Features to Consider When Buying a Wine Cooler

Looking to buy a wine refrigerator/cooler?  Here we discuss what you need to consider before making that purchase.

First consider why a wine refrigerator is needed. Wine is highly vulnerable to deterioration when kept in the wrong conditions. Wine is most affected by light, vibration, humidity and temperature. The best solution is to purchase a wine refrigerator.

Here is an article by James Suckling on ‘How to Properly Store Wine at Home. James Suckling Teaches Wine Appreciation” on-line at MasterClass.com 

Before purchasing a new wine cooler review this checklist:

• Size (where to put the wine cooler)
• Number of Bottles the cooler will hold
• Thermoelectric or Compressor types of coolers
• Freestanding or Built-in, part of size and placement
• Single or Dual Zone for temperature
• Pricing

Sizing:

Check the dimensions of the wine cooler to make sure it will fit in the room chosen.  Keep in mind wine coolers cannot be pushed up against a wall.  You will need to leave at least 2 inches on all 3 sides.  Plus, room for the door to swing open.

How Much Wine Does the Cooler Hold?

Consider how much wine you have right now or plan to start keeping on hand.

If you keep wine for a few days or weeks after purchasing look at an 18 bottle or less.

Are you more into wine aging or just let the wine settle?  Look at a wine cooler that holds 32 bottles or higher.  The higher number of bottles the higher price.  I’ve found for me a 28 to 34 bottle capacity works best for me.  I recently upgraded to a 34-bottle wine refrigerator.

If you are really into aging wine and storing wine for long periods of time go with a higher capacity wine cooler.  Example: 50 or more bottle capacity.

Thermoelectric vs Compressor:

Thermoelectric wine coolers are more energy efficient.  These wine coolers are usually quieter with just a humming noise and have less vibration. 

Thermoelectric is heat sensitive and should not be in a warm area or where temperatures change frequently.  Best used with a bottle capacity of 40 bottles or less.  Thermoelectric push hot air out the back of the wine cooler and have to be cleaned on occasion.

Compressor wine coolers are more powerful and work best with larger number of wine bottles stored.  More ideal for storing various types of wine. 

The compressor cooler can be located in a warm room as the outside temperature does not affect cooling the wine inside. 

The compressor cooler is more expensive and require more energy.  The compressor cooler vibrates when the compressor starts and is noisier.  This is only when the compressor is running.

Freestanding vs Built-in Wine Coolers:

Your choice depends on space and where you put the wine cooler. 

Freestanding can be located anywhere in the house.  As long as there is space between the cooler and a wall it may be located near. 

Built in wine coolers will be installed in a cabinet or cupboards, say your kitchen cabinet.  Built-in wine coolers will have a front vent for ventilation.

Single or Dual Zone:

Single Zone means the wine cooler has one temperature for all wines. No matter if it’s white or red wine they will all be cooled to the same temperature.

Dual Zone means there are two temperature gauges where the temperatures can be independently adjusted to suit the wines.  Whites usually are stored at a lower temperature than reds.

However, the cost of a wine cooler is much higher for a Dual Zone compared to a Single Zone.  If you are mostly whites or mostly reds you can adjust the Single Zone to your type of wine preference.

I mostly have reds with about 1-4 whites.  I use a Single Zone for cost.  I’ve found most whites do not require that cold of a temperature.

I’ve read different thoughts on the temperature of wine.

49 – 55 degrees for whites | 62 – 68 degrees for reds

Or

50 – 60 degrees for whites | 60 – 70 degrees for reds

I keep my wines between 60 – 61 degrees white or red.

Pricing:

The pricing of a wine cooler depends on the size, capacity and temperature zone. Before purchasing think where the wine cooler will be located.  Do you need a dual zone or will a single zone work for you right now?  And most importantly how much wine to you plan to store in the wine cooler.

If you are just starting out consider a less expensive wine cooler, with a small capacity.

Enjoy wine and have a lot of bottles on hand, maybe a 34-bottle capacity will suit your needs.

Into aging wines and have the money look at dual zone and a higher capacity bottle storage.