Is it a good idea to buy a wine cooler unit to age wine? Does it increase one's energy bill?!
Answers: Keeping in mind that there's no basement at home and average temperature where I live is between 70 - 75 F year round...
A unit like "La Cave" will certainly do the trick, yes it will add to your energy bill, about as much as another refrigerator. It should actually cost less because you should not be opening it as much as a refrigerator, hence less enengy loss and there is no freezer unit, a big user of energy.
You could probably do a 150-200 bottle unit with energy to spare.
If you plan on long term aging I would consider it but given your temperate climate I wouldn't do it otherwise. Most wine is meant to drunk within the year so unless you're investing in higher end wines for extended aging it's probably not worth the investment. If you let your house get up over 75 for any length of time you run the risk of some damage to the wine especially if it gets over 80. In that case you need a unit to protect the wine.
55 degrees is optimal for long term aging but I've had wines for 15 years at 75 degrees and they're just fine.
In your case the unit wouldn't run enough to significantly increase your bill. I wouldn't worry about that.
If you tend to keep atleast a half dozen bottles of wine on hand, and don't drink them very frequently, such a thing makes sense. Otherwise, I would reccomend you keep them in a closet in the coldest part of your house and to use them fairly soon after buying them (ie, buy wine for a meal you'll have this week, rather than this month or season). Closet temp should be good enough for wine, plus it blocks the light. 70-75F is warm for wine.
Of course it will increase the electrical bill, it doesn't use 0 watts ;) It won't increase it by much, though. If you're using the fridge right now, your wine should come out better, the fridge is a bit cold for wine (atleast, unopened).
Store them next to the Cokes in the fridge!
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