I’ve always been a casual drinker of wine and never bought bottles to keep for more than a couple of years. For this purpose, a small inexpensive 20 bottle capacity wine fridge has served me well. A trip last year to Burgundy including some very nice tastings sparked my interest in buying more wine to keep and mature. I am mainly buying wine from Burgundy, mostly village reds and whites and some premier cru. So, I guess, as a rule of thumb, these bottles should be looking at somewhere between 3-8 years (and perhaps more, if I have the patience) of storage time.
I live in an apartment and don’t have the option of a proper cellar, so a wine fridge is the way to go. I’m mainly looking at something around 1000$ with 40-60 bottles capacity. I’m in Norway, so the selection of wine fridges might differ from the US and continental Europe. But it is a huge selection of different types and models. And with professional reviews few and far in between, it’s hard to know what separates one from another. But I found two manufactures (Temptech and mCuvee) that specializes in wine fridges and seems to be good quality for the money.
Anyway, what I’m a bit confused about is whether these mid-level wine fridges are fine for storing (and maturing) wine for 4-10 years? Or do I risk the wine maturing prematurely or going bad due to vibrations and temperature fluctuations? Can I keep buying wine, storing them in a wine fridge, and sleep well at night? Or do I need a proper cellar or something like a Eurocave to be safe?