So you want to buy a wine fridge. It's a good investment if you have the space, especially if you're a collector or tend to buy wine in bulk. On the other hand, if you're drinking bottles within a few days or even weeks of purchasing, and you're only buying a few at a time, you might just pop them in the refrigerator you already have and save your precious kitchen real estate for something else. But you've probably already thought through this much.
Why buy a wine fridge?All wine, according to a Masterclass held by wine critic James Suckling, should be stored at around 55 degrees Fahrenheit, and bottles with corks should be stored horizontally to keep the cork from dry-rotting and letting in oxygen (and whatever else). According to the World Food Logistics Organization, wine should be kept at a temperature between 50 and 60 degrees, and anything outside of the 50-to-75-degree range can cause damage. When it comes time for drinking, red wines are best served between 62 and 68 degrees, and whites between 49 and 55 degrees.
There are a few things to keep in mind when buying a fridge — that is, any fridge:
What makes a refrigerator a wine fridge?Wine refrigerators, or chillers, can run on two different types of generators, or motors: compressor (like a regular refrigerator) or thermoelectric.
It's generally best to go for wine fridges powered by thermoelectric generators. The short of it is that thermoelectric generators are solid-state with no moving parts, so they're quiet, don't vibrate, and tend to not overheat as much. Thermoelectric fridges are also cheaper to purchase, but less efficient and more expensive to operate.
Compressor fridges, which are really just miniature fridges, vibrate (not good for wine) and are less environmentally friendly, but also less expensive to operate. While compressor fridges can reach colder temperatures, that's not necessary for a wine fridge, which really doesn't need to go below 55 for storage, or 49 for chilling white wines. However, if you live in an extreme climate, a compressor fridge might be your best bet; thermoelectric fridges tend to run better if they're kept in ambient temperatures between 50 and 70 degrees.
ConvenienceHow many bottles are you looking to store? Do you want dual temperature zones — one area for storing and one area for bringing reds up to temperature or whites down to temperature? How about locks to prevent kids from finding their way into your beloved stash? Is it going to catch any sunlight? You might look for a UV-treated door.
NoiseWine chillers are on the noisy side, and since thermoelectric models require mild ambient temperatures to run (about 50-70 degrees Fahrenheit), you're probably going to have to keep them indoors and monitor your thermostat.
Energy efficiencyWine refrigerators are not energy efficient and are not even in the federal government's Energy Star program. Thermoelectric fridges are less energy-efficient than compressor fridges, but more environmentally friendly to produce.
Our research methodWe reached out to Luneau USA wine importer Pierre Haury, who said that wine fridges are notorious for breaking prematurely, and often just outside of a typical one-year warranty. Haury recommends spending upwards of $500 for something that will truly last (somewhere between a few years and a decade or so, according to him). This creates a bit of a conundrum: thermoelectric fridges are on the cheaper side, and tend not to last terribly long, according to Haury, while compressor fridges are not ideal for wine collectors, as vibration and a fan can disturb and degrade wine over time.
We also looked at dozens of expert and buyer reviews. For now, we've narrowed our recommendations down to a mid-sized chiller (which can also go under your counter), a freestanding one, and a smaller, more budget-friendly option. Short of a full cellar, we feel these three cover the bases.
Here are our picks for the best wine fridges you can buy: