Temp variation in wine fridge

WINE TALK
1

One of my wine coolers is a Vissani supposedly 52 or 55 bottle unit that really can hold 48 at the most. The top three shelves have slots for 7 bottles each, 4 facing one way and 3 facing the other. You can also stack another level of bottles on top of them making each shelf capacity 14 bottles. Then there’s space for 6 more bottles in the bottom of the unit. It uses a compressor and also has a manual analog dial to adjust the temp, rather than a digital control panel. It’s the model commonly sold by Home Depot.

It works fine; I generally don’t stack bottles so most of the time it has 27 (7 on each of the three shelves and 6 at the bottom) but thanks to BD and spring shipments I am now stacking bottles. I’ve got a couple of other thermoelectric coolers plus offsite storage space. I would say the wine in the coolers at home is meant to be consumed within a year, two at the most.

I notice when not stacking bottles that the range of temperature inside the cooler averages around 55 degrees. It ranges around the low 54’s to the high 56’s as the compressor cycles on and off. That seems pretty good to me. Now with the bottles stacked, I’ve noticed that the temperature range has increased, from 50 (49.7 is the minimum recorded) to 57.0 degrees. Most of the time it’s in the 53-55 degree range but definitely the overall range has increased.

Questions - (1) why would the cycling temp range increase like that as a result of stacking the bottles? And (2) is this wider range in temperature going to be harmful? I’m only expecting a few more bottles so I will be gradually “de-stacking” those three shelves… at least until the fall releases start marching in.

2

I would imagine that the range changes because air doesn’t circulate as freely and consequently the thermostat sensor, wherever that is, doesn’t respond as quickly to changes in the box.

The temperature that the sensor is reading, which I imagine is the ambient temperature of its surroundings, is not necessarily the same as the temperature of your wine. Take a wine out of the fridge and put it on your patio table in 90 degrees and it’s going to be a lot cooler than 90 degrees, at least for a while. Eventually it will warm up, but not instantly.

Finally, as to whether it will be harmful - you worry too much. If you’re planning to keep the wine for 40 years, you don’t keep it in an inexpensive small box you bought from Home Depot. if you’re going to drink it within a couple years, you will have simply shortened your life by the stress of worrying about it too much.

Just keep an eye on the compressor. Lots of those units have compressors that crap out unexpectedly and well before you’d think they should.

3

Thanks. I was thinking that the reduced air flow had something to do with it, which is why I hate stacking bottles but I also realize that the thermal mass keeps the temperature of the wine itself more constant than the ambient air in the cabinet.

The stuff at home is for more short-term drinking and the longer-term stuff is off site. But still, I do admit to being paranoid about making sure the wine is stored properly!

Also, I read the mixed reviews on the Vissani units but so far mine has worked fine and I have to say that many of the bad ones were from people who were expecting it to do something it wasn’t made to do (as are many consumer complaints).

4

I purchased digital thermometers for both my at-home wine fridge and my off-site locker. I didn’t trust the reading on the front of the fridge, but it actually is +/- about 2 degrees. My thermometer gives a range on the readout so you can tell how much temperature fluctuation over a given period of time. Also provides humidity levels.

5

That’s what I use, too - an indoor/outdoor digital thermometer. I put the probe for the outdoor part inside the fridge near the middle and just monitor it from there. It keeps track of the max and min temps and humidity. Being that I fuss so much about proper storage, it increases my paranoia like looking at my mirror and seeing a police car. [wink.gif]

6

Rickie,

I have a used Le Cache wine cabinet that I purchased a little while back. Being as fastidious as you about wine storage temps, I went and bought two wireless wifi thermometers with probes that allow me to measure the temp at the top of the cabinet and at the bottom. I’m finding that my temp ranges from 57 to 62 degrees depending on the time of day (my cabinet is in the garage).

I’m debating getting a new Le Cache compressor, but I wanted to see if others could weigh in on the significance of storing wine at an average temp of say 60 degrees vs. 55 degrees.

-Alex

7

Air temperature fluctuations are bound to happen with in the refrigerated unit. What would be more important to know would be the actual bottle temp fluctuation.

8

The horror!

9

I have three Liebherr 6451 wine fridges. The temperature is distinctly warmer at the top than at the bottom. 14-15°C at top; 11-12°C at bottom with temperature set at 12°C. Having discovered this after loading, I did not place all whites at the bottom and the ready to drink reds at the top, except in one where a break-down has allowed me to re-arrange (see below). Their advertised capacity of 300 bottles + is a lie unless all the bottles are standard Bordeaux shape (no heavyweights and non-parallel sides!).

I don’t believe that the temperature fluctuations are likely to be harmful. I lived previously using a passive cellar for nearly 40 years with seasonal fluctuations between 11°C and 21°C (in 2003) and a recently opened Pichon Comtesse '66 was perfect.

The temperature control mechanism broke down on one fridge, but fortunately in the autumn when I was able to move the contents to a cool room. It was repaired under guarantee but it took about 4 weeks for the local Liebherr repairer in Normandy to get the spare parts. If it had been July… [shock.gif]

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