Many people ask us about the concept of “wine cabinets”, well, it is nothing more than an American concept, as its name indicates, literally translated, it is a wine cabinet, a definition that is given by the storage and location of said wines, but which is not necessarily emphasizes its specific microclimate conditions for its conservation, relegating said word rather to a more or less luxurious piece of furniture where we will store wines, spirits and glasses, in the attached photograph you can see a piece of furniture specifically intended for said use, a wine cabinets.
The wine CABINET can have the aesthetics of wine cabinets, that is, it can be a piece of furniture, generally made of wood, suitable for a specific decoration and also offer a “storage” service for glasses and other utensils, but it also offers the specific microclimate for the storage of wines, a clear example. we would have it in the Legend model wine cabinet that combines the microclimate of wines with cupboards on both sides of it.
Never confuse a wine cooler with a wine cabinet. Wine coolers are intended only to provide a specific temperature. They are not suitable for conservation.
They are perfect for the bar of a gastrobar or a kitchen to have the wines at hand and drink them at their proper temperature. However, by the placement of the wine bottle (standing), a simply ambient humidity together with a non-exhaustive anti vibration system and without any protection from ultraviolet rays the only proper purpose of these coolers is the the “fast” consumption of those bottles (2-3 months).
In favor we have to say that for quick consumption, bottle coolers are of the family of “wine cabinets” the most convenient device for the punctual and handy service of a few bottles of our favorite wines or champagnes. You don’t even have to open any door to take the desired bottle.
Always demand something that must be complied with by all of us when buying our wines, that the wine cabinet or specialized wine store have a climatised wine cabinet capable of housing its wines in perfect microclimate conditions. Otherwise, even if we have just bought that bottle in the store, it may not have all its qualities and virtues. We may find these wines in an barely acceptable state or with some deficiencies.
That is why at Caveduke we always recommend buying wine where it is stored in a specific microclimate for 12-15 degrees and with optimum humidity.
Our need to conveniently store wine in a wine cabinet should never lead us to make the mistake of storing them in a “wine refrigerator”, as this type of appliance is usually characterized by a high level of vibration and a lack of humidity control inside, two factors that seriously damage the evolution of the wine.
In a relatively short time, the vibrations break down the particles in the wine and impoverish its flavor, causing it to taste like an oxidized wine. On the other hand, the lack of humidity seriously damages the condition of the cork that closes the wine bottle and ends up giving way to oxygen, which penetrates and ends up oxidizing the wine, spoiling it, something that must be avoided at all costs.
As for cheap wine cabinets, something similar happens. This kind of cheap wine cabinets are usually machines that work with thermoelectricity or peltier cells, which, if they are of low quality (normally, in cheap wine cabinets they are), do not have enough power to cool the bottles well, especially in summer, with the inside of these wine cabinets reaching over 20ºC, which seriously accelerates the evolution of the wine towards its deterioration. In addition, these wine cabinets usually last a short time, since their cold equipment loses performance as they accumulate dust, which causes them to work without interruption for a longer time to try to maintain the temperature, usually without success, and they end up “dying” in the term 2 years, approximately, coinciding with the expiration of the guarantee of the wine cabinet.
For all these reasons, we always recommend wine cabinets of proven prestige, such as Caveduke wine cabinets, a consolidated brand in the market with the guarantee and prestige offered by the CAVEDUKE® brand, our brand of luxury climatised cabinets, a benchmark brand in the sector and with an international presence for more than 15 years.
Do not let a cheap wine cabinet spoil your wines and, in the end, you end up giving way to a better quality one. Decide on a quality wine cabinet from day one. Always ask for a wine cabinet with a technical service in your area, such as the Caveduke wine cabinets, as we have a technical service network throughout the Spanish territory and even outside of it.
Throughout the centuries, the only and most effective means of aging wines and cavas were natural wineries. Thanks to the microclimate generated, these wines were able to mature with their most unique bouquet. These wineries had to have specific conditions of location and structure, reserved only for a select few.
Today, Caveduke puts this complicated relationship at your fingertips in the place that suits you, thanks to our climatised wine cabinets.
Caveduke climatised wine cabinets maintain a constant circulation of air inside, purifying and freeing the environment of bad odours, achieving a perfect oxygenation of the wine in a natural way.
In both the conservation and aging of wine, one of the most important factors is humidity, since it prevents the cork from drying out and shrinking.
Caveduke climatised wine cabinets maintain humidity between the minimum and maximum recommended parameters.
The condensed water is eliminated by means of the timer included in all our models.
The mixture of noble woods with polyol and associanate achieves perfect insulation.
The innovative air conditioning system introduced by Caveduke in our wine cabinets ensures adequate temperatures in each of its devices, managing to preserve the different types of wine (red, rosé, white or cava) at the appropriate temperature to age, preserve and to serve.
This system manages to streamline and release the cold retained in the evaporator, increasing its sediment capacity, with minimal electricity consumption. The dual function of this system ensures that a drop in ambient temperature to -5ºC or a temperature above 35ºC will not affect our wines.
The distribution system incorporated in Caveduke climatised wine cabinets is designed to make the most of all the interior space, creating a quantity-comfort ratio.
Temperature table
The only clear aim of this table of temperatures is that the wine smells and tastes according to its nature. This is achieved thank to the Caveduke climatised wine cabinets.
Young whites, cavas and champagnes: 6 to 8 ºC.
Reserves, large reserves: 16 to 19 ºC.
Aging in wood: 14 to 16 ºC.
Aging without wood: 12 to 14 ºC.
Oloroso, oporto and solera wines: 10 to 14 ºC.
White, rosé and chamomille wines: from 8 to 10 ºC.
Fresh red wines of the year: 10 to 12 ºC.
Pitcher, Basket and Decanting. Whites and cavas, fresh reds and rosés can be served from bottles, always maintaining the right temperature. Crianza reds should be transferred from the bottle to a decanter jar to avoid ingesting lees, as well as to aerate and oxygenate the wine, which will gain in colour, aroma and presentation.
Decantation is essential for Reserva and Gran Reserva wines, since they will surely have lees. Here you have to apply a candle and see if the deposit falls to stop the decantation.
Another useful device is a basket. With it we can move and keep the bottle lying down, as it was stored in the wine cabinet and prevent the lees from spreading throughout the bottle.
Every connoisseur of wine knows that it is not the same to taste a good caldo wine in a crystal glass than in non-crystal one (no one would think of tasting a Sicilian Vega in a plastic cup), because although the difference is not so dramatic, it is important. Wine is to be always tasted in crystal glass.
When choosing a wine cabinet to be placed in a small space, such as a recess in the kitchen, we must be clear about some issues if we want to avoid unfortunate unforeseen events.
