Buyer's Guide

 Wine Coolers Buying Guide for thought.

Whether you’re a Wine Fridge Enthusiast or tapping into a new world of awesomeness there are differences in varietals, understanding proper wine storage is essential to getting the most out of the wine’s flavor. While you can store wine in your home refrigerator, a dedicated is the ideal storage device for wine. Also known as wine refrigerators, wine coolers ensure that your wine ages well and stays fresh until you’re ready to enjoy it. This guide will break down the different types of wine coolers. 

Things To Consider Before Buying

Though there are many varietals, the wine itself is very delicate and can spoil or turn if it’s not stored the right way. A wine cooler will keep your wine’s temperature, light exposure, and movement as balanced as possible. Here are some things to consider when shopping for different types of wine coolers. 

  • Temperature: Because a standard refrigerator typically cools food to around 38 degrees, it’s too cold for storing wine. White and sparkling wines must be kept between 40 and 60 degrees to maintain freshness. Red wine should be stored between 60-65 degrees. 
  • Appearance: Choose the style that works with the rest of your home's decor. While stainless steel is popular, a wood tone or black finish may work best in your home. 
  • Budget: As always, keep your budget in mind. 

 

Size of Wine Coolers For Every Occasion

Consider the number of bottles you plan to store. Wine is best stored on its side rather than vertically, so be sure you find a unit with spacious shelves if you have many bottles to store. An average wine cooler should have room to store between 20 to 30 bottles at a time while larger wine coolers can store up to 300 at a time, plus there are several combination wine and beer pub coolers for anyone to enjoy.

Styles Of Wine Coolers To Consider

There are two styles of wine coolers available: freestanding and built-in. Determining which is right for you will depend on your kitchen layout, budget, and overall needs. 

  • Freestanding: Portable and easy to use in any room in the house, these units feature either rear or side vents, which means they require room to breathe and shouldn’t be installed into cabinetry. This is ideal if you aren't planning to undergo a remodel.
  • Built-in Made to be installed into cabinetry, these units feature front venting. 

 

Cooling Zones 

Narrowing down your wine cooler choice will also depend on the type of cooling zones you need. If you only collect red or white wine, then you will be all set with a single-zone wine cooler. However, if you like to drink both, the right choice for you may be a dual, or double, zone unit. Here are the differences: 

 Single Zone: 

  • Features only one storage space with one temperature to cool all wines.
  • Cost-effective
  • Best for one type of wine (red or white)
  • Good for long-term storage
  • Typically, smaller than dual zone coolers

 Dual Zone: 

  • Features a partition and two separate cooling zones. 
  • Ideal for storing red and white simultaneously. 
  • May be larger than single-zone units 

 

Wine Cooler Noise and Efficiency to Consider

Wine coolers run on either thermoelectric or compressor systems. The differences between the two are based on energy levels as well as noise levels. The type you choose will depend solely on the size unit you need as well as your budget. Here are the features and benefits to consider.

Thermoelectric: Pushes electricity through a heat pump, pulling heat out of the cooler and keeping the cool air inside. 

  • More energy efficient than compressor systems
  • Lightweight
  • Because it uses a different cooling system, it will take longer to cool wine than a compressor system.
  • Usually has less capacity for bottle storage.
  • Quiet 

Compressor: The compressor cools the air by pushing chemical refrigerant through coils down the unit as soon as it detects that the temperature has increased inside. 

  • The system works more like a standard refrigerator. 
  • Heavier than thermoelectric due to compressor unit
  • Cools wine rapidly. 
  • Less energy-efficient and noisier than thermoelectric