"R. Lee" > wrote in message om>...
> Newbie here - Appreciate your patience.
>
> Awhile back, I bought one of these 24 bottle wine refrigerator to keep some
> of my red wine in. Recently, however all of the bottles I take out have
> something sticking to the inside of the bottle right where the neck begins
> to narrow. It's almost a scale-link coating. The bottles are stored on
> their sides and the corks are still tight and moist upon opening. The
> temperature ranges from 54 to 59 (motor kicks on at 59 and off around 54.
> Is my unit causing this?
>
> I appreciate any assistance.
>
> rob

Rob, what you're seeing are almost certainly what are called tartrate
crystals or just "tartrates" for short - technically a chemical called
potassium bitartrate. They're happening because these wines have
probably not been this cool before. White wines are typically "cold
stabilized" at the winery by chilling them to temperatures in the 20's
(F) for days or weeks in order to prevent customer complaints that
would happen once the wines were chilled at home were the wines not
"cold stable". Red wines, on the other hand, are most often not
treated in this way. The crystals are probably in the shoulder, near
the neck because that's the lowest part of the bottle when it's on its
side in your cooler. They are completely harmless - nothing to worry
about - but if they bother you, try cranking up the temperature a
little if that's possible.

- Mark W.