Ask a Somm: Can White and Red Wines Be Kept in the Same Cellar or Wine Fridge?

Starting a wine hodgepodge of your own can provide you with an variousness of unconfined bottles. Once your hodgepodge begins growing, you’ll need to ensure that you’re storing your wines properly — and that involves the use of a cellar-like room or a wine refrigerator. No matter which method you choose, the question of whether red and white wines should be stored together or separately is unseat to arise.

To learn increasingly well-nigh how red and white wines should be stored, VinePair spoke with sommelier, wine journalist, and frequent freelancer Stephanie Cain.

The Benefits of a Cellar or Wine Refrigerator

No matter what type of wine you’re storing, it’s important to know the three vital elements that make for a good storage location: the space should be cool, visionless with little to no light, and temperature regulated. “I unquestionably read a fun stat that wine month four times faster at room temperature,” Cain says. So, if you’re serious well-nigh your wines and want to cellar special bottles for years, then it’s worth considering investing in a wine refrigerator.

Despite the convenience of your kitchen, wine bottles should not be stored in standard refrigerators or on countertops near the stove for long periods of time. “Cellars and wine refrigerators are both designed to alimony wines in an optimal environment, including the right value of humidity which prevents premature oxidation,” Cain says. These factors are crucial in prolonging a wine’s quality and ensuring optimal aging.

Red Vs. White Wine

“Red wine should be served virtually 60 to 65 degrees, while whites, rosé, and sparkling should be served between 40 and 50 degrees,” Cain says. It’s easy to seem that since reds and whites are served at varying temperatures, they should moreover be weather-beaten at variegated temperatures.

But when it comes to storage, those temperatures are a bit closer to each other; Cain suggests keeping both red and white wine at cellar temperature, which is customarily virtually 54 degrees. That ways white-haired variegated styles slantingly one flipside is a relatively typical practice among collectors.

Some wine refrigerators are misogynist with dual temperature zones. However, the split sections can often fit fewer bottles, meaning less storage space than single-temperature options. If you do segregate to invest in a wine refrigerator with separate sections, Cain suggests using it during events of unvarying service like dinner parties, as opposed to long-term storage.

But for most homes and small apartments, storage space is limited. “If you live in NYC like me, space efficiency matters,” Cain says. “Since both red and white wine do just fine together, a single-zone wine refrigerator works best.”

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