Hello,

I am going to buy some sort of refrigeration. I'm in California and sometimes the days do get very hot. However, I don't know what type of refrigerator/cooler to get. Space is an issue. I'm thinking something small, but I have many wines. Would it kill my wines to have them in a rack in my dining area, is that absolutely not the thing to do? I know heat kills wine, but how much and for how long? I would love to get by with a 12 to 18 bottle capacity for insdie, but truth is I have more than that. That puts me in a whole other category for the cooler -... what do you suggest? And which is a good one?

Wine stays best in caves, where the temp is about 45 to 50F, so even a refrigerator would be too cold at 38 to 40. They sell wine coolers like picnic ice chests that you can plug in to the wall or just get an old secondhand refrigerator that doesn't work so well! Exposure to heat and light will affect the taste, the lovely colors will sort of brown out too. Just like food won't taste as good a few days after you cook it if it's not refrigerated. Of course the alcohol content would still make it safe to drink. You are supposed to keep bottles on their sides so the liquid contacts the corks for best flavor.

Marta,

For storing red wine, the best thing to do is find somewhere relatively cool and dark like a closet near the middle of your house. Cool (around 50F as wildandblue said) is best, but if you aren't storing it for more than a few years, anywhere below 70F will be fine. Longer storage than that, and you really do want to keep it cooler.

White wine should be refrigerated, below 45F, and don't expect it to keep for more than 9-12 months. It doesn't have the tannins that red wine does, which act as a preservative.

And yes, keep the bottle on it's side. You need to keep the cork wet so that it doesn't shrink, and allow oxygen into the bottle. Oxygenation kills the flavor of wine.