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Hello there! I'm Dr. Vinifera, or "Vinny" for short. Ask me your toughest wine questions, from the technical aspects of winemaking to the fine points of etiquette. I hope you find my answers educational and even amusing. Looking for a particular answer? Check my archive and my FAQs.

Dear Dr. Vinny,

I am building a kitchen and the design plan is to have a wine fridge next to the microwave. Is it bad to have the microwave next to the wine fridge? We honestly do not know much about the wine fridge and I am unsure the kitchen designer does either. Any pointers will help.

—Anny, San Diego

Dear Anny,

I think that design should work just fine. My advice for wine storage is always to keep the bottles protected from light, heat, temperature fluctuation and vibration as much as possible. I think it’s generally safe to assume that a modern wine cooler will do its job to keep the wines at a cool, steady temperature and out of sunlight. Properly functioning microwave ovens don’t emit heat externally, and if they’re new and working well, the only thing vibrating should be the water molecules in the food that’s being cooked inside.

—Dr. Vinny

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