Wine Refrigerator

Anyone have any recommendations for a good wine refrigerator? I'd like to install one in my new dining room (built into some custom cabinets). Ideally I'd like to keep it small (width of 15 in.) and as quiet as possible.

Any input is greatly appreciated.

I've not bought one, but my sister once imparted to me what sounded like a good bit of advice:

Buy one considerably larger than what you think you need.

Save yourself a lot of money and frustration, buy a regular small built-in refrigerator, and set it at close to the minimum so the bottles are kept at 45-50F.

Temperature/humidity-controlled units of such small size do not work well. They are usually installed in places with limited venting, and with the small number of bottles it will be running far more than a larger free-standing unit would -- a combination ensuring the early demise of the compressor.

This is probably good advice. I bought this at Best Buy and it's a piece of junk: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 8839811167

Only holds about 30 bottles. There is no fan inside, so the bottom is cold, and the top is warm.

Have you checked out the selection at Abt? You didn't mention price as a qualifier, and I'm sure they have some pretty nice stuff.

http://www.abtelectronics.com/category/449.html

cybermud wrote:Have you checked out the selection at Abt? You didn't mention price as a qualifier, and I'm sure they have some pretty nice stuff.

http://www.abtelectronics.com/category/449.html

I bought this one http://www.abtelectronics.com/product/15313.html from Abt 3-4 years ago, and I've been thrilled with it (though I'd now like something bigger). It's very quiet.

One thing to mention about Abt...in my experience, they price match with websites (and didn't even require me to supply proof of the website's price) and delivery is free. So if you decide to go to Abt, do some comparison shopping online, so you know the best price you could get on a wine fridge.

One thing I found out the hard way: the maximum number of bottles that the manufacturer specifies the unit will hold may be much greater than what you can reasonably fit. I would have to remove all of the sliding shelves and pile all of the bottles in one big stack in order to approach the manufacturer's number.

Bill/SFNM

Aaron Deacon wrote:
Buy one considerably larger than what you think you need.

I wa told this as well. Bought a 48 btl, wish I had a 96 btl...

If you set the temp at 45-50 you are going to get very very slow aging on bottles that you are trying to age.

For various reasons, we sometimes get bottles of pretty fancy wine ($100+). We're not big wine drinkers so we tend to save them for when we have company over that might appreciate it. If I'm not trying to age the wine further, would it be okay to keep it in the regular fridge? Can't really be bothered to get a wine fridge just for a couple/few bottles. We let our house get very hot during the day in the summer when no one is home so have concerns about just leaving it out.

ChrisH wrote:For various reasons, we sometimes get bottles of pretty fancy wine ($100+). We're not big wine drinkers so we tend to save them for when we have company over that might appreciate it. If I'm not trying to age the wine further, would it be okay to keep it in the regular fridge? Can't really be bothered to get a wine fridge just for a couple/few bottles. We let our house get very hot during the day in the summer when no one is home so have concerns about just leaving it out.

Well the simple solution to this is to just give it to me, but I think you're looking for something a little easier than that Your fridge is ok for wine, though frankly for reds I'll give you the secret to what I did in college when I was aging some wine that I knew I wanted to take with me- I used to cover it in a blanket and shove it under my bed. It's dark, cooler than just about anywhere else in the house and works just fine. If you're not keeping the bottles for a long time this will work just fine. Make sure your bottles are on their sides though- don't want that cork drying out.

I always thought that one of the major benefits of a wine fridge over a normal fridge was the reduced vibration. I have been under the impression (which may be incorrect) that storing wines for extended periods in a standard fridge would be harmful to older wines.

Best,
Michael

eatchicago wrote:I always thought that one of the major benefits of a wine fridge over a normal fridge was the reduced vibration. I have been under the impression (which may be incorrect) that storing wines for extended periods in a standard fridge would be harmful to older wines.

Best,
Michael

You are correct, that said, the cheap units have no better antivibration mechanisms than any other cheap fridge. Storing wine in a standard fridge isn't as much a worry about vibration (to me at least) as it is about how cold a home fridge gets (32 deg or so)

Plus a regular fridge dehumidifies something fierce. It would for sure dry those corks out pretty quickly.

Thanks for all of the info so far, this has been really helpful.

Just as an FYI, we checked out the selection at Abt this past weekend. I just wanted to do some additional research.

Does anyone have any experience with a Sub-Zero? They make a small model that looks pretty good (but is on the expensive side).

eatchicago wrote:

jpschust wrote:If you set the temp at 45-50 you are going to get very very slow aging on bottles that you are trying to age.

I always thought that one of the major benefits of a wine fridge over a normal fridge was the reduced vibration. I have been under the impression (which may be incorrect) that storing wines for extended periods in a standard fridge would be harmful to older wines.

My impression was that the unit being discussed was for keeping wine for short (less than a year) periods, not for extended aging.

For short periods, a refrigerator works just fine if it's set near (not at) the warmest setting.

If it's for longer term, going with a small, pretty, in-cabinet unit is IMO a waste of money. Units that small maintain poor temperature and humidity control, not to mention having higher failure rates than larger units. If a larger free-standing unit is not an option, one would be better off renting a small wine locker at a place like East Bank to store wines one wants to age for extended periods.

chgoeditor wrote:One thing to mention about Abt...in my experience, they price match with websites (and didn't even require me to supply proof of the website's price) and delivery is free. So if you decide to go to Abt, do some comparison shopping online, so you know the best price you could get on a wine fridge.

this also works very well with Grant's Appliances in Chicago (and chicagoland; in chicago their store is next to microcenter on elston ave, across from target)... they are very good about price matching, and i've liked dealing with them... they'll price match any shady web site you can throw their way. (even ebay). i've used them numerous times. i just had them price match my developer's ABT pricing on a whirlpool duet and they didn't ask or require any proof... i actually told them ABT's price on the washer was $50 lower than what ABT told me (accidentally), and they beat abt by $25, plus they threw in a free stack kit. (and they always deliver for free as well).. they can also order any major manufacturer's appliances and have it in days, though they stock about the same amount of stuff as ABT.

as far as wine fridges go... i just got a kitchenaid duel climate wine refrigerator from ABT. (btw, most of the "built in" type will be larger than 15" -- most 24") ... Kitchenaid model KUWS24RSBS ... it is nice, but you can find a different brand for less $ that probably does a better job. it's dual climate, but as far as i can tell there is only one temperature adjustment and i haven't really figured out how that affects both temperature zones yet... but if duel climate is a feature you're wanting, make sure the model you get does it well. i suppose if i read the manual when i can, it'll explain it more. slightly pricier than we wanted to spend, but by buying a 4th kitchenaid appliance we got an additional $300 rebate so that was really the only justification for it. the developer price we got on it was $1117, which is actually cheaper than anywhere else we could find or we would've had them price match that. (we actually worked with a specific sales guy at ABT via e-mail, we created a spreadsheet on google docs and shared it with him and he updated it w/ their pricing... how high tech )...

anyway, his (ABT) recommendation on getting a wine fridge was to actually just wait until they have a floor model and take the floor model, which can go for half of what they normally cost. so it might not be a bad idea to get an e-mail of someone @ abt and just tell them you're on the lookout for a floor model wine fridge and they can call or e-mail when there's one. we worked with Rafal Stachurski (i can PM his e-mail if you want), but he was a bit hard to contact at times so maybe just calling and getting someone you'll have better luck.

last time i was in the costco in orland park, they had a pretty awesome wine fridge for a lot less $ than i had seen comparable models elsewhere.

I have the Kitchenaid unit built in and it functions quite nicely. The 'Dual Climate' is pure hype as the cooling coils are on the bottom so naturally the top part of the unit is warmer. It does have a temperature adjust but that affects the whole units temerpature profile. I've got at least the 60 bottle capacity in it.-Dick

jesteinf wrote:Thanks for all of the info so far, this has been really helpful.

Just as an FYI, we checked out the selection at Abt this past weekend. I just wanted to do some additional research.

Does anyone have any experience with a Sub-Zero? They make a small model that looks pretty good (but is on the expensive side).

We currently have a small under-cabinet type sub zero wine fridge (came with the house when we bought it) and it works just fine for our purposes. We don't tend to have very old or expensive wines kicking around so we aren't terribly particular about things like vibration. It also works well as storage for beer and those weird 1 liter sized bottles of club soda and tonic.

I'm planning out a kitchen remodel and I'm in the market for a 32-bottle built in wine refrigerator. I've currently got a standalone Vinotemp which I hate, way to noisy - I had to put it on carpet to quiet it down. Anyone have one this size that they're happy with?

When I moved into my house, there was a fancy GE one that was a piece of crap.....it never worked right, and the previous owners had had it repaired under warranty several times to no avail. I replaced it with a Viking that I bought used from a wine store that has been fine, but i wouldnt want to pay retail for it. These are 24 inch models that fit in a dishwasher space, so they may be a bit larger than you are talking about.

-Will

WillG wrote: I replaced it with a Viking that I bought used from a wine store that has been fine, but i wouldnt want to pay retail for it.... .

-Will

Whoa! $2,099 retail? Case of Bordeaux included right?

Do you still have the warranty with the used one?

After you do your research, check out Craig's list. I just picked up an Avanti (28 btl) at a very good price. Frankly, it was a bit of an impulse buy, so I can't vouch for the brand vs. others yet.
It's basic black with a glass door and queit and quite space efficient. I'm beginning to have some concern that it might not be very efficient. (The sides get warm on the outside and the glass door is very cold, leading me to fear lots of energy lost.) But, I'm not storing major collectibles (except for a couple of bottles of very serious Barolo). I'm just trying to take the edge of Chicago weather and keep my bottles in decent shape for maybe a solid year at at time, without filling up the regular fridge.
In any case good luck.

mrbarolo wrote:After you do your research, check out Craig's list. I just picked up an Avanti (28 btl) at a very good price. Frankly, it was a bit of an impulse buy, so I can't vouch for the brand vs. others yet.
It's basic black with a glass door and queit and quite space efficient. I'm beginning to have some concern that it might not be very efficient. (The sides get warm on the outside and the glass door is very cold, leading me to fear lots of energy lost.) But, I'm not storing major collectibles (except for a couple of bottles of very serious Barolo). I'm just trying to take the edge of Chicago weather and keep my bottles in decent shape for maybe a solid year at at time, without filling up the regular fridge.
In any case good luck.

If you reline the seal it will get better- also make sure you've got 6-12" between the unit and the wall.

the viking that I bought was about 1100 retail, I think, but i paid about 600. Model VUWC141. It was a floor model so I was told that the warranty was still good, but i am hoping not to have to test it.

-Will

Any updates or new experiences with small wine fridges? (I'm not looking for suggested retailers. I'm looking for experiences with particular brands and models.)

Most of my wine is stored off site, but I'm considering buying a 24-36 bottle unit for the house. I just want something that will keep wine in the 55-65 degree range and won't break down within a few years. I'm not looking for something with which to age wine.

My Kitchenaid unit has continued to run flawlessly with zero problems since this Thread was started in 2007.
Newer units appear to have increased in price but you get what you pay for.-Dick

I have a Danby model similar to this one that I bought at ABT about 10 years ago. No problems during that time, and I'm quite happy with it. ABT shows a price of $364.

I had a solid state unit, next to worthless. Make sure you have a real compressor.