Maybe it’s economies of scale. They sell zillions of fridges, not so many wine coolers.
Phil Jones
Check out Home Depot. They have sales on 45 bottle under counter wine refrigerators. Not the best, but they aren’t “dual” range. I have 2 at the shop, purchased when they were on sale for $329.00. One lasted 4 years and the other has lasted 9 years so far. Replaced the dead one for $399.00.
I have a U-Line 54 bottle under counter unit in the bar at the house. It is 25 years old and works like a champ. I paid $999.00 for it in 1992. A similar unit with fewer bottles and shelves separate is now $1,795.00.
I also have U-Line 50 something bottle under counter 23 year old which hasn’t ever had a problem.
I clean the coils every year or so it runs like a top !
i had a weird issue with my U-Line.
I suddenly stopped cooling. Then after a month of it unplugged it worked again and has been chugging along like a champ.
Yes - that’s part of the issue, maybe a large part.
FWIW my cheap ($500) basement beer fridge is horrible about maintaining temperature, especially in the freezer. I won’t keep perishables in it for any length of time. (Not too worried about +/-5° for beer and wine)
I have that GE one and it works great. I think the issue is that they require zero clearance usually like a Sub Zero built in fridge, which should be the comparison point. Comparing it to a Danby bar fridge is a bit unfair.
Also there is the fact that they manufacture very few wine fridges compared to food fridges.
Dual zone is overrated and i wouldn’t pay up for it. Just do the lowest it can go and forget it. Your red too cold? just pull it out 15 mins earlier.
Tinted glass? As in worried about light damage? Are you storing bordeaux for ten years in your under counter? My under counter serves as a “staging” zone for stuff that turns over in less than a month or so.
Another myth of the wine fridge cheap vs expensive i heard years ago was “vibrations”. My rebuttal to that is again, that fridge is a staging zone.
I don’t think anyone on this board would pay for dual zone unless it was part of a discount unit, like the dented one, etc. I’m not sure about the glass either - slightly tinted side windows in a car block around 97% of UVB and about 37% of UVA. If the unit is under the counter and away from direct sunlight that would already have to go through the window, there’s unlikely to be any measurable UVB and probably no UVA either since all the light would be reflected. And the wine is in tinted bottles on top of that, most of which have labels or capsules, so the surface area that would be exposed to any light, which may or may not cause damage, is minimum.
In addition, I’m aware of no studies at all that show damage to bottled wine from exposure to UVA or UVB anyway.
Just a thought, but do the expensive models have a humidity control function, while the cheaper ones do not? Also imagine front venting plays a part in the price.