Wine fridge cellaring temp and other settings

[daver6]

Hi all,

Yesterday my new Leibherr WK 6476 single zone fridge arrived. Stocked it up with all my wine (about 170 bottles) and set the temp to 14C.

It seems to have settled at 14 now with the temp at the top a smidge over 14 and just over 12 at the bottom. What temp do you suggest is the best of long term cellaring?

Secondly, humidity seems quite low. Only around 25%. There is a button on the top of the fridge to turn the ventillation fan on and off. However, the insturctions dont mention what the benefit of having it on or off are. Any thoughts? Will this effect humidity at all?

If I still find the himidity level is too low, is that a fault or do I just stick a bowl of water in the fridge?

Thanks for your thoughts

david

[daver6]

Ok a little further testing reveals that humidity is around the low 40% mark. First hygrometer was faulty.

Temps on the middle shelf seem to fluctuate between 14.6 to 15.2.

[dazza1968]

wow at least you wine fridge works i got a little vintec 40 bottle dual zone just before xmas set it at 15 and 5 degrees and off we went to melbourne little did i realise the fridge stoppedc working and got home , and temp was 33 degrees well basically wine was stuffed and now waiting for new fridge


regards Dazza

[grapeobserver]

The classic position (at least in France) seems to be that 12c is the "ideal" cellaring temperature, with a humidity of 70%. But up to 18c seems to be ok per most commentaries I've read here and elsewhere. I usually settle on somewhere in between, though that it can be hard to maintain that temperature/humidity in Australia without a very expensive fridge or cellar. I wonder how important humidity actually is for wines bottled under screwcap, where the cork won't otherwise dry out.

Cheers

Sean

[orpheus]

The classic position (at least in France) seems to be that 12c is the "ideal" cellaring temperature, with a humidity of 70%. But up to 18c seems to be ok per most commentaries I've read here and elsewhere. I usually settle on somewhere in between, though that it can be hard to maintain that temperature/humidity in Australia without a very expensive fridge or cellar. I wonder how important humidity actually is for wines bottled under screwcap, where the cork won't otherwise dry out.

Cheers

Sean

Answer with screwcap -not important at all.

[WineAroundOz]

We have a collection of Chateau Belair 00 through to 05. The Chateau cellar caves are a constant 11c all year so that is what we keep our fridge at. Sorry can't tell you humidity in their caves but 70% seems about right from the feel of the place when you are in them. If it's good enough for them it's good enough for me.

[Bill]

The Chateau cellar caves are a constant 11c all year

Are they really though, or is that just the marketing spiel? When I visited Champagne, all the Champagne houses said their caves were at 11c all year round, but no way in hell were they at 11c!!! I was quite comfortable wearing a t-shirt through all the caves, so no way were they 11c. Now 16c I could maybe believe, but not 11c. (this was in summer, btw)

[Michael McNally]

Answer with screwcap -not important at all.

G'day Orpheus

I have pondered this question myself. I am about to construct a cellar/storage room and I am going to cool it (Brisbane). I wasn't going to bother about humidity as probably 95% of my collection is screwcaps. Do you have this on any authority? Or is it an assumption you have made like me.

There was also some debate not so long ago about the need/merit (or lack thereof) to storing screwcaps lying down. Again, there was no "evidence" presented, but people seemed to think lying down or standing up didn't matter.

Does anyone have an answer to these two questions based on some study/evidence? Is there any reliable literature out there on this? I have looked a bit and found not a lot!

Cheers

Michael

PS In answer to your original question Dave the cellar construction books I have been reading seem to nominate the 15 or 16 degrees mark as being the "optimal" cellaring temperature for general storage of wine. Of course they all state that lack of fluctuation is the most important factor.

[TiggerK]

I've done a lot of research on this whole topic and feel qualified to comment.

The general consensus from many experts is that an ideal temp for a cellar lies between 13-16C. 8-12 is fine but will see your wines age extremely slowly, and 16-20 will see them age a little bit faster than usual, but still without problems. My 4 fridges range from 12 to 18, even while being all set to 15. Temps will range a bit from top to bottom on most wine fridges. I keep whites and champagne in the cooler parts nearer the bottom, which also helps when you need one quick!

Especially for corks, a stable temp is much more important than a low temp, but for cork or screwcap, any temps above 20C will see an increase in how fast the wines age, and anything above 25 for more than a few months will probably be damaging to wine. Storage above 30 is very bad.

Humidity is not important at all for screwcaps, and screwcaps are also much more forgiving of daily temperature changes than corks are. For corks, humidity should be above 50%, preferably above 60%. Too high is OK, too low will increase the chance of corks drying out. You can increase humidity a bit by adding a water tray to the bottom of a fridge, by improving airflow (turn that fan on daver6), or by hanging wet cloths/towels with the bottom dipped into said water trays. For a standard fridge, when the compressor comes on, the humidity will drop, so daily fluctuations are normal. Having too low a temp set in a warm ambient exterior will result in a lower humidity as the compressor will be on for longer.

Screwcaps can be stored either lying down or standing up. No issue either way. Lying them down will enable you to confirm the seal is sound, but faults are quite rare. Of course corks should be stored lying down on their side.

Happy cellaring!!

Cheers
TiggerK (Tim)

[daver6]

Thanks for all the replies

Finally, anyone with a Leibherr know what the benefits of having the ventilation turned on/off are?

thanks again

david

[Bill]

Thanks for all the replies

Finally, anyone with a Leibherr know what the benefits of having the ventilation turned on/off are?

thanks again

david

My Leibherr doesn't have a switch to turn the ventilation fan on/off. It runs all the time on mine. I've measured the humidity in mine a couple of times, and it's been spot on 70% each time I measured it.

[Daniel Jess]

Firstly, good luck with it all.

I agree though - around 15C and 70% humidity feels right.

[Matt]

sorry to bring this thread up again however i was wondering for those with dual zone fridges what temp setting do you use for your wines?
my red is at 16 however im concerned my white at 8 is too low. have read if the temp is too low the wine will take a lot longer than usual to develop.
any advice appreciated.
thanks

[Dave Dewhurst]

I have a dual zone set at 12 (out of 5-12) and 16 (out of 12-18) for the reason you mention above.

Cheers

Dave

[daver6]

sorry to bring this thread up again however i was wondering for those with dual zone fridges what temp setting do you use for your wines?
my red is at 16 however im concerned my white at 8 is too low. have read if the temp is too low the wine will take a lot longer than usual to develop.
any advice appreciated.
thanks

My understanding of the dual zone/multi zone fridges are they aren't really intended for long term cellaring, but more of a way to keep your various wines at ideal drinking temperature for the shorter term.

[TiggerK]

My understanding of the dual zone/multi zone fridges are they aren't really intended for long term cellaring, but more of a way to keep your various wines at ideal drinking temperature for the shorter term.

Yes that's my understanding as well from reading the literature on the fridges themselves. Not sure why this should be the case really, maybe the temps fluctuate a bit much? As long as it works, and the temps are stable, why shouldn't dual zone fridges be long term suitable I wonder?

[Matt]

thats for your replies. ive changed it to 16 and 11. we'll see how we go with that. as long as the temp is stable i would think they are quite ok for long term cellaring (its gotta be a step up from the hallway cupboard anyway )

[orpheus]

Answer with screwcap -not important at all.

G'day Orpheus

I have pondered this question myself. I am about to construct a cellar/storage room and I am going to cool it (Brisbane). I wasn't going to bother about humidity as probably 95% of my collection is screwcaps. Do you have this on any authority? Or is it an assumption you have made like me.

There was also some debate not so long ago about the need/merit (or lack thereof) to storing screwcaps lying down. Again, there was no "evidence" presented, but people seemed to think lying down or standing up didn't matter.

Does anyone have an answer to these two questions based on some study/evidence? Is there any reliable literature out there on this? I have looked a bit and found not a lot!

Cheers

Michael

PS In answer to your original question Dave the cellar construction books I have been reading seem to nominate the 15 or 16 degrees mark as being the "optimal" cellaring temperature for general storage of wine. Of course they all state that lack of fluctuation is the most important factor.

On the "storing screwcaps on their side" question, it is just a question of physics. The reason that bottles with corks are stored on their side is that it helps prevent the corks dry out. As the metal in screwcaps does not "dry out", it doesn't matter. Again, for the same reason, humidity is logically irrelevant.