Moisture on bottle

Benjamin · Post by **Benjamin** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 4:42 pm

Hey guys, all new to this storing wine and stuff - but I recently bought a nice little wine fridge and have a few bottles in it at the moment. However, the bottles have a thin layer of moisture on the outsides of the bottle. Is this good or bad? If it's bad, what should I do to try and stop it?

The curious thing is that they wine I've just had sitting in a cupboard for a few months (or more), the labels are starting to "shrivel" a little on the sides. But the wine I only bought a couple of weeks ago the labels are perfect. I'm a bit worried that the older wine is wrecked now that I've just put it in a cooler!

Sorry if this seems like the simplest of questions, but I can't seem to get a straight answer from my Google search - so thought I should come here (btw, the many topics on wine fridges helped me pick mine!).

Thanks for all your help,
Ben

dave vino · Post by **dave vino** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 4:49 pm

Sounds like it's turning off and on. Bit like when the power in your normal fridge goes off everything inside gets condensation on the side of it.

Red Bigot · Post by **Red Bigot** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 5:04 pm

Ben. a few more details, please.

What temp do you have the wine fridge set at?
Where do you live (city) and what is the normal temp and humidity in the room the fridge is in?
Dou you have a temp/humidity measuring unit to check the temp/humidity in the fridge?
Does the fridge have a condensor drain to collect moisture from the internal heat exchanger (cool side) outside the fridge cavity and evaporate it on the warm side of the cycle?

If the normal humidity is high you may get a little condensation initially when you turn it on, but at 14-16C (for reds) you shouldn't see moisture forming on the bottles.

I'm not sure what your worry is re "wrecked", the labels might be a bit compromised but the wine will be unaffected. There are many different types of material used for wine labels, some will absorb moisture at the edges more than others, some not at all.

Benjamin · Post by **Benjamin** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 5:22 pm

The fridge is set at 18c. The temperature gauge reads between 17-19c (air temp). Inside the fridge, it's at 18c. I live in Brisbane, ambient at the moment is about 31c, humidity at about 50%. I don't have anything to read the humidity inside the fridge at the moment - can you recommend something for me?

No tray from what I can tell, it does give me a little plastic cup on the top shelf (where the fan is) to fill with water.

Sorry for the basic answers, this is all new to me.

EDIT: Just had two temp gauges in the fridge, top and bottom for a couple hours. Bottom one read just below 19c, the top one read just above 18c. I should also point out that the amount of moisture on the bottle is miniscule. It's literally a thin film over the glass, but you can see it when you get the bottle out for a bit.

griff · Post by **griff** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 8:32 pm

Benjamin wrote:The fridge is set at 18c. The temperature gauge reads between 17-19c (air temp). Inside the fridge, it's at 18c. I live in Brisbane, ambient at the moment is about 31c, humidity at about 50%. I don't have anything to read the humidity inside the fridge at the moment - can you recommend something for me?

No tray from what I can tell, it does give me a little plastic cup on the top shelf (where the fan is) to fill with water.

Sorry for the basic answers, this is all new to me.

EDIT: Just had two temp gauges in the fridge, top and bottom for a couple hours. Bottom one read just below 19c, the top one read just above 18c. I should also point out that the amount of moisture on the bottle is miniscule. It's literally a thin film over the glass, but you can see it when you get the bottle out for a bit.

Are you sure that it is present in the fridge itself or does it form when you remove it? The latter is completely normal.

cheers

Carl

Benjamin · Post by **Benjamin** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 8:56 pm

Hmmm, you might be right! I might be jumping the gun a bit and noticing it when I remove the bottle. When I do open the fridge and stick my hand in, the bottles aren't really that moist. But if I pull the shelf out, they seem to have that very thin film of condensation/moisture. Don't get me wrong - it's not moisture like a can of soft drink has when you take it out (there is no water, it's just a thin layer that you can wipe with your finger).

Daryl Douglas · Post by **Daryl Douglas** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 9:05 pm

Sounds normal to me. I've a couple of 28btl and a 72btl wine coolers and it's not unusual for there to be some slight condensation on bottles when removed. Not a matter for concern as there's always some humidity in the the air inside, mostly gets there simply when the door is opened.

Cheers

daz

Benjamin · Post by **Benjamin** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 9:23 pm

Thanks! My biggest concern was when I saw the labels starting to wrinkle (and I thought it was caused by moisture!) and I started to think what is happening to the few corked bottles in there... ta!

dave vino · Post by **dave vino** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 8:11 am

Labels will wrinkle. I notice the ones closest to the fans where the humid air is pumped out get a bit wrinkly.

Waiters Friend · Post by **Waiters Friend** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 11:24 pm

Benjamin wrote:.

EDIT: Just had two temp gauges in the fridge, top and bottom for a couple hours. Bottom one read just below 19c, the top one read just above 18c. I should also point out that the amount of moisture on the bottle is miniscule. It's literally a thin film over the glass, but you can see it when you get the bottle out for a bit.

A thought. Shouldn't it be the other way round; i.e. cooler at the bottom? Laws of physics - hot air rises? Certanly my cellar works that way.

Cheers

Allan

Daryl Douglas · Post by **Daryl Douglas** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 12:07 am

Waiters Friend wrote:
Benjamin wrote:.

EDIT: Just had two temp gauges in the fridge, top and bottom for a couple hours. Bottom one read just below 19c, the top one read just above 18c. I should also point out that the amount of moisture on the bottle is miniscule. It's literally a thin film over the glass, but you can see it when you get the bottle out for a bit.

A thought. Shouldn't it be the other way round; i.e. cooler at the bottom? Laws of physics - hot air rises? Certanly my cellar works that way.

Cheers

Allan

My 28btl coolers have the fan in the mid-upper rear section of the cabinets, perhaps that's a consideration. But there is significant difference in the temperature of the highest couple of racks to that of the lower racks of the 72btl cooler - don't need thermometers to know that. Overall, I'm happier with the performance of the smaller coolers.

Cheers

daz

Benjamin · Post by **Benjamin** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 9:53 am

I think it's from the fact that I used two different gauges, one plastic and one metal. Probably interpret temp just a smidge different...

hmmm · Post by **hmmm** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 6:28 pm

Waiters Friend wrote:
Benjamin wrote:.

EDIT: Just had two temp gauges in the fridge, top and bottom for a couple hours. Bottom one read just below 19c, the top one read just above 18c. I should also point out that the amount of moisture on the bottle is miniscule. It's literally a thin film over the glass, but you can see it when you get the bottle out for a bit.

A thought. Shouldn't it be the other way round; i.e. cooler at the bottom? Laws of physics - hot air rises? Certanly my cellar works that way.

Cheers

Allan

funny enough my fridge seems to defy the laws of physics too... it is warmer on the bottom couple of shelves compared to the upper layers.

i put this down to a few of things:
1. my fridge is pretty full and the bottom row is layered up so maybe the cooler air cant get down between the bottles as effectively.

2. all the electronics and heat sink is on the underside of the fridge.

3. the fan circulating the cool air is up the top.

redstuff · Post by **redstuff** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 10:14 pm

Brisbane is crazy for humidity. I have a lemair 54 bottle cabinet at 14 Celsius and when it is humid, condensation will form on the outside glass door and by the end of the day there will be a signficant puddle of water on the floor. Opening the cabinet on a humid day is easily enough for every bottle to be doused in sweat from the usual humidity. I have solved this problem by moving to Canberra :wink: