Champagne Fridges & Refrigerators (2023 Guide)

Champagne Fridges...are they even a thing?

In our opinion, a Champagne fridge is essentially a wine fridge which is perfectly suited to store bigger wine and Champagne bottles. 

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We get asked this question by 100's of our clients a year:

"Can I store Champagne in a wine fridge?"

The simple answer to this question is YES, but there's a few important things you need to be aware of first.

Champagne Fridges, Coolers & Refrigerators

What Is A Champagne Fridge?

A Champagne fridge is a must-have for all champagne lovers (certainly a must have for celebrities like Kim Kardashian, who has fridges full of Champagne) - whether you enjoy a refreshing bottle of bubbly over the weekend, or have a chilled glass after work.

A dedicated Champagne cooler will keep your Champagne at the perfect temperature, ensuring that it stays fresh and drinkable for longer, and retains the natural flavours, textures, and aromas of the classic Champagne taste.

This is made possible using a single zone cooler, which has 1 temperature control zones, set specifically between 47-50°F. 

Dunavox DX-143.468B Champagne & Wine Fridge

They make excellent kitchen appliances, and can match your existing stainless steel appliances, as well as matching cabinetry when you opt for a built in wine cooler over a freestanding wine fridge (although most built in wine coolers can be use freestanding)

Owning a Champagne cooler also makes a statement that you care about the quality of your wine. A Champagne cooler can be the focal point of any kitchen and shows that you know your stuff when it comes to wine.

You can find a design that matches the interior of your home and blends in, or a Champagne cooler that stands alone and grabs the attention of your guests. 

Difference between a Champagne Fridge & Regular Fridge

The perfect temperature for most champagnes is between 47°F to 50°F. A normal fridge changes temperatures quickly and has low humidity. In contrast, a champagne fridge, slowly changes and maintains temperatures while holding a higher level consistent humidity.

Champagne Fridge Vs Regular Fridge

There's a number of key differences between a champagne fridge and a standard fridge, compared to a fridge a champagne cooler has:

• Precise temperature settings
• Temperature consistency
• Zero / minor vibration
• Horizontal shelves suited to wine bottles
• Humidity control
• Protection against contamination

Regular fridges are useful for storing the odd bottle of Champagne to bring them to serving temperature but ultimately if you want to take care of a small, medium or large collection a regular fridge won't be sufficient.

After all, who wants to try and pack in their freshly chilled chilli (and all those odours) right next to their finest bottles of Moët & Chandon?!

Not exactly a match made in heaven! 

Can Champagne Go In A Wine Fridge?

Yes and no. Champagne can be stored in a wine fridge together with your other red, white, rose and sparkling wines - however this isn't always ideal.

Due to the larger size of Champagne bottles vs regular size wine bottles it's likely adjustments would need to be made to fit the Champagne bottles in the normal wine fridge:

• Shelves would likely need to be removed in order to fit the Champagne bottles into the wine fridge
• Care needs to be taken when pulling out shelves with Champagne bottles sitting flat as they can scrape on the shelf above
• Due to the depths of Champagne bottles, smaller and medium size wine fridges just may not be able to accommodate the depth as the wine fridge is too shallow.

Here's more explanation on the things you should consider when storing Champagne bottles in a regular wine fridge:

Champagne Bottle Shelf Vs Bordeaux Bottle Storage

Every wine fridge worth its salt is fitted with shelving to lie the wine bottles down flat or in a display position (below image, right). Usually traditional wine fridges hold wine bottles from neck to bottom in a front to back orientation. This lets you maximise the storage space available in the wine fridge.

However, due to their larger size of Champagne bottles, the shelves are positioned to hold the bottles horizontally from one side of the fridge to the other (top image, left).

Champagne bottles are a larger size and depth than regular wine bottles such as Bordeaux - so it's far more space efficient to hold the bottles horizontally, plus this allows the Champagne bottles to be displayed with their labels facing outwards.

Great to show off your Champagne collection in a style!

Champagne Bottle Shelf Vs Bordeaux Bottle Shelf

Shelf Slat Width of Champagne Bottle Shelf

Another important factor is the distance between the shelf slats in a wine fridge specifically designed to hold Champagne bottles. 

As we already mentioned Champagne bottles are much bigger than a 750ml Bordeaux wine bottle. As a result the shelfs used in Champagne fridges have wider slats which lets the Champagne bottles sit deeper in the shelf.

If you were to place a magnum size bottle in a Bordeaux size shelf theres a risk the Champagne bottle would scrape on the shelf above, potentially damaging the bottle label. In contrast a Bordeaux wine bottle placed on a shelf designed to hold Champagne would leave the regular wine bottle sitting too low so it was almost hidden viewing the bottles from outside of the wine fridge.

Comparison of Champagne bottle sizes. (Left to Right) On the ladder: Magnum (1.5L), full size (0.75L), half size (0.375L), quarter size (0.1875 L). On the floor: Balthazar (12L), Salmanazar (9L), Methuselah (6L), Jeroboam (3L) Source: Wikipedia, Credit: Walter Nissen

Bottle Positioning & Lighting for Display

The Champagne bottles in a Champagne fridge are laid horizontally rather than from front to back. This shows off the bottles labels perfectly, ideal for both restaurants and in the home. 

Alongside this all of our Champagne fridges from Dunavox feature stunning internal display lighting with white, blue and amber modes - accentuating the appearance of every bottle in your wine / Champagne collection.

Larger wine bottles sitting in horizontal Dunavox shelving

How Long Is Champagne Ok In The Fridge?

Keeping Unopened Champagne in a Champagne Fridge?

Unopened Champagne can out last most recommended drinking windows, fine wine and Champagne can last decades (even centuries).

To maximise the life of unopened Champagne bottles life, you should ensure the following conditions are maintained:

• Champagne bottles placed on their side
• Bottles located in a dark place
• no vibration (e.g stored next to a washing machine)
• stored at a constant temperature 
• stored in a humidity controlled environment (no damp)

Thankfully, unopened Champagne is good to drink long after its recommended expiry date just as long as the smell and taste don't cause any concern upon opening.

If you're looking to invest in and age Champagne well it's important to understand if a Champagne has gone bad and the indicators you can use to tell if a wine is spoiled.

Keeping Opened Champagne in a Champagne Fridge?

Opened Champagne lasts significantly less time than unopened Champagne before going bad. Generally an opened Champagne will still taste close to it's best within 1-3 days of opening depending on the type of Champagne and the conditions the opened Champage bottle is stored in.

To maximise the life of opened Champagne bottles, you should ensure the following conditions are ticked off:

• Champagne bottle stored upright to minimise exposure to oxygen
• Store in a dark place
• No vibration (e.g stored next to a washing machine)
• Stored at a constant temperature 
• Stored in a humidity controlled environment (no damp)
• Exposure to oxygen is the main cause of Champagne going bad, so it's important to minimize exposure to air once the wine bottle has been opened.

You can use the cork, or a vacuum wine stopper to keep the bottle closed as tightly as possible.

Opened Champagne bottles should be immediately sealed as soon as the Champagne has been poured as the bubbles with vanish rapidly if the bottle is left uncovered. 

Best Champagne Fridges

Here at Expert Wine Storage we stock Champagne fridges from Dunavox, which are of the best quality found on the market today. Perfectly suited for storing standard sized Champagne bottles:

Dunavox DX-143.468SS - Single Zone - Built In or Freestanding Champagne Fridge -143 Bottles - 655mm Wide

The Dunavox DX-143.468SS, in stainless steel finish, is perfectly suited for use as a built in or freestanding appliance. This product looks fantastic housed within kitchen cabinetry or looks equally sleek positioned stand alone in your home or restaurant space.

This contemporary styled Champagne cooler has a capacity of up to a maximum of 143 Bordeaux bottles and around 20-30% lower capacity if housing standard Champagne bottles only.

Stainless steel, full size Dunavox Champagne Fridge

Ideal for long term storage of your Champagne collection this cabinet is installed with humidity management between 55-85% which is automatically regulated to ensure corks do not dry out. This Dunavox is equipped with charcoal filter and UV treated door to ensure full protection from the risk of UV damage.

Dunavox DX-143.468B - Single Zone - Built In or Freestanding Champagne Fridge - 143 Bottles - 655mm Wide

The Dunavox DX-143.468B, is a wine cooler with a black finish and is perfectly suited for use as a built in or freestanding appliance. This product looks fantastic housed within kitchen cabinetry or looks equally sleek positioned stand alone in your home or restaurant space.

This contemporary, tall styled Champagne cooler has a capacity of up to a maximum of 143 Bordeaux bottles and around 20-30% lower capacity if housing standard Champagne bottles only.

Black, full size Dunavox Champagne Fridge

Ideal for long term storage of your Champagne collection this cabinet is installed with humidity management between 55-85% which is automatically regulated to ensure corks do not dry out. This Dunavox is equipped with charcoal filter and UV treated door to ensure full protection from the risk of UV damage.

Dunavox DAUF-40.138B - Single Zone - 40 Bottles - Built In Champagne Fridge - 600mm Wide

The Dunavox DAUF-40.138B is a high-performance, black finish, Champagne fridge that has the ability to be installed as either a built in or under counter wine cooler. With a single temperature zone of 5°C-22°C and enough room to store up to 40 Bordeaux bottles, this Champagne fridge is perfect for storing your favourite Champagnes.

This model features the impressive label display shelving to show off your finest bottles perfectly.

Black, under counter size Dunavox Champagne Fridge

Equipped with a fan assisted ventilation system, touch control digital temperature display and white internal LED light. This unit provides your wine with idyllic conditions and creates a high end luxury feel in any kitchen.

The reversible door allows you to reverse the door to meet your design needs. Please note the unit requires fixing to an adjacent cabinet with a bracket provided for stability purposes.

Dunavox DAUF-40.138SS - Single Zone - 40 Bottles - Built In Champagne Fridge - 600mm Wide

The Dunavox DAUF-40.138SS is a high-performance, stainless steel finish, Champagne fridge that has the ability to be installed as either a built in or under counter unit. With a single temperature zone of 5°C-22°C and enough room to store up to 40 Bordeaux bottles, this Champagne fridge is perfect for storing your favourite Champagnes.

This model features the impressive label display shelving to show off your finest bottles perfectly.

Stainless Steel, under counter size Dunavox Champagne Fridge

A front venting wine cooler, equipped with a fan assisted ventilation system, touch control digital temperature display and white internal LED light. This kitchen wine fridge provides your champagne and wines with idyllic conditions and creates a high end luxury feel.

The reversible door allows you to reverse the door to meet your design needs. Please note the unit requires fixing to an adjacent cabinet with a bracket provided for stability purposes.

Related:

• Wine Cooler Not Turning On
• How Long Does Wine Last
• How Noisy Is A Wine Cooler
• What Is A Wine Cooler
• Wine Fridge Leaking Water

Final Thoughts

We hope you enjoyed our article on Champagne Fridges.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments, or email us at info@expertwinestorage.co.uk

You can browse more posts on Wine Storage here.