Top Wine Cooler Reviews & Buying Guide
Wine Refrigerator Buying Guide
How Does Wine Storage Work?
When you’re trying to choose a wine storage solution for your collection, here are some things you should keep in mind:
You want it cool, but not too cool.
It’s key to keep your bottles stored in the best wine coolers, as it allows for the perfect storage temperature. See, storing wine anywhere above 70 degrees will age your wine quicker than you’d like. If it gets much higher than that, it can even cook your wine. No one wants that. On the other hand, you don’t want to store your wine at too low a temperature. This can make the liquid freeze, causing the cork to pop. Ideally, you want to keep your wine at a comfortable temperature, around 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
Keep a steady temperature.
You want to avoid temperature fluctuations at all costs. Moving from cold to hot will cause the wine to expand and then contract. Again, this could lead to the cork getting pushed out or contracting. When it’s kept at a steady temperature, it will stay nice and moist to retain the best seal on your bottle.
Light is not your friend.
While light is important for a lot of things (plants, mood, etc.) it is not good for wine. UV light will prematurely age your wine, making it taste quite bad. The whole purpose for colored glass wine bottles is to keep some light away! While a lightbulb won’t cause much damage, it can lightly fade the labels. Just check the bulb details in the wine refrigerator reviews you look into to ensure it doesn’t emit too much UV light.
Humidity: nice, but not necessary.
While dry air won’t treat your bottle corks well, too much humidity can cause mold to grow. If you’re planning to store your bottle for more than 10 years, make sure your humidity level is at about 70 percent. If you can’t hit this number precisely, aim for anywhere between 50 and 80 percent humidity.
Always store on the side.
It’s important to keep your bottles stored on their side to make sure the liquid helps to keep the cork’s moisture. It’s also helpful for efficiency, as you can store more bottles in the same space. The one exception here is that once you open a bottle, you should store it upright. This is because most wine stoppers are not perfect, and you want to avoid spillage at all costs. But Thrillist.com disagrees with this, sorta...
Still means smooth.
If there are too many vibrations in your wine cooler, it can actually cause unwanted chemical reactions in your wine. This will speed up the aging process, and could even kick up sediment from older wines. This is more important for long-term storage of wines. However, it’s good to keep in mind even when storing them short-term.
Benefits of Owning One of the Best Wine Coolers
If you find yourself leaning towards any of the wine coolers listed below, you’re making a smart decision. Remember, we’ve done all the work of sorting through the countless number of wine fridge reviews on the internet to only provide you with the best options. Here are the many benefits you’ll get from your purchase:
Wine Cooler vs. Normal Refrigerator: What’s the Difference?
It might be occurring to you right now: instead of buying the best wine fridge ever, can’t I just use the refrigerator I already have? That’s a fair question. The answer is sadly, no. Here’s why:
Small Wine Cooler Reviews
Ivation Premium Stainless Steel 12 Bottle Wine Cooler
If you’re on the hunt for the perfect single zone cooler, check this one out. It’s ideal for red wine lovers, as its temperature range is between 50 and 64 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s built to be free of radiation and vibration, which will keep your wine safe and chilled at the ideal temperature.
It’s a gorgeous piece made of stainless steel that can hold up to 12 different bottles.
An LCD display and LED lights give you all the more reason to show it off to friends. If you’re concerned about noise, find peace knowing that its thermoelectric cooling allows it to run silently while taking the best care of your wine.
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hOmelabs - 18 Bottle Wine Cooler - HME030222N
This wine cooler by hOmelabs is similar to a mini fridge for your wine needs. It’s small but powerful, as it can store your most important wines and keep them at their ideal temperature and taste. It can easily store up to 18 standard-sized wine bottles. Whether red or white is up to you! You’ll be able to easily access all of your bottles with sturdy and easy slide-out racks.
Want to make sure your wine temperature stays steady? The magnetic door seal will make sure your fine wines stay fine by keeping a tight seal on the temperature and humidity even after the door is opened and closed. Use the LCD control panel to adjust the temperature depending on whether you’d like to serve or store.
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Wine Enthusiast Silent - 18 Bottle Wine Cooler
Need something to store a few bottles without much space to offer? This is probably what you’ve been looking for. This small cooler can fit into the nooks and crannies of any space, to store your wine well without interrupting your home as you know it. It’s also virtually silent, so you won’t even realize it’s there! You can store your reds or your whites (or both) thanks to two different cooling zones.
Need to switch the temperature up? Do it without even opening the door, thanks to the exterior digital touch screen control panel. All of this at an affordable price makes this a great pick for someone just getting into good wine.
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NutriChef -18 Bottle Wine Cooler Refrigerator - PKTEWC180
If you’re looking for something to impress, this cooler was voted the best 18-bottle wine cooler by NYMag this year. One great thing about this option is the low price point. It beats out a lot of the competition on price alone, but it’s great without even considering cost! This fridge has the amenities that many higher-price items boast, like quiet running and an external temperature control panel.
Many people loved the size, saying it’s perfect for someone who loves to entertain but doesn’t plan on storing a ton of bottles for a long period of time. It doesn’t take up too much room, but it gets the job done well.
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Premium Wine Cooler Reviews
Kalamera - 40 Bottle Wine Cooler - KRC-40DZB
With a 4.5 rating on Amazon, this wine cooler is sure to please. It can store up to 40 standard sized bottles of wine, making it the perfect solution for someone who likes to buy more a bit more quickly than they like to consume it. It’s extremely user-friendly, with controls for lighting, temperature, and display all on the outside. A french-door style allows you to access your dual zones separately while keeping the other one in tact.
Worried that you might leave the door open? Have no fear! This Kalamera cooler has a built-in alarm to remind you when a door isn’t closed properly or if it experiences unknown temperature fluctuations. This cooler makes storing great wine virtually fool-proof.
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Aobosi 15″ Wine Cooler 28 Bottle Dual Zone Wine Refrigerator
This cooler features an exquisite design that’s perfect for storing up to 28 bottles. You can set it to dual or single zone, allowing for chilling, serving, and storing. Want to remember the perfect temperatures? It has a temperature memory function to keep it in range automatically. A soft blue LED lighting and stainless steel exterior make it sleek and stylish while offering you ideal while storage.
If you don’t want to hear your wine cooler, you won’t have to worry about that here. The compressor cooling system is both energy-efficient and low-vibrational to keep it under the radar.
If you happen to come across specialty sized bottles of wine, that’s no problem! Beech wood shelves can be removed and reworked to allow for any sized bottle.
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Large Wine Cooler Reviews
Allavino FlexCount 172 Bottle Wine Refrigerator - VSWR172-2SSRN
Looking for something that can hold just about everything? Look no further than this, one of the best wine coolers ever.
It is a double-wide cooler that stuns with its beauty. The dual zones will keep your wine at the right temperature, regardless of whether you plan to store or serve. This Allavino cooler can look gorgeous worked into your cabinetry or it can stand alone for a strong impact.
While Allavino has smaller versions of this cooler, this one is made to store all the wonderful bottles you have to offer. If you’re a serious wine collector and want a cooler that’s just as serious, this is it.
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Kalamera 30'' Wine Cooler 66 Bottle Dual Zone - KRC-66DZB
This is a compact wine cooler that can easily slide in-between cupboards or underneath a counter to seamlessly blend into any kitchen or entertainment area.
It features air circulation and a compressor cooling system, which means there are no worries about installing it versus letting it stand freely.
There are a number of additional features that might stand out to you, including the digital control panel, LCD display, touch buttons, temperature memory function, and wide temperature range.