Wine Refrigerators/Storage

[russ parsons]

the best advice anyone gave me when i was buying my setup 4 or 5 years ago was to buy twice as much capacity as i thought i would need. of course, i ignored it. and i'm constantly juggling wine between my office and my 40-case vinotemp. i have been happy with the vinotemp.

[vengroff]

Depending on where you live, renting climate-controlled wine storage space may be more cost effective and flexible than large-scale in-home storage. When I last did the math a 20 case standalone storage unit cost about the same as eight years of rent on a comparable amount of space at a local wine merchant. As your collection grows, you can easily add more rented space, but only ever pay for what you are currently using. Of course with rented storage you can't just grab any bottle you want at a moment's notice. Depending on your own personal consumption habits that might be good or bad.

[russ parsons]

that's a good suggestion that has the added benefit of removing the possibility of celebration-enhanced judgement that sometimes leads to late-night calls for "what the heck, let's open something really good."

[DCMark]

These guys can give advice

http://www.galtwinestorage.com/?source=overture

I would also advise at the double capacity issue. Cost and space constraints forced me into a 50 bottle unit and its full full with wines that need ageing.

I do disagree that having the wine off-site is better since it avoids those random openings of a great bottle. IMHO thats what is fun about having nice wine about, the ability to share at the right time.

[freshherbs]

I am looking to buy a free-standing wine fridge in lieu of a cellar to store/age some bottles. i have less than 30 bottles and would like to spend less than $300. any suggestions

I was by the age of thirty, if not a pillar, at least a flying buttress of bourgeois society  -tc boyle

[jbonne]

I am looking to buy a free-standing wine fridge in lieu of a cellar to store/age some bottles.  i have less than 30 bottles and would like to spend less than $300.  any suggestions

I was by the age of thirty, if not a pillar, at least a flying buttress of bourgeois society  -tc boyle

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Home Depot often has deals on the Magic Chef line of wine fridges, usually in 16-btl and 50-btl configurations, and <$250 or so. not the most high-tech -- the small one doesn't have precise temp control -- but it'll keep wine cool and at stable temp at a bargain price. i think we picked up two of the 16-btls at $99 apiece. obviously not a device for the precision-obsessed.

[dinwiddie]

I am looking to buy a free-standing wine fridge in lieu of a cellar to store/age some bottles.  i have less than 30 bottles and would like to spend less than $300.  any suggestions

It has been my experience that the unit you buy will not be big enough. Once you start buying wine that you plan to age for more than a couple of years, you will find that the amount of wine you thought you would buy was a lot less than what you end up buying. My wife bought me a VinoTemp 500 for my birthday one year to hold my 300 bottle collection, and now I need another. I'd bite the bullet and buy a larger unit that will store about 100 bottles.

[scubadoo97]

I am looking to buy a free-standing wine fridge in lieu of a cellar to store/age some bottles.  i have less than 30 bottles and would like to spend less than $300.  any suggestions

It has been my experience that the unit you buy will not be big enough. Once you start buying wine that you plan to age for more than a couple of years, you will find that the amount of wine you thought you would buy was a lot less than what you end up buying. My wife bought me a VinoTemp 500 for my birthday one year to hold my 300 bottle collection, and now I need another. I'd bite the bullet and buy a larger unit that will store about 100 bottles.

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It's that always the way things happen.

I use one of the cheap 40 bottle Sunbeam coolers like the Magic Chef from Home Depot for a cigar humidor, it's full to the brim, but it doesn't regulate like my GE Monogram wine cooler that I have in the kitchen but it is better than no cooler at all. I had a problem with wine going bad after a couple of years. The weather here in Florida is just too warm and especially in the kitchen. I have been enjoying wine so much more since getting a wine cooler.

[NYC Mike]

Check here .

I have had the 32gd number from vinotemp for years now, its all I can fit in my NYC apartment, never had a complaint but it is basically for drinking now bottles. I agree with dinwiddle on buying up in size if you can.

-Mike

[freshherbs]

thanks everyone, that is helpful. unfortunately I have to agree with both dinwiddie and NYC Mike--

I will probably buy a fridge that is too small, but it is all I can fit in my NYC apartment.

while i am at it...what is the proper temp to store reds?

[little ms foodie]

I have a 3 climate wine fridge from Wine Enthusiast. We keep the reds at about 54-56F.

[Carolyn Tillie]

I bought the 48-bottle Sunbeam model from Home Depot. Yes, too small and not perfectly regulated, but at a $150 and also living in a small apartment, it if fine for my current needs and budget (besides, I have more money to spend on wine whicih gets drunk far too quickly anyway....)

[Mano]

Call California Wine Cabinets at 1-888-694-9463. I bought a scratch 'n dent 60 bottle (really about 50) model VT-60GSS cooler for $275 shipped to me in Philadelphia. The handle is a bit loose, but otherwise it is cosmetically and mechanically fine. The brand is Vinotemp and I am satisfied with the quality. After almost two years it works quite well.

I keep my reds at 56-58.

Edited March 22, 2006 by Mano (log)

[freshherbs]

thanks for the tips everybody. i'll let you know what i decide on and how it works out...

[freshherbs]

thanks for the tips everybody.  i'll let you know what i decide on and how it works out...

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hi everyone, i got an Avanti WC 492D. holds about 25 bottles. so far so good.

looks like i will be storing some reds and whites. any thoughts on optimal temperature?

[Jojomek]

I have a couple of the Avanti coolers, using one for shorter term storage (<2 years) and another for bottles that need to sit for a few years. They work just fine. As for temperature, 58-60 degrees is sufficiently cool for the shorter-term fridge; a couple of degrees cooler for the longer-term stuff.

[freshherbs]

I have a couple of the Avanti coolers, using one for shorter term storage (<2 years) and another for bottles that need to sit for a few years. They work just fine. As for temperature, 58-60 degrees is sufficiently cool for the shorter-term fridge; a couple of degrees cooler for the longer-term stuff.

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thanks jojomek!

[Michael M]

It's finally happened where I'm more concerned with the wine I have stored in the basement than I though I would be in the past. Some of these need to age, and the basement gets into the low 70's (F) in the summer, which I hate. I've considered a portable AC unit, but then would have to figure out how to vent it, and there's no door on the basement.

So now I'm thinking about a wine refrigerator, one for storing, not chilling. I came across the Avanti WCR682SS which claims to house 166 bottles for about $1200, but reviews say it doesn't hold odd-sized bottles well (I'm guessing thicker-shouldered and longer-necked bottles) and the shelves don't adjust.

I want a relatively inexpensive solution for around 100 bottles, as I'm likely to be moving soon. Anyone use this refrigerator or know of other, better options?

[Dave Hatfield]

Don't worry about it. Slow changes in temperature are what is important.

Its the rapid fluctuations in temp & humidity that do the damage, if any. So long as any rise or fall in temperature is gradual you should not have a problem.

With higher temperatures all that will happen is quicker aging, Not a bad thing I think.

Wish I still had 100 bottles of good stuff!

[Bill Miller]

It's finally happened where I'm more concerned with the wine I have stored in the basement than I though I would be in the past.  Some of these need to age, and the basement gets into the low 70's (F) in the summer, which I hate.  I've considered a portable AC unit, but then would have to figure out how to vent it, and there's no door on the basement.

So now I'm thinking about a wine refrigerator, one for storing, not chilling.  I came across the Avanti WCR682SS which claims to house 166 bottles for about $1200, but reviews say it doesn't hold odd-sized bottles well (I'm guessing thicker-shouldered and longer-necked bottles) and the shelves don't adjust.

I want a relatively inexpensive solution for around 100 bottles, as I'm likely to be moving soon.  Anyone use this refrigerator or know of other, better options?

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About 4 years ago I bought an 84 bottle Vinocraft from Cal Wine Cellars. It is a nice piece of furniture to put in the living room. It will last forever. The compressor didn't work when it arrived and they promptly replaced it--no return required. I paid around $2400 delivered then. I thought it was all I would ever need--wrong. Now it is full of Barolos, Barberescos, Caymus, Diamond Creek, Grand Crus, Silver Oak, good Pinots--I have a small refer in my pantry with Sancerres and Primier Crus--a shelf in my wifes closet is full of chianti, zinfandel, and shiraz. One fridge is half full of misc whites to be drunk in the next 6 mos. It is addictive. I plan to drink them all before I die--I'm losing ground!!

[Michael M]

I can certainly understand. Are the shelves adjustable? I was hoping to spend less, though.

[Bill Miller]

No. You can store a limited number of bigger bottles on the top shelf though. The top makes a nice snack table.

[eat2much]

I have a 220 bottle Vintage Keeper which retails for about $1200. I have had the unit for close to ten years without any problems (except for a blown compressor that they happily replaced). It has some open space at the bottom which is great for magnums or other large formats.

see their website at www.vintagekeeper.com

[Michael M]

Another option! Thanks!

[eat2much]

IMHO any unit with a capacity of 100 bottles or less will fill up before you know it. Better to shoot for a 200 + bottle unit even if it sounds huge at present.