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Wine

I’m no wine professional, but thanks to my family, I’ve had the chance to enjoy some amazing wines over the years. There are no words to fully describe how great a wine can taste, but you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars (how about a $30,000+ bottle of wine?) to enjoy a good wine.

The trick is finding the perfect wine for the perfect meal — this is called “pairing”. Pairing a good meal with the right wine, can turn a good meal into an amazing one. It’s the journey of finding the perfect wine (for you) for a given meal that makes wine interesting.
Now, you don’t need to buy up the entire wine section of your local liquor store to start your journey.
There are easy options you can try right now!

Buy a Chianti (or a couple different ones), and try it with tomato-based pasta dishes (like Marinara, or Bolognese) or pizza.
Buy a Riesling (off-dry) and try it with spicy food, like Thai or Indian curries.
Buy a Muscat (like Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise), and try it with blue cheese (like Roquefort).
Buy a Cabernet Sauvignon and try it with any red meat meals and rich sauces, including, but not limited to, chili con carne and burgers! Its bold tannins, rich fruit flavors (like blackcurrant and plum), and often smoky or spicy notes make it a fantastic match for beef-based dishes.
Buy a Pinot Noir and use it with same meals as the Cabernet Sauvignon to compare. And make sure to pair it with pork, chicken, and even salmon.

Now try with the Riesling you bought earlier with the blue cheese and taste the difference. Muscat generally pairs better with blue cheese than Riesling because Muscat is sweeter, lacking the acidity that the Riesling has. But a Muscat would more likely overpower the spicy food, being “too sweet” and amplifying the heat from the spices. The Riesling, on the other hand, provides a refreshing balance with its acidity, cutting through the heat, keeping the flavors in harmony.
Having said that, what’s really important is your experience: if you prefer a Riesling with your blue cheese and a Muscat with your spicy food, so be it!

Always keeping those wines in stock is a good idea, as they can pair with almost any meal (even veggie burgers with Pinot Noir!),

In my family, we buy bottles of wine from the year the kids were born, and keep those bottles until the kids are old enough to drink it. We then enjoy matured wine together to celebrate their coming of age. Since I need to store these bottles for 10 to 15 years (wine produced in a given year is only sold a 3+ years later), this is where wine fridges come in…

Wine fridges

In an article about the best wine fridges, Popular Mechanics said,

Choosing a wine fridge is really quite straightforward, but (…)

Emphasize on the "but". Freestanding? Undercounter? Which brand? How many bottles? Dual zone? How about just renting wine storage?

Many brands offer wine coolers (including LG and Samsung…yes, I know). Here are some that I find particularly interesting:

Wine Enthusiast: They sell their own brand of somewhat expensive wine fridges, and also offer EuroCave coolers, made in France, which are more for serious collectors.
Whynter: Known for offering reliable and well-designed wine coolers. They are based in California and their wine fridges are available on Amazon, Best Buy and even Home Depot.
NewAir: A well-established brand, also based in California, focusing on high-efficiency, space-saving designs at budget-friendly prices.
Allavino: A premium brand offring high-end wine storage solutions.

There are a few key features to keep in mind when choosing a wine fridge:

Undercounter vs. freestanding: Undercounter fridges can be built into kitchen cabinets (with vents at the top or bottom to allow airflow). Freestanding fridges are designed to stand alone and may break if you try to embed them in cabinets.
Glass doors: If your fridge has glass doors, the manufacturer should mention UV protection. Wines don’t care about UV light, but you do—UV rays can degrade wine quality over time.
Noise level: Wine fridges contain compressors, which can be noisy. If you plan to place the fridge in a quiet area, like a library, consider the noise level.
Storage: Not all wine bottles are created equal. Bordeaux bottles are straight-sided with high shoulders, while Burgundy bottles have sloping shoulders and a slightly wider base, which can make them more difficult to fit on standard shelves. This may not be a big deal for most people, but it’s something to consider if you need to store an exact number of bottles in a fridge.
Temperature and Humidity: Wine fridges are designed to store all types of wine, but white, rosé, and champagne prefer lower temperatures than red wines. Since I use my fridge for both short-term and long-term storage, I check on it every time I use it.
Zones: Some fridges offer dual zones, allowing you to set different temperatures for different types of wine.
Door Swing: On some fridges, you can change the door’s swing direction (left or right); on others, you need to specify the swing direction when ordering.
Aesthetics: black, silver, chrome, wooden shelves, black wire shelves, glass doors, full doors, one door, French doors, blue LED, white/yellow LED…it’s endless.

Like most things, a little planning will help you make the best decision. There’s no "universal best" wine fridge—it’s all about what’s best for you. Here’s how I go about it:

I already know I like sweeter wines, and I’m more interested in wines from Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand, and Europe, but I’ll try local ones too.
I do my research if I want something new, using reddit and other sites, keeping an eye on RPWA scores as well.
If possible, I visit the vineyard or producer for wine tastings. If that’s not an option, I order a few bottles to taste, keeping the rest if I like it.
I prefer complex, mature red wines, so I don’t need a dual zone fridge. Dual zone is mostly for storing red and white/rose/champagne. Now if I end up with a dual-zone one, I’ll just set the same temperature in both zones.
I want freestanding fridges: some look fantastic and can add a “cachet” to any room (maybe not the bedroom though…). How do I know? My wife said so, and she’s the boss.
This is why I also want glass doors, and great aesthetics (usually in black color). I own a Haier Wine Bank 50 Series 5 and it’s real eye-catcher.
I plan on using my fridge to store wine for different periods of time: some (even champagne) for next Christmas, others for much later (5-10 years).

I have no clue how many bottles I’ll be storing. I only know that I do not like a full fridge like you see on most pictures of wine fridges (see Lanbo 24-inch further below).I like to be able to see what I have without having to remove a dozen bottles (or keeping a chart) to see what’s at the bottom of the shelf. So for a 84-bottles 7-shelves fridge, I plan on storing comfortably ~45 bottles. If I decide to go full storage, I can use all the space if need be. I keep the long-term ones at the bottom, and the ones I’ll take out soon-ish towards the top (easier access).

Haier offers some excellent coolers at a really decent price. In France, you can find them at Boulanger (here’s a gorgeous one) but this is not an option here in the USA.

The list below shows the wine fridges I’m considering buying (just one though…) after all my research. Hopefully, you can find one that suits your needs, or use it as another data point in your search.

Conclusion

Collecting wine bottles can be an inexpensive and healthy hobby—if you drink responsibly, and if you stick to mostly red wines, your heart might thank you in the long run (ask a cardiologist; if they disagree, ask a French cardiologist…).

Disclaimer
We encourage responsible alcohol consumption. Please drink mindfully and in moderation. If you’re under the legal drinking age, refrain from consuming alcohol. Never drink and drive—use a rideshare service or call someone for a safe ride home. Excessive drinking can harm your body and mind, so if you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol, seek help from a professional.

1. Wine Cooler Refrigerator, 24 Inch 141 Bottle Dual Zone