Wine Refrigerators

I have searched previous threads, but am left wondering if any of you have experience and/or recommendations for specific brands or models of wine refrigerators.

We have a decent sized cellar (overflowing now, but the cellar itself holds about 1200 bottles). While the temperature is pretty ideal for red wines, I prefer to serve whites at a cooler temp. Lots of the roses also appreciate some chilling!

So here’s the deal. What I am looking for is a wine refrigerator that I can keep by the tasting bar (not in the temp/humidity controlled cellar itself) that will keep a small selection of whites and roses at a nice, crisp, cool temperature making them ready to grab and drink. Summer is coming, and I hate having to put a few bottles in the freezer to chill them down – I want to have some bottles at the ready! This is not for long-term storage. I don’t want to spend as much as a le cache or eurocave would set me back since I have a great cellar – this is more for quick selection and serving when friends show up since they know I’m the guy with the wine! I am thinking I’d keep 20+ (30+ ???) bottles in the refrigerator, recognizing that many of the bottles would be larger than the bordeaux bottles upon which the size of refrigerators advertise.

Any thoughts? Of course I’ve looked at Wine Enthusiast, Costco, Amazon, etc. What I am hoping you can provide is actual recommendations of particular brands/models, or identifying which to stay away from. Thanks for your help!

buy a vinotemp small wine frig at Costco or go big and buy a La Cache unit.
I have both in addition to my cellar and offsite.

I have three Vinotemps and they’ve all been stellar cellars. Found them all used through either Craigslist or a friend and saved a bundle. Of course, I might be selling one or three now that I’m considering building a real cellar!

Go for Eurocave if you can. Also, if you haven’t looked at Craigslist(like Mike suggested), give it a go. I found an amazing deal, and the transaction was flawless. Perhaps, there was a touch of luck on my side, but nevertheless.

Best,

Kenney

+1 (although I don’t use my small unit currently, using the garage fridge instead)

I have both Vinotemp and Eurocave.

The Eurocave is much more quiet. The racking system is annoying unless you want to outfit it with all sliding racks which severely diminishes your capacity.

The Vinotemp works well for most things except for bottles like Krug and Chapoutier. Customer service sucks horribly (can take days to even get a response and no one picks up if you call) and I am concerned that if the cooling unit ever breaks down, I’m SOL even though I got the extended warranty. I ordered direct through the company but it sounds like Costco is safer. The unit is much louder than the Eurocave. It’s a good thing I upgraded the insulation or it would be on much more often.

Wish I got a Le Cache. Same price as the Vinotemp.

I bought a small cooler made by Vinotemp (style VT - 26) at Home Depot. The ratings were pretty good, and the price was right. It’s about to be installed in a couple of weeks, so I have no working knowledge of the unit.

Fred, is your Vinotemp rear venting? All of mine are front venting (built-in installation capable) and they’re not particularly loud. The front-vent models are typically more expensive, so perhaps they put better components into them in general?

Last month I bought a Vinotemp VT-140 at CostCo for $999.99 So far I’m very happy with it, not a lot of frills but it looks well made and gets the job done. It’s no louder than any average kitchen fridge.

If it will be seen prominently, get a LeCache. If it is somewhat hidden, Vinotemp will work great.

Mine is the top venting Sonoma lux-440. I would gladly have paid more for a more quiet cooling unit if that had been an option.

I have a vinotemp-32 that does the intended job well, but is quite noisy. I think I bought it new for $199, going on 2 yrs now, still working

Those frozen wine wraps an option? Pull a bottle from your cellar and in 5-10 minutes party ready and it keeps the wine cool while serving.

Thanks for all of the responses. Sounds like VinoTemp is the runner up to favorites Eurocave and LeCache. I’ll keep my eyes open for good deals. In addition to having several bottles “at the ready,” it’s never bad to free up a few spaces in the cellar!

Thanks for all of the responses. VERY helpful!

Just checked again (since I don’t trust my memory), and most VinoTemp units seem to get slammed in a lot of online reviews. Of course that is why I was asking here – with users that I trust much more than an amazon.com review listing. But I’m wondering why they’d be panned across the board. I have a dead thermoelectric Heier cooler downstairs, but it is 15+ years old, so I figure I got good use out of it. Folks here seem to freely recommend VinoTemp. Any red flags I should think about with this brand?

Red flags? If you want red flags, you can check out my experience at the end of the thread below.

What’s up with the 150 bottle Eurocave model #271 unit around for $1799? You can actually get it delivered to your local Home Depot as well for pickup. Seems like a good under $2k option that isn’t a Vinotemp.

When I add it to my cart, there is a $200 discount, bringing it to $1599.

$1400 delivered from costco. Anyone have this? It will be built in. VT-140 TS
Vinotemp 142-Bottle Dual-Zone Touch Screen Wine Cooler, Right Side Door Hinge

UPDATE: I did read the posts re Vinotemp service-certainly a horror story; however buying it from Costco does give me some protection. Will keep looking.

Jeff, based on your description, I would go with just a regular bar or compact refrigerator instead of something made for storing wine. You won’t be leaving the bottles in there very long, and it’ll keep them at the right temperature. Humidity control is not a factor as long as you don’t keep them in there for more than a year. You should be able to find what you want for no more than $150.