6 Things You are Doing to Damage your Wine

Collecting wine is a pricey, albeit rewarding pastime. Are you protecting your investment with proper wine storage techniques? Unfortunately, many people make innocent mistakes that ultimate result in good bottles going down the drain. It pays to learn about optimal storage conditions…

Are You Committing these Common Wine Storage Blunders?

1. Storing wine upright.
   A common occurrence with wine purchased by the case, upright storage dries out corks, exposing the wine inside bottles to air and making it taste like vinegar.
2. Minimizing or overlooking temperature storage needs.
   While gradual, seasonal changes won’t harm wine, big, rapid fluctuations will age wine prematurely. Constant temperatures are key to lasting quality, with optimal storage temperatures between 45 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Avoid storing wine bottles in the fridge, which is far too cool for storage needs. On the flip side, also avoid storing your wine overly warm locations such as in your kitchen (particularly by the oven, dishwasher, or fridge, which emit heat), dining room, living room, boiler room or laundry room. Just because you run your air conditioner all summer long, doesn’t mean your collection will be safe. When wine is stored at temperatures of 77 to 80 degrees and above, flavors are altered, resulting in a sweet, vinegary brew. Red wine is particularly susceptible. Read more about cooling units necessary to prevent this issue here – https://www.delcohvac.com/heating-and-cooling-units/wine-cellar-cooling-units/.
3. Failing to control humidity.
   Below 50% humidity, corks can shrink, exposing your wine to air. Investing in a humidifier can prevent this, keeping corks cared for by ensuring humidity levels in the 70-80% range.
4. Inadvertently exposing wine to UV light.
   Wine bottles are tinted for a reason. Just like your skin when it gets too much sun, UV exposure degrades wine’s organic compounds, resulting in premature aging that can negatively alter taste and aroma. Avoiding prolonged exposure to light, particularly sunlight, is essential to protecting your prized collection. Your wine does not need a room with a view.
5. Shaking things up.
   Frequently moving wine – and constant vibrations such as you would encounter with traffic or machinery – can disturb the sediment in wine bottles, speeding up aging. Avoid constantly manhandling your bottles, storing them in a calm, safe location and away from areas of your home where you use foundation-rattling power tools (such as the garage or workshop areas).
6. Recorking skinny side down.
   This may be easier, but the skinny side, exposed to the outside environment for so long, could have come into contact with anything. Go wet or wine-stained side down to avoid accidental contamination.

Store Your Wine Safely
Collecting and storing fine wines in a manner that helps them age gracefully is an exact science. Only custom wine cellars can create the precise conditions necessary to protect your pocketbook – and your pallet – from those unfortunate, vinegary sips. Luckily, custom wine cooling and refrigeration units are well within your reach. Discover how easily you can incorporate a wine cellar cooling unit into your home. Contact the knowledgeable temperature control professionals at H&H Heating & Air Conditioning today.

This blog was originally posted at https://www.delcohvac.com/6-things-you-are-doing-to-damage-your-wine/.

Wine Cellar Refrigeration and Installation in Wayne

Is your wine collection outgrowing your small refrigeration unit? Now may be a good time to step-up your storage solution, taking your hobby, and your enjoyment of wine, to a whole new level. We are offering wine cellar cooling unit installation and maintenance services in Wayne, so now you can have the wine cellar you always dreamed of, from fun and affordable, to a stylish statement-maker.

Safeguard Your Collection with a Better Storage Solution
No matter your budget or needs, we can help you find the perfect wine storage solution for your home, keeping your collection in the 50-55° F temperature and 60-70% humidity range to ensure fresh flavors…

• Economical & Easily Installed: Self-Contained Cooling Units
  Much like a window air conditioner, self-contained wine cellar cooling units are affordable and simply installed, mounting between wall studs. While one end absorbs heat and exhausts it into an adjacent indoor area, the other end blows cool air into the cellar. Their design does rob a bit of storage space, and they are inherently noisier than split or ducted varieties, but depending on your home’s setup, a self-contained system may provide a fast, economical solution to meeting your wine storage needs.
• Quiet & Efficient: Split Wine Cellar Cooling Systems
  Installed by air conditioning experts, split systems are the most efficient way to cool your wine cellar, regardless of size. Much like common split system air conditioners, with this style of wine cooling system, quieter, evaporator components are located inside or near your cellar, while noisier condensers can be located in an area better suited for sound reduction and space needs. In addition to quieter operation, split systems also offer greater flexibility in wine cellar design – and more consistent temperature and humidity levels.
• Beautifully Designed: Ducted Wine Cooling Systems
  Ducted systems offer superior wine cellar climate control, as well as a wide variety of installation options, including the ability to hide the appearance of the system in the cellar, as well as eliminate or greatly reduce noise. Ducted systems also come in self-contained or split designs, but with the help of ductwork, noisier components can be installed a bit more flexibly, following ductwork, up to 25 feet away from your cellar. Most are designed for indoor application, though some systems, such as WhisperKool, allow for outdoor placement of cooling components.

Sour Grapes?
Prevent the needless loss of tasty wine products by ensuring the perfect storage temperatures and humidity, ensuring an optimum storage environment for your precious collection year-round. Stepping up from your undercounter or standalone wine refrigeration system doesn’t have to be overwhelming. For friendly, expert, wine refrigeration unit installation and service, count on the professionals at H&H Heating & Air Conditioning to guide you through the journey. With decades of experience, 2-year warranties, 24/7 repairs, straight-forward pricing and a 100% money-back guarantee, you can’t go wrong no matter which wine cooing system you choose. Wayne residents, grab a glass of wine and give us a call today.

This blog was originally posted at https://www.delcohvac.com/wine-cellar-refrigeration-installation-wayne/.

Wine Cellar Cooling and Humidification Systems – The Essentials for your Wine Cellar

Love your wine collection, but that portable wine cooling unit not getting the job done anymore? If you are up to your ears in wine bottles (not the empty kind), it’s time to step things up a notch with wine cellar refrigeration systems.

What Does a Cellar Do that Your Home Cooling System and Countertop Unit Can’t?

Noisy, and notoriously unreliable countertop refrigerators are extremely sensitive to the temperature of the surrounding environment, and simply cannot cool properly in an overly warm room. Their small size oftentimes both limits suitable storage, and provides only serving-temperature function – not long-term storage. This single-zone style cooling typically leaves either your reds or your whites in the wrong temperature zone. Adding insult to injury, in the effort to look pretty, glass doors on some units may result in the unwanted exposure of your wine collection to UV light, which can prematurely age light sensitive wine. Old systems with excessive vibration, as well as poor location of countertop coolers, can also lead to wines being repeatedly jostled, shaking up sediment and leading to wine that is unpleasantly gritty.

Cut the Clutter – and Keep Wine Tastier

Wine cellar refrigeration systems help keep your precious collection at the perfect temperature, no matter the weather or conditions in your home, providing the right atmosphere to ensure delicious wine and ensure proper storage. Keeping your cellar temperature between 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit, the ideal temperature for wine storage, or a cooler 45 degrees for those looking for long-term storage that prevents aging, wine cellar cooling systems offer precise wine storage control. However more than simple wine cellar temperature control is crucial to wine condition – humidity is also key.

Don’t Sweat It: Humidification

Because air in your home can get dry, especially in the winter, as part of your wine cellar cooling unit installation you should include a wine cellar humidifier. Wine cellar cooling in dry climates can be tricky, and humidification ensures success, keeping your collection in the ideal 60-70% relative humidity range to protect corks from drying and cracking, resulting in wine evaporation through the cork, and eventually spoilage. This temperature/humidity control combination gives you total control over your wine storage environment.

Air Things Out with an Installer You can Trust

You have a lot riding on your soon-to-be cellar. When selecting a fabricator for your wine cellar refrigeration system, ensure lasting, successful results with a licensed, insured, and experienced professional. Select a company that backs their work with honest, straight-forward pricing and an extensive warranty, ensuring they will be available 24/7 to address your unit in the event of an emergency to ensure the condition of your collection day and night.

For the ultimate in wine cellar temperature control, professionally crafted to protect your prize pinot, trust in H&H Heating & Air Conditioning. Don’t leave your investment – or your taste buds – at risk, ensure the perfect condition of your wine collection year-round. Contact us today.

This blog was originally posted at https://www.delcohvac.com/wine-cellar-cooling-and-humidification-systems-the-essentials-for-your-wine-cellar/.