If you are wondering about the best wine storage for restaurants, whether you’re a hotel, bar, or restaurant owner, or you’re simply curious, we can help.
Proper wine storage for a restaurant business will not only provide a solution to storing wine in the perfect storage conditions but it can also help to boost profits too.
If a customer has access to a wine list that names a variety of different wines that are complementary to the food they are having, then they are more likely to spend their money. This could potentially bring a lot of profit to the business.
We bring you this article to inform you all about wine storage for the hospitality industry, so keep reading for more.
Wine Storage Type
As a business, you are likely to want to hold and store a variety of different wines to serve your customers. We are talking different lots of reds, whites and rosés, as well as Champagne and Prosecco too.
There are various options when it comes to wine storage units. You can choose from a variety of built-in wine coolers, freestanding wine coolers, as well as wine cabinets also. Each variety can be useful for different things, depending on your needs.
When storing your wine in a commercial environment – whether it be a restaurant, hotel, or bar, we always recommend that you use a commercial wine cooler or a wine wall.
Commercial wine coolers not only store your wine collection in the best way for your customers but also display your wine perfectly. Commercial wine coolers are designed to store your wine at serving temperature, although you can find commercial wine fridges suitable for long-term storage. They can come in three main designs – built-in, freestanding, and integrated.
Built-in Wine Coolers
Built-in wine coolers are more seamless than other types of units. They can be built into existing unit space, although many built-in models do have the versatility of being able to stand freely on their own without the support of units enclosed around them.
Built-in wine coolers are a great way to save on floor space if you are pushed for the floorspace for a freestanding unit. Storing your wine in a built-in wine cooler will ensure wine is stored fresher for longer and ages in the best possible way – fit for serving whenever you need to serve to your customers.
This type of wine cooler, however, is most popular for standard household kitchens due to its sleek design and integrated system that looks neat and tidy in a modern and stylish kitchen.
Most built-in models are also on the smaller side, housing on average between 30-50 bottles. This is obviously not ideal if you are a large restaurant business and need to stock a number of bottles that is higher than 50.
Large models of built-in wine coolers are still available of course, housing a more generous capacity of 100-200 bottles, which might be more appropriate for restaurant wine storage.
Freestanding Wine Coolers
Choosing a freestanding wine cooler for your restaurant gives you flexibility in terms of where you place it. Safe from all the important factors including, light, temperature, humidity and movement, you can place and move around your wine cooler whenever you need to in your business.
Similar to built-in models, freestanding can be small or large housing anywhere between 10 or 200 bottles, depending on your model. This can be suitable for restaurant businesses no matter how big or small the business and the amount of wine you intend on storing. At Enofaber, you can find a freestanding wine cabinet to suit your needs.
Wine Cabinets
A lot of businesses choose to invest in a wine cabinet. Wine cabinets are especially good for hosting wine for the long term. This will be particularly beneficial for storing stock for restaurants. You can have multiple bottles in storage in your wine cabinet until ready to serve or to transfer to a small wine cooler unit for example.
Wine cabinets have lots more variety in terms of the size of wine cabinets you go for and their storage capacity. With the largest wine cabinets capable of storing over 300 bottles of the standard Bordeaux-size bottles, wine cabinets can be a great investment for those restaurant businesses should they need to store large amounts of wine bottles at one time, and for the long-term storage of them.
The majority of wine cabinets have all the necessary features that allow you to store wine perfectly – whereas not all wine coolers have all the beneficial and necessary features for long-term wine storage.
Some Factors to Consider
Now that you are aware of the different types of wine storage units that you can get, it is now time for some key factors and things to remember for storing wine for your restaurant business.
How Much Storage You Need
One of the main things to consider when choosing wine storage for your restaurant is how much storage you will need. This will help you decide which wine storage model to go for. Carefully consider how much wine you intend on selling to your customers and how much stock you wish to store.
Store Bottles Horizontally
Whatever the wine storage you go for, storing bottles horizontally is a must. This keeps the corks moist and stops the cork from drying out and from oxygen seeping into your bottles which can spoil your wine. Continue to store bottles horizontally, even after you have opened a bottle.
Multi-Temperature Zones
As a restaurant owner, you are going to need to store multiple different types of wines at once. As we know, different types of wines like red and white have different ideal serving temperatures as well as humidity levels.
To look after every type of wine your restaurant holds you will need to opt for a multi-temperature zone wine cooler or cabinet model. This is well worth the investment and something that you won’t regret and will ensure all bottles are kept safe and the product inside will be kept in perfect condition until ready to serve.
Enofaber
For restaurants, in conclusion, we feel at Enofaber that wine cabinets are the best option for your wine storage. Providing that you have the space available for one and that you stock or intend on storing large quantities of wine for the long term. This will mean you will benefit from owning a wine cabinet for your wine storage.
Many wine coolers and wine cabinet models can be found on our Enofaber website for you to browse and purchase. We even have a dedicated page on our website for commercial wine coolers, so you can browse all the units available with ease that are suitable for commercial use. This makes it even easier for you to decide on the right wine cooler for your commercial business.
Any questions you might have about any of our products or the brands that we sell, then do not hesitate to get in touch with us, and one of our experts will be happy to help you.
Liam Quirk is a world-renowned online marketing guru, sommelier, critic, and wine enthusiast, exploring the world of wine storage, providing insightful articles and expert recommendations for fellow wine lovers.