Wine Fridges

14 things you should know about wine coolers before buying

#1 Noise Level

A wine cooler is not completely silent, as you may also know it from your regular refrigerator, it can make some noise when the compressor is working.

However, there is a difference in noise levels from refrigerator to refrigerator, so if the wine cooler is going to be in the living room, kitchen, or other rooms where you spend a lot of time, you might want to look for one with a low noise level.

#2 Size

Wine coolers come in many different sizes and are available in everything from tall, low, wide, to narrow designs, so there is one for nearly every home.

Some, for example, have the perfect height to fit under your kitchen countertop, making it easy to integrate one into your kitchen and home.

#3 Temperature

Most wine coolers can be set to temperatures between 5-21 degrees, allowing you to choose the right temperature for your wines.

Additionally, there are wine coolers that can cool in multiple zones at once.

If the wine cooler has 1-zone, it means that the wine cooler can only cool at one temperature throughout the cooler.

If the cooler has 2-zone or multi-zone, it can cool at several different temperatures, where it is divided into zones.

For example, the upper part/zone of the cooler may be set to 13 degrees, while the lower part/zone is set to 10 degrees.

#4 Energy Label

It is very difficult to find a wine cooler in a low energy class, as wine coolers often fall into the F-G category.

However, you can still find some in class A, but they are rare and therefore may not be available in the sizes you need.

You might think that the more money you pay for a wine cooler, the better the energy class will also be, but that's not the case; even most high-end models are in energy class F-G.

#5 Capacity

As mentioned, you can find wine coolers in various sizes and with many different capacities.

You can find wine coolers that hold everything from a couple of bottles to several hundred bottles.

Shelves are often decisive for how many bottles can fit in a wine cooler, but in most cases, they are removable, so you can take out shelves to make room for more wine.

#6 Built-in Light

Most wine coolers have built-in lighting so it is easy to see the wines stored inside.

On some of the more advanced models, you can dim and adjust the light level.

#7 Display

Many wine coolers have a display where you can often see the temperature and in some cases humidity.

Typically, as part of the display or next to it, there are buttons allowing you to control the various functions, so you can monitor on the display to make the right adjustments.

#8 Wine Cooler with Lock

Some wine coolers actually come with a built-in lock, allowing you to secure the cooler after yourself.

This is particularly a good idea for those who have expensive or special wines that they want to take extra good care of.

It can also be a good idea for those who want to keep their children away from the wine cooler.

#9 Design and Material

Most wine coolers are made of stainless steel, either polished, brushed, or with colored enamel.

The doors are also often made with a stainless steel frame with a window in the middle, allowing you to see inside to the wine bottles.

Other wine coolers have a glass front, often in white or black glass with a window in the middle of the door.

A typical feature for most wine coolers is that they have a window in the door so that the wine bottles can be display pieces for both yourself and your guests.

Shelves, drawers, racks, and other inserts are often made of wood or metal for a nice classic design.

They come in various types of wood to achieve different looks and provide an exclusive design.

#10 UV Filter

Wine does not fare well with sunlight, which is why many wine coolers are equipped with a UV filter, similar to what you may know from sunglasses.

The UV filter keeps the sun's rays out of the cooler and thus away from the wine, so it is not affected by light.

#11 Carbon Filter

The taste of wine can be affected by odors even if the wine bottle is sealed with a cork.

That's why most wine coolers are equipped with a carbon filter that actively removes odors and prevents them from entering the cooler.

#12 Shelves

There are different types of shelves that you can find in a wine cooler, where some are typical regular shelves, others are racks, and some function as drawers that can be pulled out.

They are mostly easy to move, allowing you to set it up just the way you want it.

#13 Alarm

Many newer wine coolers have an alarm installed to alert you if the cooler door is not closed.

This means that if you forget to close the cooler door or don’t get it closed properly, the alarm will beep to get your attention to close it.

In this way, you can quickly get it closed again, so the wine cooler doesn’t work overtime to keep the cooler cold and so you don’t get a larger electricity bill.

#14 Humidity Level

If wine is to be stored properly, it needs to be stored under very humid air conditions, which is difficult to achieve in a regular refrigerator.

Many wine coolers, unlike ordinary refrigerators, are good at maintaining high humidity.

Wine should ideally be stored at humidity levels above 50% and up to about 75%, and many wine cabinets achieve this with a built-in water tank.

Different Types of Wine Coolers

Wine coolers come in 3 different types: freestanding, integrable, and built-in, and you can read more about the different types below.

Freestanding Wine Cooler

The freestanding wine cooler is definitely the easiest choice, as you don’t need to be quite as precise with the measurements as in the other two types.

Here you can place the wine cooler exactly where it suits you and you can better choose exactly the size you want or need for your wine collection.

Integrable Wine Cooler

The integrable wine cooler is for you if you, for example, want the wine cooler in the kitchen and make it part of the existing kitchen.

Here, you can choose one with measurements that fit into an existing cabinet, where you only need to remove the door and shelves from the cabinet.

Built-in Wine Cooler

Unlike the integrable wine cooler, the built-in wine cooler is best suited if you are building a new kitchen or a large wine cooler.

This way, you can much more easily integrate it, making it appear as part of the kitchen or home, compared to if you otherwise had to remove a module from your existing kitchen to build it in.

This is a very expensive solution unless you are having a new kitchen made anyway where you have the wine cooler designed in.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Wine Cooler

What temperature should a wine cooler be?

It is recommended that wine be stored at temperatures around 13 degrees, but different wines may need different temperatures, so you might want to choose a wine cooler with multi-zones, where the cooler cools differently in different parts of the cooler.

What is a wine cooler?

A wine cooler is a refrigerator specifically designed for storing wine and can consequently reach the right temperatures and provide the best conditions for storing wine. Among other things, they have shelves that are suitable for bottles, and many models ensure good humidity for the wine.

Can you use a regular refrigerator for wine?

Storing wine in a regular refrigerator is not optimal because the temperature can be difficult to set to what is optimal for wine. If you want to store wine in a refrigerator where you also have food, the temperature needs to be much colder than what wine requires and therefore it’s not a good match.