What are the wine racks, a review of models
Over the past decade, the culture of wine drinking has again spread throughout the post-Soviet space. Increasingly, people think not only about drinking wine, but also about proper storage. That is why a wine cabinet is gradually being considered a rarity: they are bought, made to order, and some craftsmen make it with their own hands. Such designs can easily become a real decoration of a private house or a pride of the homeowner.
Design Features
Designs for wine bottles are of two main types: for use in production and at home. A wine cabinet for the home should be as simple and compact as possible, but meet all the necessary requirements. Therefore, for home use it is not recommended to purchase storage with diagonal shelves.
The wine cabinet in public catering facilities must have a well-designed design. In this case, cross-shaped constructions or shelves placed diagonally fit well. They have a traditional look, create an atmosphere of presence at the winery or in the cellar.
Creative people who can handle the tool can create a cabinet for storing wine at home with their own hands. If you make a bottle stopper on the sideboard or sideboard shelf, put it in a place suitable for the temperature of the wine, you get an excellent home wine cabinet. The limiter is made of beech battens, size 20 * 10 mm. They must be impregnated with a stain so that the tree does not deteriorate, then painted with the desired color, varnished. Reiki are screwed to the shelf, slightly stepping back from the edge.
The doors of the wine version for storage should be dark, not to let in direct sunlight. Wine spoils in the light, a characteristic precipitate falls at the bottom of the bottle. In some varieties, the presence of sediment is normal, you need to pay attention to this when buying.
The design of the wine bottle storage should be robust to ensure their safety. Wine should not roll freely, fall out when the door is opened, so shallow cabinets or cabinets do not fit in with your own hands to create a wine product. The bottle should fully enter the recess intended for its storage, the door should close tightly.
In the cellar of a good restaurant or winery, wine is stored in open structures - on shelves or in racks. In a room with a temperature comfortable for people, or with direct sunlight, wine is stored only in closed stores. This helps preserve the taste of wine, prevent spoilage.
The cellar is easy to make with your own hands from the pantry of a high-rise building or the cellar of a private house. To do this, use plumbing pipes:
- pipes are cut into pieces of the desired length;
- the resulting parts are glued together with a glue gun;
- the edges of the pipes are processed with sandpaper marked 0, wound around the index finger. It is important not to damage or scratch the pipes during processing.
It must be remembered that the top shelf of this design is always left empty, otherwise the wine spoils on it. Similar designs are easy to create from other materials:
- building blocks of cylindrical shape;
- clay pipes;
- drainage pipes.
It must be remembered that the parts must fit snugly together, hold tight. Inside the wine product should be optimal humidity - from 55 to 80%. When the indicator decreases, the cork dries up, air gets inside, the wine oxidizes. If the humidity norm is exceeded, the cork is moldy, damaged, the drink changes its taste. The bottle room should not have any odors. Wine through the cork absorbs extraneous aromas, the taste of the drink changes.
Kinds
Devices for storing a noble drink differ not only in appearance, but in characteristics. The most global difference is the presence of several temperature zones. This is necessary in order to simultaneously store several varieties of wine.
Wine cabinet refrigerators can be divided into the following indicators:
- temperature mode - temperature wine racks are found in one, two, three-temperature, as well as multi-temperature models;
- by type of cooler - two types of coolers are distinguished, among which are compressor and non-compressor;
- on the material of the shelves - the internal shelves can be made of wood, plastic or metal;
- power consumption - distinguish between classes A, A +, A ++, B, C, D;
- castle - constructions may, if necessary, have a castle;
- alarm - this function allows you to instantly find out about a decrease in temperature;
- according to the climatic class of use - there are four classes that can be used to determine the possibility of using the structure in certain climatic conditions. These classes are as follows: N - normal, SN - subnormal, ST - subtropical, T - tropical.
Fans of red wine for home use will use a mono-temperature type design, their price is much lower. Connoisseurs of white wine will have to spend money on wine racks a two-zone option, since different varieties have different temperature requirements.
As for energy consumption, according to this characteristic, designs are divided into classes: A, A +, A ++, B, C, D.
Storage facilities are made with one or two doors, depending on the type. If the temperature in the wine cabinet is the same on all shelves, it is reasonable to purchase a design with one door. For the simultaneous storage of red and white wine, only a two-door wine cabinet is suitable, so that when you open one zone, the optimal storage temperature inside the other is maintained.
According to the variant of placement of the structure can be:
- freestanding;
- recessed.
The second ones are often made to order or come complete with professional furniture. Often in this design, you can easily place 18-20 bottles of alcoholic beverages. However, if necessary, it is quite possible to find furniture that can hold up to 200 and even more bottles.
The corner and wine cabinet refrigerators are equipped with compressors to maintain the desired temperature. If this option seems noisy, there are no compressor cabinets. This type of refrigerator is cooled according to the Peltier principle.
There are also non-standard models representing an ordinary refrigerator in which a design for storing wine is built-in. Often there is an automotive option, powered by a battery. This model can hold up to 6 standard bottles.
Materials of manufacture
A lot of different materials are used to make wine storages, but wooden wine cabinets remain the most popular for centuries.This material allows the wine to breathe. A wine cabinet made of solid wood will not only be an adornment of any home, but will provide wine with conditions as close as possible to how wine was stored from the very beginnings of winemaking.
The advantages of this material include the independent repair of wooden wine cabinets, which is not possible in the manufacture of storage from plastic or metal. Using dual-zone wine racks, compliance with the temperature standards in the room is required, it must be installed only in a specially designated room.
To store a drink in a cafe or apartment, a fridge for wine is suitable. They are made of metal and high quality plastic. This allows you to adjust the temperature and humidity inside, regardless of the conditions outside it.
For the manufacture of wine storage by hand, it is recommended to use clay pipes. This natural material is able to maintain the desired temperature, humidity. Drain pipes have these properties. Repair of wine cabinets made of these materials is not possible, which should be taken into account when deciding what the bar should be of.
Doors are made of tinted glass that protects the drink from UV rays. This prevents the oxidation of wine and precipitation. Charcoal filters are used to purify air in hermetically sealed systems. This system allows you to get rid of extraneous odors, which protects the wine from changes in taste.
To summarize, we can distinguish a number of materials that are often used to make such furniture:
- metal;
- tempered glass;
- polymers;
- natural wood;
- combination of several materials.
Very often, for such designs, backlighting is used, which allows you to make a choice without opening the doors for this.
Posting Rules
A traditional place to store wine is a dark, cool room with moderate humidity. In houses, the basement or pantry meets the requirements. In the absence of a separate room, a wine cabinet and its small version, coupled with a cold wall (access or street), will do. An indicator of the suitability of the place of storage of the drink are cans with homemade pickles. If in the winter they do not freeze, in the summer they do not open because of overheating and fermentation, the place is suitable for storing wine.
If there is no place that meets the requirements in the dwelling, it is worth buying small wine racks. It can be placed anywhere, it has a temperature control mechanism. This type of storage is called a mini wine cabinet. It can be a table wine cabinet or a bar, which is often used in small cafes.
If the wine cabinet has a glass door without protective spraying or darkening, it is placed in a dark place without direct sunlight. Otherwise, the wine will oxidize and precipitate.
A place for storing wine should be protected from vibration and movement. Under the influence of these factors, real wine is destroyed, sediment appears, and its properties and taste change. That is why during installation it is worthwhile to ensure that the structure is stable and does not stagger at the slightest movement.
If you choose a model for private use, then this is often a small compact option that can be installed in a niche or under the countertop. As for the first option, it should be ensured that the doors open freely and do not interfere with movement. Also, do not forget about adequate ventilation, otherwise individual components may be damaged and the entire structure will fail.
How to choose
You need to choose a bar option for storing drinks, taking into account your own preferences, financial capabilities and the availability of a suitable place for accommodation. If the dimensions of the living space are small, you should take a closer look at the corner wine cabinets. This wine cabinet is narrow, takes up little space, but often does not have a door.Therefore, placement is possible in conditions that meet the standards of wine storage.
If it is not possible to comply with the proper conditions throughout the room, it is recommended to look at models such as wine models and countertop cabinets. They are small in size and have the ability to regulate the microclimate in the storage. A table wine cabinet has the same properties.
The choice of storage material depends on the room in which it will be located. A clay or wooden wine cabinet is suitable for individual rooms for storing bottles. In all other cases, it is worth taking a closer look at modern plastic and metal products. It should be borne in mind that independent repair of wine cabinets is possible only in the case of wooden models. In other situations, you will have to contact the service.
The amount of alcohol planned to be placed inside influences the choice of storage. For home use, lovers of one type of drink will find a wine cabinet for 8 bottles. It is worth considering that such an amount will not always be included. Capacity is designed for eight bottles of classic wine. Sparkling wines and champagne are produced in larger bottles. If available, a little less bottles will fit in the refrigerator than indicated in the description.
Connoisseurs of different wines will need a two-zone bar cabinet for 12 bottles, as bottles of white and red wine require different storage conditions. Elite wines need an individual temperature for each type, so they need more space. This wine is especially famous for its white color.
A bar cabinet may have one of several cooling systems:
- compressor (called so because of the presence of a compressor cooling the air) - effectively reduces the temperature, but emits a characteristic noise;
- thermoelectric (has two names, the second after the inventor of the Peltier principle of operation) - not suitable for the proper storage of sparkling and white wines, as it does not cool the air enough;
- absorption (it became so called because of the presence of an absorbent with which cooling is carried out) - noiseless, but expensive, consumes a lot of electricity.
Since it is often difficult to choose a wine cabinet, it is recommended to find a photo of the desired storage, and it is better to draw up a detailed diagram with all measurements. With a photograph and a drawing, it will be easier to explain to the store consultant which direction to look for. In a face-to-face conversation with a knowledgeable person, the selection of furniture will take less time and will be more effective. The main thing is to decide exactly which storage option is right for your case. Many factors can influence this choice: from the size of the room where the structure is planned to be placed, to the amount of wine that will be in storage at the same time.
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