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Wine Refrigerators/Storage

GordonCooks

By GordonCooks
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GordonCooks

GordonCooks

Posted
Posted

I'm in the process of retro-fitting my new wine cellar. The old house had a pretty straight-forward closet in the basement that maintained a constant 50-55 year round. The new cellar will be larger and will require addtional cooling, Any recommendations for cooler units. What's the average power consumption ?

PS I have 2 large mini cellars for Whites - I'm talking mainly about reds.

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GordonCooks

GordonCooks

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Posted
I don't know, but I can get recommendations if no-one else comes through.

I've looked into some of the cellar-mate systems, but I think they're a little overpriced.

A restauranteur friend is trying to get me a unit like the one they use in their display cooler. It can be had for less than a grand and keeps the unit a steady 55 dgs

It won't be a issue until the weather starts changing

Thanks

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ahr

ahr

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Posted

If it's of any help, here are some links I compiled for a friend who recently converted his sauna to wine storage. You may get what you pay for in features or reliability, but a Breezaire appears to cost about 35% as much as a Cellarmate of similar nominal capacity.

Wine Enthusiast

Breezaire

Cool Kru

Grand Cru

Whisperkool

IWA

Breezaire

Cellarmate

Koolspace

Whisperkool

"To Serve Man"

-- Favorite Twilight Zone cookbook

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  • 10 months later...
mikeycook

mikeycook

Posted
Posted
I have a little Liebherr unit that works fine, but I don't know if they are distributed in the US. I think Eurocave are a bit shoddy.

I have a 50 bottle Eurocave and have been pretty happy with it for the past 4 years. We live in a one-bedroom and NYC and it has been a good size. Haven't had problems, but haven't used other types. I assume, of course, that you have a good power supply in the closet in question (i.e. 3 prong outlets, etc.) I know Wine Enthusiast sells Eurocave as well as Lord Winston (never used one) in the smaller sizes (25, 50, 60 bottles).

"If the divine creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is prepare them well and serve them with ceremony."

~ Fernand Point

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jddoyle

jddoyle

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Posted (edited)

Below are two links; I have a Haier 30 bottle fridge that lets me set the temp exactly to where I want it or use two generic "red" and "white" keys that set it at preset temps. It also has a lock, an interior light, and displays the interior temperature at all times. It doesn't keep the temp at a constant setting but turns on once the temp. reaches a certain point (I think it is 4-5 degrees above your current setting) so the top of the fridge is warmer than the bottom; so I set it for about 52-53 degrees and I keep the whites at the bottom and the reds at the top. The whites are good right out of the fridge, but the reds need about an hour to drop to serving temp.

I don't know about the Home Depot units, they seem a little cheap to last for long.

I haven't had any problem with mine, got it at Lowe's a little over a year ago and built a bar around it, on it's own it is a bit ugly but if it is in the closet or in my bar all you would see is the door.

http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productLis...d=WINE_CHILLERS

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US...ID=9876&pos=n08

Hope this helps,

Jay Doyle

Edited by jddoyle (log)
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jddoyle

jddoyle

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Are these units useful for aging or are they just for chilling?

I've been using mine to age, set the temp so that the middle hovers around 54 degrees or so. The temp doesn't change all that much, maybe flucuates around your set temp by 2-3 degrees or so, which I would assume a large, man made cellar would do as well. I've only had mine for a year but I have kept a bunch in there for that long and plan on keeping them there for some time.

I really can't see where it would be bad to age in these.

Jay Doyle

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  • 2 weeks later...
melkor

melkor

Posted
Posted

A couple of days ago I picked up a 47 bottle wine fridge on sale for $149 at home depot. The plan is to store some whites/sparklers around 45*F so they don't need to be cooled after they come out of the larger storage unit. At the moment it's pretty much full with 39 bottles, the temp is fluctuating between 44 to 47 degrees, and it hasn't burst into flames.

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Carolyn Tillie

Carolyn Tillie

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Posted
A couple of days ago I picked up a 47 bottle wine fridge on sale for $149 at home depot. The plan is to store some whites/sparklers around 45*F so they don't need to be cooled after they come out of the larger storage unit. At the moment it's pretty much full with 39 bottles, the temp is fluctuating between 44 to 47 degrees, and it hasn't burst into flames.

Great deal, wasn't it? We got one too...

I MAKE FOOD JEWELRY!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Feast Blog

Fried Dough Ho Blog

Ultimate California Wine Blog

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tjaehnigen

tjaehnigen

Posted
Posted
A couple of days ago I picked up a 47 bottle wine fridge on sale for $149 at home depot. The plan is to store some whites/sparklers around 45*F so they don't need to be cooled after they come out of the larger storage unit. At the moment it's pretty much full with 39 bottles, the temp is fluctuating between 44 to 47 degrees, and it hasn't burst into flames.

That is a most excellent price. What state/city was this Home Depot in?

I have a 30 bottle Haier unit that is fine, but I paid $280 for it which was the best price I could find at the time. Honestly, try to get as big a unit as you are willing to get and can store.

RogueFood - Wino Depot - Vinocellar - CellarTracker
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tommy

tommy

Posted
Posted
A couple of days ago I picked up a 47 bottle wine fridge on sale for $149 at home depot.  The plan is to store some whites/sparklers around 45*F so they don't need to be cooled after they come out of the larger storage unit.  At the moment it's pretty much full with 39 bottles, the temp is fluctuating between 44 to 47 degrees, and it hasn't burst into flames.

Great deal, wasn't it? We got one too...

i think i'll be picking one up today. :smile:

tommy:eats.com
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melkor

melkor

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Posted
A couple of days ago I picked up a 47 bottle wine fridge on sale for $149 at home depot.  The plan is to store some whites/sparklers around 45*F so they don't need to be cooled after they come out of the larger storage unit.  At the moment it's pretty much full with 39 bottles, the temp is fluctuating between 44 to 47 degrees, and it hasn't burst into flames.

That is a most excellent price. What state/city was this Home Depot in?

I have a 30 bottle Haier unit that is fine, but I paid $280 for it which was the best price I could find at the time. Honestly, try to get as big a unit as you are willing to get and can store.

California

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birder53

birder53

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Posted

I saw those at Home Depot and walked on by - thought the price was too low to be any good. I think I'll reconsider based on this thread! Even a small fluctuation in temperature is better than what happens to the wine sitting in my winerack at room temperature. We aren't deliberately aging anything, though some bottles should probably have been drunk a while ago. :unsure: The price is just too good to pass up.

KathyM

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beans

beans

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I got one last Summer, after working with a very wine focused bar manager. (A pleasant first for us). He has given me some fantastic bottles and recommendations so lo and behold when buying my yard's worth of petunias/marigolds/geraniums was that little Sunbeam, at Home Depot. It is at a price should the compressor go on the fritz after a couple years, I wouldn't worry too much and consider opting for another, or an upgrade. :cool:

BTW, tjaehnigen, which adorable feline's serving double duty as your avatar? :wink:

edit to add: I think it was at either Costco or Sam's Club I've seen the Haier's very reasonably priced too.

Edited by beans (log)
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Carolyn Tillie

Carolyn Tillie

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Posted

Ironically, a Costco catalogue just came in the mail - here are their offerings (on page E-15):

Sanyo 35-bottle Black Wine Cellar; adjustable dial thermostat, slide-out shelves: $199.99

Vinotemp 180-Bottle Wine Cellar; Black interior and exterior, double-paned tempered glass door with lock, adjustable thermostat. With coupon: $1,299.99

Vinotemp 24-Bottle Wine Cellar; Black interior and exterior, double-paned glass door and adjustable thermostat: $139.99

Vinotemp 60-Bottle Wine Cellar; Black interior, double-paned tempered glass door with lock, adjustable thermostat. With coupon: $499.99

Vinotemp Norseman 100-Bottle Wine Cellar; Dark glossy red exterior, two double-paned tempered smoke glass doors, single lock for both doors, adjustable thermostat: $1099.99

Yeah, I don't have anything to do at work today...

I MAKE FOOD JEWELRY!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Feast Blog

Fried Dough Ho Blog

Ultimate California Wine Blog

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  • 1 year later...
jeffperez62

jeffperez62

Posted
Posted

I finally decided to take the plunge and purchase a cooler unit. I'm looking for something to hold about 200 bottles. The Wine Enthusiast is only about 20 miles from my home, but I think they only stoch Eurocave.(which I'm sure is fine)

Does anyone own a unit or have experience with a model they would reccomend?

If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding. How could you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat!??

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