Oh to be made of money and dwell in a house with a wine cellar. It’s always been my dream to have that dark room under the house with an entire wall of wine all purchased and stored just for my pleasure. Alas, I live in a single story ranch style house with minimal square footage and no cellar, but there may be hope for me yet. We’re in the process of adding a much-needed island in our kitchen. As I scroll through Pinterest and home improvement websites, the islands with the built-in wine fridge call my name. Of course there is the tiny detail of convincing my husband, who doesn’t share my passion for fine wine, of how life changing this could be. Right now I have a wall rack that holds six bottles of wine at a time. Take a guess at how many bottles adorn my fancy, wrought iron wine showcase. Two. The issue seems to be that we can’t keep a stock of wine in the house. I buy the six bottles of my favorite wines at the store for the extra discount. I stock a few bottles of white in my fridge and the rest on our rack. We visit wineries, friends give me wine for birthdays, holidays and as hostess gifts, but it disappears faster than I can replenish it.
There is always some sort of occasion that calls for opening a bottle. It’s my third cousin’s birthday! No matter that she lives across the country. The Voice is on tonight! And tomorrow night! And isn’t it on three nights in a row? It’s the weekend! It’s Thursday, almost the weekend! It’s Wine Wednesday! Or I can blame seasons, like the summer of experimental Sangria recipes or the need for a bolder vino to accompany the savory eats of autumn. Wine and the holidays? Well, that’s a no brainer. But if we had a wine fridge, oh the possibilities! We’d have more room in our regular fridge for all the fine cheeses to pair with my stockpile of various vintages. I can envision that glimmering row of bottles in all shades of white and crimson, chilled to the perfect temperature. Of course, there is the minor issue of getting electricity to this fantasy island in my kitchen that I’m sure my husband will be happy to point out. A girl can dream however.
With a wine fridge, I could completely justify joining one of those wine clubs with the quarterly shipments. Whether I can maintain an ongoing supply of wine to stock this wine fridge is a minor detail. Perhaps my wine fridge would be more like a ghost town of empty slots thirsty for a supply of wine bottles than a classy addition to my kitchen remodel. That would be just another excuse to round up my girlfriends for an afternoon of winery visits. That would be reason enough to celebrate. And what better way to celebrate than to pop open another bottle?