One of Flaherty's friends donated an old fridge. He located the screw behind the temperature gauge, bought a cheap thermometer to read the temperatures as he adjusted the screw. It doesn't look pretty, but it sits in my garage anyway, Kwasne says. These makeshift fridge cellars won t soothe every storage issue. Refrigerators tend to vibrate and wine doesn t like to rock n roll.
Refrigerators also don t control humidity, important in keeping corks moist and securely sealed.
But those are long-term concerns, for collectors storing wine 10 years or more. Garr lists Bordeaux, Burgundy, cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir among those that benefit from long-term aging in an expensive wine cellar. People who don't have the money for a fancy solution like that don't have to despair. The kitchen, direct sunlight, and any part of the house that receives a lot of foot traffic or vibrations from the street. Of course, some collectors are more fortunate than others, like Bob Davis, a computer programmer in Columbia, Md., who has a basement.