Wine fridge

I need to buy a wine fridge in a couple months, probably a big one.

Anyone have one they like or ones to avoid?

I have a Vinotheque QT Gold 550 that is probably 15 years old or older and it is still working right along.

I have a Vinotemp that's about 6 years old now. Holds about 380 bottles. It has no significant insulation -- just the particle-board walls -- so it isn't really suitable if its surroundings are subject to a lot of warmth. It's in the garage here in Silly-Con Valley, where we don't get many days when it gets very hot. It's able to keep the temperature swings down to about plus or minus 2 degrees, which is more than good enough in my opinion, but it does run a fair amount of the time in the summer.

I also have a Vinotemp in the garage.. it's the economy line 550 model. They are insulated, but I upgraded to the bigger/more powerful cooling unit when I bought it.

The racking is all Burgundy/Chard instead of the smaller Bordeaux racking that is standard. I would highly recommend going that route since Bordeaux racking will scrape the labels off lots of those big ass bottles.. Syrah, Chard, lots of Pinot bottles, some Rhones, etc.

Whatever cellar you buy, be sure to check out the size of the racking. I couldn't get my hand into the regular racking (my cellar stores 2-deep).

I like my Vinotemp and, knocking on wood, it has performed great so far.. nice digital read out. I bought mine off the showroom floor, ready to go for about $1500 plus the cooling unit upgrade. So, you might ask about specials, floor models, etc. from whomever you decide to buy.

Cool, Thanks!

[Jenise]

I owned a Vinotemp for awhile too, and was very happy with it. I had standard Bdx racking but then that's mostly the kind of bottle I wanted in there, and I used the fat upper right and whole bottom shelf for around 50 Burg type bottles. One of the best things I can say about it is that when my cooling unit futzed out after warranty, Vinotemp replaced it gratis anyway. All I had to pay was the shipping on the unit they asked to be returned to them first.

http://www.iwawine.com/orstore/showitem ... R51MP-500C

This is the one I am eyeing. A pretty penny, but it is the size and capacity I want.

A question about wine fridges: do they control humidity? Or just some? or none?

Probably a dumb question...

This is an approximation to the one I have:
http://www.vinotemp.com/600-e-p-75.html
I don't see the exact thing in the catalog, 5 years after I bought it.

Some cellars do control humidity. Mine doesn't, and doesn't have a magic temperature readout, just a little thermometer that you hang from a nail or something. Here in Sillycon Valley, the humidity increase from cooling the cellar makes the humidity just about right.

It cost me about $1600.

This is an approximation to the one I have:
http://www.vinotemp.com/600-e-p-75.html
I don't see the exact thing in the catalog, 5 years after I bought it.

Some cellars do control humidity. Mine doesn't, and doesn't have a magic temperature readout, just a little thermometer that you hang from a nail or something. Here in Sillycon Valley, the humidity increase from cooling the cellar makes the humidity just about right.

It cost me about $1600.

Next year, when my Napa storage contract is up, I nay need to invest in something like this one.