Storing of bottle wines in a refrigerator

[troutfly]

For the last couple of years I have been purchasing wine from various wineries in the Shenandoah foothills (Sacramento area). I currently have about 60 bottles, mostly reds.

I have come to the conclusion I need to better control the temperature at which I store the wines. They are in various wine racks in my house, to which the temperature of the room where they are stored gets up to about 78 during the hot summers.

I was thinking about buying a wine refrigerator but thought of something different.

My question is: would be be OK to store the wines in an older, regular house refrigerator?

Thanks for any and all help.

Russ...

 

[Runningwolf]

Russ, first off welcome to Wine Making Talk. Yes you can use your older refridgerator. Since it's mostly reds you are storing you could turn it up fairly warm unless you like 38* red wine.

 

[Rocky]

Russ. the "ideal" storage temperture for reds is 55 degrees F. You may have to alter or replace the thermostat in your refrigerator to keep it at that temperature. I think it can be done and I believe I have read either on this site or another that people have made this alteration.

 

[robie]

If you do keep the temperature at something like 38F, the wine will age very slowly. I think there is a formula to determine how much slower it will age, but I don't have it. I will guess that it might slow the aging by as much as 60% to 75%.

 

[roadpupp]

There is a simple set up available that has a probe you drill and insert into the
Fridge and then it has a relay to cycle on the fridge to keep at whatever temp you want. Amazon has them

 

[bob1]

they work great I use old fridges with these for storing and fermenting in.

 

[troutfly]

Thank you all for the info. It is greatly appreciated. Every time I look at the wine refrigerators out there, such as through Amazon, and look at the reviews, I see that people are having lots of problems with them. While an old style kitchen refrig may slow down the aging, I have the impression that without some type of cooling for my wines, I am slowly cooking them.

 

[Loghousewines]

I bought a freezerless refrigerator at Sears and added the temp control probe. Works great. Added a few supports and it stores about 12 cases of wine. I placed a tray of water to get humidity up so corks don't dry up.

 

[Mismost]

There is a simple set up available that has a probe you drill and insert into the
Fridge and then it has a relay to cycle on the fridge to keep at whatever temp you want. Amazon has them

InkBird temp control...about 40 bucks...plug and play...real simple.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015E2UFGM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Smokin_Paul]

Russ there is no perfect temperature to store wine. Its said the ideal temperature range is between 45° F and 65° F (and 55° F is often cited as close to perfect), though this isn't an exact science. 55F just happens to be about the temp of European cellars and means little. The real thing is keeping the temperature steady. You can have gradual seasonal changes but you don't want the temp changing constantly.

The other thing to consider is moisture control. For long term storage if you use natural corks you want them damp but not so damp as to rot and not so dry as to dry out. I switched to synthetic corks so I don't have to worry about it.

Colder means the wine will age slower but Reds taste better served warmer as it allows you to smell/taste more. However you can drink it the way you like. However you like it is the right way. ;-)

I would get a frig and store the wine at a steady temp. Later on if you want you can get a thermostat with a higher range. You plug thermostat into the outlet then plug the frig into the thermostat. The new thermostat will give you a higher range of temp settings.
Something like this
http://www.northernbrewer.com/johnson-refrigerator-thermostat

 

[michiganwinemakerbob]

I'm from Mich. and had a wine cellar all ready I'm my cir. 1895 home and area 7' by 12' with a dirt floor Perfect for red wine I used to have about 120 bottles in racks I had to use them up so I could move to Az.
Ok i'm here in Az. and would like to get back into making Red wine, using real grape process. once more. I've only been here about 9 months enough to realize
Damn How am I going to make wine in the heat /
Well I figured I can do all the hard work in side the house, in a back room. but what about storing about 60 bottles of wine
The garage will reach 140 degrees ( guessing ) in July as the door faces a direct sunrise every morning or until noon.
Perhaps if i were to insulate an area room with 6" walls and an old refrigerator with an added digital thermostat. and a very small exhaust fan.
I rather not have a$30.00 add on electric bill cost.
Az has to have the highest electric fee in the world " LOL"
open for idea's on this one a especially any wine maker in the Arizona area or similar heat environment.
I sold all my equipment and looking for a good supply store in the west valley also
I have been making red wines for 17 years,
Robert