coolers and wine cabinets are very different products.

The website of a major manufacturer of wine coolers says the following in their FAQs:

“[Wine coolers] do not maintain a constant set temperature. Like all refrigeration units the temperature fluctuates from 6 to 10 degrees either way – sometimes more if placed in an area that receives a lot of light. The temperature sensor is located at the top of the unit where the temperature will change the most. If the temperature gauge was placed at the bottom of the unit there would be less variance in temperature. All wine coolers behave in this manner. Many wine enthusiasts do not like this temperature fluctuation as they feel it is harmful to the wines, however, there is a large misunderstanding regarding the function of wine coolers. Wine coolers are meant for short term “cooling” not long term storage. If used properly the natural variances in temperature within your wine cooler should not negatively affect stored contents.”

To create proper wine storage conditions, you need:

• a cool environment with minimal temperature fluctuations;
• humidity between 50 – 70%;
• low light;
• minimal vibration; and
• clean air

In contrast to wine coolers, wine cabinets ARE designed to create and maintain these conditions, which are required for proper storage and aging of wine. Request a free brochure from Le Cache.

Jeff Grocott penned an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal on August 19, 2005. In the article, Grocott compared three $35 to $55 bottles of red wine that had been stored for 4 years in his Haier wine cooler against three bottles of exactly the same wine that were “professionally” stored in temperature-controlled storage areas.

According to Grocott, “every time [his Haier wine cooler's] motor kicks on, it jolts the 45 bottles inside. [The Haier wine cooler's] cooling and moisture levels are all over the map: According to the the $20 digital thermometer-hygrometer that [he] bought at an electronics store and keeps inside the fridge, the interior air temperature has ranged from 57 to 75 degrees in the past year or so; its humidity has bounced from 30% to 80%.”

Grocott held a blind taste-off with a five-person “panel of professional and amateur tasters” and, in every case, the panel preferred the wine from Grocott’s cooler over the professionally stored wine.

Grocott’s test is interesting, but it’s not very scientific. As Grocott points out, the three “professionally” stored bottles all should have been stored together. Moreover, the six bottles all should have been acquired at the same time from the same source. But most importantly, the test should have included more than three bottles to be meaningful.

If you leave your door unlocked and you don’t get robbed, does that mean that you should always leave your door unlocked?

Grocott admits that his tests are unscientific, but his conclusions are clear: First, that “wine . . . is pretty tough” and second, that “there’s no guarantee that a wine store or restaurant is doing any better than [he] is at home.”

Here’s another conclusion: Grocott was lucky. If you care about your wine, take care of it. You won’t be sorry.

There’s a big difference between wine coolers and wine cellars.

Wine cellars, which include freestanding wine cabinets, are designed to maintain all the optimal conditions for proper wine storage and aging. These conditions include cools temperature that don’t fluctuate, humidity in the range of 50 – 70%, clean air, darkness and minimal vibration.

By contrast, most under-the-counter wine coolers are designed to maintain wine at a desired serving temperature. Their cooling systems are not designed to maintain constant temperatures within a tight range, they are not designed to manage humidity levels, they often have clear glass windows and they cause too much vibration for long term storage and aging.

So what? The differences described above don’t really matter if you’ll be drinking your wine within a short time, say a year or two. But if you want to buy and store bottles for several years, you’ll need to create proper storage and aging conditions so that your your wine can age and achieve its full potential.

Click on the following link to read more about the Importance of
Proper Wine Storage.

Humidity DOES matter when storing and aging wine over long periods of time. The ideal range for humidity is 50 to 70 percent. Not enough humidity, and the outside of the cork could dry out and shrink, leading to ullage and possible oxidation of your wine. Too much humidity, and the wine bottle labels might get moldy and/or peel off.

If you live in a dry area, it’s especially important to cellar your wine in a sealed environment. That way, you can add moisture inside the wine cellar and the moisture will remain inside. To add moisture, try placing a shallow dish of water with a sponge inside the wine cellar, or spray a mist of water from a water bottle inside the wine cellar.

If you live in a humid area, make sure that the cooling system in your wine cellar will remove excess moisture from the air. For more information about the proper conditions for long-term wine storage and aging, see The Importance of Proper Wine Storage.