Review and Compare Wine Cellars

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Go straight to our Cellar-Sorter.

Finding the Best Wine Cellar for You

You want a wine cellar. We want to help you find one — based on the features that you value the most.

Welcome to Compare Wine Cellars, where you can quickly (very quickly!) filter and narrow your selections to a handful of wine coolers.

Compare Wine Cellar Features

Each manufacturer offers several wine coolers, each containing many different wine cellar models with various features. However, navigating through the details of each wine cellar to find the right one for you can be overwhelming. That’s why we are here to help you. We researched each wine cellar, focusing on each model’s features:

Bottle Category and Number of Bottles

The bottle category is a quick way for you to narrow down the wine coolers based on the number of bottles that the wine cellar can hold.

The maximum capacity is shown. Actual bottle capacity depends on a combination of the shelf configuration chosen and bottle size. Standard bottle size is a Bordeaux bottle. If other bottle sizes are stored or a different shelf configuration is used, then the total bottle capacity may be reduced.

Temperature Zones

A zone is an area where the temperature can be controlled separately from another.

Most wine coolers come with a single zone, which means all of the wine is stored at the same temperature. For a dual zone unit, there will be a separate coolant mechanism for each zone. However, when a wine cooler has more than two zones, the number of zones may not directly correlate with the number of coolant mechanisms.

For multi-zoned wine coolers, they take advantage of the fact that cold air sinks. This property can be used to have several “zones” in one cabinet that are not physically separated from each other. The wine cooler cascades the cold air from the top of the cabinet to the bottom, or from one “zone” to the next. Therefore, the result is that each lower “zone” in the wine cooler is at a slightly cooler temperature.

Temperature Zone Range

This is the range of temperature for a zone. The actual temperature may be influenced by the outside temperature. In addition, the range may vary slightly because wine coolers designed in Celsius may have slight differences when converted to Fahrenheit for the U.S. market.

Mechanical

In smaller units, the refrigeration is often done with an electronic or thermoelectric unit. Thermoelectric cooling is a solid-state heat pump that transfers heat from one side of a barrier to another by electric energy. Therefore, there are very few moving parts (no vibration) and no circulating liquid.

In larger units, the refrigeration is usually done with a compressor system, which circulates a cooling liquid to remove heat from the wine cooler. Due to the size and bulk of the larger wine coolers, vibration is usually not an issue. However, many manufacturers take other precautions to minimize any vibrations.

Others will be listed with specific manufacturers’ names of their coolant mechanism. These are usually compressors, but the name given is the marketing name.

Shelves

Shelves come as metal (e.g., chrome wire), wood, or a combo. For those that are a combo, it is usually a metal shelf with a wood (natural or stained) front for display. Some shelves may have a metal trim. For metal shelves, they may be coated with vinyl or plastic. In many wine coolers, shelf type is an option and the ones shown are the standard, but you may choose another.

Door Construction, Handle, Reversible, and Security Lock

Doors may be available in a glass or solid front. The Door Handle feature lets you know whether there is a physical handle attached to the wine cooler door. Otherwise, it may be recessed or the indent created by the seal.

Some doors are reversible, which means they can be attached to open to the right or left. Others can be purchased on the preferred side. Some wine coolers have more than one door. Those that have at least two doors that open like a cabinet are listed as “French Doors”.

Some doors have a door lock to protect from unwanted entry.

Location

This gives you an idea of where the wine cooler can be used. Generally, a wine cooler is either designed to be freestanding (to be used anywhere) or built-in (into the lower cabinets in the kitchen). Importantly, some can be both. The difference is usually how it is vented. But, do not use a freestanding wine cooler as a built-in because it will overheat and ruin the motor.

A wine cooler may be marked as a “countertop” if it is designed as freestanding and under 18″ tall (to fit between the countertop and overhead cabinet bottom).

Color

This feature details the color of the wine cooler. The overwhelming color is black, but many are trimmed in front with stainless steel or some other material. In addition, some wine coolers can be ordered in various colors or custom ordered.

Dimensions

The dimensions provided by the manufacturer may vary depending on a variety of factors: the depth dimension may or may not include the door handle; the width dimension may or may not factor the needed room for the door to open; and the dimensions given may be the shipping dimensions instead of the cooler dimensions. Also, the dimensions may be rounded.

Found: The Best Wine Cellar

To compare wine cellars based on the features you value the most, go to the Wine Cellars page and filter for the features you want. You will quickly find matching models to allow you to compare wine cellars easily. Then click any of the models to learn more. On each product page, you will find more information and details about each wine cooler.

So go ahead, find your wine cellar.