Wine fridge reccos?

We are planning a kitchen remodel (yes, we are insane) and I am considering adding an undercounter wine fridge to the mix. I have done some research and determined that there are two basic types of wine fridges, those with regular compressors and those with thermoelectric (peltier) cooling. In the reviews that I have seen the thermoelectic fridges are quieter but likely not as durable. I am looking at small wine fridges 18-30 bottles to hold some ready to drink wines that will be conveniently located in the dining area.

What is your experience with built-in small wine fridges?

Do you think dual temperature zone fridges are really useful?

Any brand reccomendations?

No brand advice from me since I don't own one, but if I were to look into buying one of these, I think I'd go check out some restaurants with great wine-by-the-glass programs to see what brands they use. In addition to large wine cellars, restaurants with great wine-by-the-glass programs have to have a small 'fridge, often near the bar so waiters can quickly pull out a bottle, pour and return the bottle. These 'fridges are often opened and closed hundreds of time a day and have to recover and maintain temps at both white and red wine serving temps and last for years. If the restaurant is on top of its game, the fridge will look good, too, since it may be seen by patrons.
I'll be at one such restaurant Friday evening and another on Sunday and if I remember to ask, I will and I'll let you know what I find out.
I'm sure you'll get reccos on these pages, also.
I'd check Consumer Reports-type sources, too.
Good luck.

[Jenise]

Tom, I bought one from Costco once upon a time to replace a trash compactor, a Vinotemp. It had one temp zone. I now have a larger model with two zones, Kitchen Aid brand.

From what I recall of my investigations, U-Line and Marvel are the top brands. I'm happy with the Kitchen Aid, which I purchased for about $500-600 less than either of the aforementioned brands would have cost. It's an under-counter model about the size of dishwasher. It's supposed to hold around 60-70 bottles. Love having the two zones so that whites and reds come out at appropriate temperatures. Only problem with that has been training Darling Hubby to understand
which zone's which, and stash wine accordingly.

It sounds like you're planning on the smaller, trash compactor size. There, the only advice I can give you is to pay close attention to the shelving. Where our Kitchen Aid has drawer-like pull-out shelves, the Vinotemp had lateral metal bars, and not very many of them leaving large gaps which required you to place the wine perfectly or else bottles, especially burgundy shapes, would get off-balance and fall through, crashing into the bottles below. It was like they designed it for Bordeaux shapes only, actually. Never broke a bottle but since the storage capacity is based on two-bottle deep storage, it made scooting around to get the rear bottles kind of dicey.

Thanks Jon and Jenise,

I appreciate your suggestions. I am considering paying for online access to Consumer Reports to get their recommendations on small wine fridges. Yes, we are looking at the small trash compacter type wine fridge because of space limitations and we don't really need it for storage, just to keep a few bottles handy in the kitchen and dining room area.

I am considering paying for online access to Consumer Reports to get their recommendations on small wine fridges.

You should consider going to your local library first; they often have a year or more of past CRs available and if I recall, each one has an index that points you to the appropriate month/year for what you are looking for.