Some people are unaware that wines taste best whenever they are served at the right temperature, which is 7 degrees Celsius for non vintage sparkling wines, and 18 degrees Celsius for vintage port wines. As you can see, different types of wines really do need to be served at different temperatures.

In order to help these wines reach their appropriate temperatures before pouring them for yourself or your guests, it is helpful to have good wine coolers available for you to use.

What You Should Know about Wine Coolers

Wine coolers range from small, tabletop units, to hand held totes that are used for carrying chilled wine. Of course, wine coolers can also be as elaborate as large refrigerator style units that store dozens of bottles at selected temperatures.

Regardless of the model of wine coolers you purchase, you should know that they are made of:
* Neoprene
* Vinyl or double-walled glass
* Plastic
* Metal or any other type of insulated material

Smaller Units

Table top wine coolers are useful when you want to obtain the correct wine serving temperature in a warm climate. On the other hand, hand held totes are used for carrying and keeping up to 3 bottles of wine cold for a picnic or a party that lasts from 1 to 3 hours.

Large Units

Larger units come in different types, sizes and styles. They are useful if you want to replicate the temperature and humidity conditions of a wine cellar, but do not have access to one. This is because they can maintain temperatures at a designated level.

These modern day wine coolers can control temperature, cooling and circulation while also being able to read your wine's bar coding so that the conditions are perfect. Some models also have separate chambers with separate temperature controls so that you can store different types of wine at the same time.

Choosing the Right Wine Coolers

Whenever you are purchasing a wine cooler, make sure that you check out the features such as volume, number of shelves, capacity, dimensions and energy efficiency. Other optional features like light, glass doors and doors that open on both the left and right are also advantageous, as are digital or electronic controls so that temperatures can be set precisely.

Most of these units range in price from $350 to over $2000. Of course, table top wine coolers cost much less than the large refrigerated units that bars and restaurants use. And these smaller units can generally do the job for a host who simply wants to make sure that the bottle of wine that is being served at dinner is chilled just right.