Wine Coolers: specifications, types

The maximum number of standard wine bottles (straight, Bordeaux type) that the cooler is designed to store.

The increase in capacity affects the dimensions and price of the entire device. So for private home use, a compact wine coolers of small capacity (up to 20 bottles) can be the best choice — especially since the height of such devices is usually small. However, low wine coolers can store more contents — 24 – 25 bottles or more. Models with a capacity of 50 – 80 bottles are already designed mainly for bars and restaurants, but they can also be useful for enthusiastic wine collectors; and the most voluminous of modern wine coolers can hold noticeably more than 80 bottles — in some units up to two or three hundred.

It is also worth noting that it is not recommended to fill wine coolers to their full capacity. The actual occupancy should be at least 30 percent lower than the maximum. So, when choosing, it is worth making an appropriate margin.

It is models that could be built into furniture, wall niches, etc. Some built-in wine coolers, relatively small in size, can even be installed under the countertop — quite a convenient option for use in the kitchen. Anyway, built-in appliances installation is somewhat more complicated than free-standing, but such devices can easily fit into almost any interior without much difficulty.

Note that some models in this category could be only built-in; others are universal and allow separate installation.

— Climatic. Wine coolers with one temperature zone: one temperature is maintained throughout the entire volume of the working chamber. Such models are designed only for storing wines; different types at the same time (red, white, etc.) — they can all be normally stored at the same temperature. But the optimal serving temperature is just different, and a temperature cooler is better suited to prepare for serving.

— Temperature. Coolers with several zones with separate temperature control. The meaning of this design lies primarily in the fact that different types of wine have different recommended serving temperatures, which, moreover, differ from the optimal storage temperature; see "Temperature zones" for details.

The number of temperature zones provided in the working chamber of the wine cooler.

The temperature zone is a part of the working chamber with its temperature mode, independent of the rest of the volume. In climatic coolers (see "Product type") there is only one such zone — this is quite enough for storing wines, even different types. But it is recommended to serve different types of wine at different temperatures, and all these temperatures differ from the 10..12 °C required for storage. Accordingly, additional temperature zones are desirable in preparation for serving. Moreover, the more these zones, the more types of wines can be kept ready for serving at the same time, but the more expensive the unit is. Thus, most multi-temperature models have only two zones — for storage and for serving; the latter can be reconfigured for different types of wines. More zones — 3 or more — are found mainly in high-end high-capacity coolers.

The total volume of the wine cooler working chamber (chambers).

Although the main spec of such units is the number of bottles (see above), volume data can also be useful when evaluating and comparing different models. The fact is that with the same capacity, a larger volume means better air circulation and more efficient temperature distribution. On the other hand, an increase in volume also increases the price and dimensions — and there may simply not be free space for a wide or high wine cooler.

It is the lowest temperature in the working chamber that the model can provide.

Note that the optimal temperature for storing different wines is the same — about 10..12 °C; in this mode, almost any wine cooler can work. And lower temperatures may be needed primarily to prepare different types of wine for serving. So, the optimal temperature for most white and rosé wines is considered to be 8...12 °C. However, a lower temperature may be required, and sparkling wines (champagne) are usually served "icy", with a temperature not exceeding 7 °C. One can be found more detailed recommendations on this matter in special sources. In addition, lowering the temperature may be required for storage — it slows the process of wine maturation.

Anyway, the lower the minimum temperature in the wine cooler, the wider the possibilities for setting the climate.

The highest temperature in the working chamber that this model can provide.

Note that the optimal temperature for storing different wines is the same — about 10..12 °C; any wine cooler can work in this mode. And higher values may be required mainly for preparing red wines for serving — such wines, depending on the type and taste characteristics, should be served at a temperature of 13 to 18 °C. One can be found more detailed recommendations on this matter in special sources. However, the higher the maximum temperature of the wine cooler, the more opportunities it offers for adjusting the microclimate.

Note that an increase in temperature can be useful during storage, and not only for red wines: under such conditions, the ripening process is also accelerated.

It is the principle by which the wine cooler system works. In modern models, compressor or thermoelectric type of cooling is most often used, much less often — absorption. Here are the features of each option:

— Compressor. The same principle as conventional refrigerators works: due to the operation of the compressor, a refrigerant circulates through the cooling circuit, which takes out excess heat from the working chamber and brings them out through the radiator. This cooling method is reliable and efficient; it allows you to provide almost any conditions inside the working chamber, regardless of the ambient temperature. In addition, compressors can even be installed in built-in units. Such systems are prone to vibrations and are highly undesirable when storing wine. However, wine coolers often use special compressors with a low vibration level, as well as cushioning systems (see "Features"), which reduces this disadvantage to zero. However, these measures significantly affect the cost, although compressor systems themselves are not cheap.

— Thermoelectric (Peltier). Cooling using thermoelectric plates, so-called Peltier elements. When current is passed through such a converter, one side of the plate is cooled, and the other side is heated. Thanks to this, in wine cabinets of this type, it is possible to implement not only cooling but also heating. Thermoelectric systems are much simp...ler, more reliable, more compact and cheaper, compared to compressor coolers. On the other hand, with higher power consumption, they have lower performance. And the efficiency of Peltier elements is not very high — in particular, they do not cool to a certain temperature but to a certain number of degrees relative to the ambient temperature (usually 10 – 15 °C). In light of all this, mainly wine coolers of a rather small capacity are made thermoelectric. It is also worth saying that for several reasons, such units can not be built-in.

— Absorption. Absorption cooling is carried out due to the absorption and release of heat during certain chemical processes. Such systems have practically no moving parts, thus they are silent and do not create vibrations; their small size allows them to be used even in compact wine coolers. The main disadvantage of units with this cooling type can be called high cost. In addition, they consume a lot of electricity and may contain chemicals that, if the circuits are damaged, are dangerous to humans (for example, ammonia).

The design of the door of the wine cooler.

— Glass (tinted) door. Door with special tinted glass insert. A wine cooler with a transparent door allows you to see the contents of the working chamber easily. It means that you do not need to open the door every time to check the bottles of wine, demonstrate the wine collection and other similar tasks, violating the temperature regime. At the same time, the glass almost completely blocks ultraviolet and other radiation that could damage the wine. Thus, this option is considered the most convenient and practical. Glass doors are most common in most wine coolers of all volumes and price categories.

— Blind door. The completely opaque door provides perfect conditions for long-term storage of wines: no light enters the chamber at all and does not affect the condition of the wine. On the other hand, even to look at the contents, it is necessary to open the working chamber every time. Therefore, wine coolers with blind doors are relatively rare and most often are large, roomy models of climatic format (see "Product type").

The number of shelves provided in the design of the wine cabinet.

Such shelves are usually mounted on rails and can be removed if necessary. In some models, they can also be rearranged to another level. All this can be useful for organizing the space inside the cooler — for example, to accommodate large bottles of increased thickness, you can remove one of the shelves, providing the right amount of needed space. As for the quantity, it is selected by the manufacturer, taking into account the capacity, width and height of the working chamber, so this parameter is not that important when choosing.

The material from which the shelves of the wine cooler are made.

— Wooden. Wooden shelves are considered the most suitable option for storing wine. It is because the wood smooths out vibrations additionally, which helps protect the bottles from unwanted shocks. In addition, this material looks good and provides a certain style to the wine cooler. Therefore, more or less advanced models that allow long-term storage of wine are equipped mainly with wooden shelves.

— Metal. Shelves of this type are made of thick wire and are grids with bars of a special curved shape: the bends of such bars play the role of "seats" for bottles. Such grids are somewhat cheaper than a wooden ones. Moreover, they almost do not block the air movement in the working chamber and contribute to the evenest temperature distribution inside. On the other hand, metal, unlike wood, almost does not absorb vibrations and therefore is considered suitable mainly for relatively short-term storage of wines.

The ability to change the height of the shelves inside the cooler.

Shelf height adjustment in wine coolers is usually carried out in the same way as in refrigerators: removable shelves are installed on rails. And to change the placement height, it is enough to rearrange the shelf to another pair of rails. It allows you to change not only the level of location of individual shelves but also their total number, adjusting the cooler to the specific situation.

The ability to place bottles in the cooler vertically or at an angle(cork up).

This placement provides two advantages. Firstly, the sediment formed in the bottle sinks to the bottom, and the drink becomes optimally suitable for serving. Secondly, if the cabinet has a glass door, one can see the bottles with labels, not just corks or bottoms, as in horizontal placement. On the other hand, note that for long-term storage (a month or more), an upright or tilted position is not suitable: the cork is not washed with wine, which dries out and begins to let in excess air. So even in large spacious coolers, only one or two shelves are usually provided for such a position — the rest are for horizontal storage.

— Interior lighting. Lighting installed in the working chamber. It allows you to see the contents of the cooler better. Lighting is useful since the working chamber is often in the shade, even in bright ambient light.



— Chamber heating. The ability of the cooler to work in heating mode. In temperature models, heating is used to prepare red wines for serving: we recall that such wines are stored at standard 11..12 °C, but the optimal serving temperature can be up to 18 °C, depending on the wine type. In climatic coolers, this function is designed mainly for cases where the ambient temperature drops below the optimum temperature of the working chamber. For example, in case of problems with room heating. In addition, increasing the temperature during storage speeds up the process of wine maturation, which can also be useful.

— Fast cooling. A special intensive cooling mode designed for situations where a large number of non-chilled bottles must be additionally placed in an already loaded wine cooler. If you do this in normal cooling mode, the temperature inside will rise noticeably, and it may adversely affect the wines already stored in the cabinet. During the fast cooling, excess heat is intensively removed from the working chamber. It helps to avoid microclimate disturbances. It is worth noting that this mode usually needs to be turned on in adv...ance, a few hours before loading a new batch of wine bottles, and turned off after a certain time to avoid overloads. These details must be given in the manufacturer's documentation.

— Chamber ventilation. The presence of a ventilation system in the working chamber of the cooler. Such a system prevents the accumulation of unpleasant odours that can adversely affect the taste of wine, penetrating through corks. Note that in models without a fan, air circulation also occurs, but it is much less intense.

— Humidity control. It is the ability to adjust the air humidity inside the wine chamber. Some wines are very demanding on storage conditions and require not only a certain temperature but also a certain humidity. The humidity control function allows you to set its optimal value. In addition, the humidity should not be lower than 70%. Otherwise, the cork dries out, and an excessive amount of air gets into the bottle, which accelerates the oxidation of the wine and worsens its taste.

— Charcoal filter. A special filter that removes foreign odours from the air in the wine cooler. Wine bottles are not completely sealed — some air constantly enters through the cork, which has a porous structure, and strong odours can thus enter the bottle and adversely affect the taste and aroma of the wine. The charcoal filter helps to avoid this. Note that it must be replaced from time to time.

— Anti-vibration system. System for smoothing various vibrations and shocks affecting the wine cooler. Such influences are extremely undesirable for storage — they disrupt the course of biochemical processes and can even spoil the product. The presence of an anti-vibration system is relevant mainly for coolers with compressors (see "Cooling type"). It is the compressor circuits that are most susceptible to vibrations. If such a unit does not have such a function, it is a low-cost model not designed for long-term and thorough storage of expensive wines. Or it is a device with a high-quality compressor, which initially has a low vibration level and can be used without special protection against them. As for thermoelectric cabinets, the fans used in them are also potential sources of vibration but not as intense as compressors. Therefore, in such units, an anti-vibration system rarely occurs.

— Reversible door. It is an ability at your discretion to choose the direction in which the door of the wine cabinet will open. This function allows you to adjust the design to the location; it can be useful in cramped conditions, where the door can normally open only in one direction.

— Door alarm. It is a system that monitors the closing of the wine cooler door. If the door is not closed for a long time or is not closed tightly enough, an audible or light (depending on the model) signal is given. It avoids a critical change in temperature and humidity in the wine chamber and preserves the quality of the wine.

— Failure indicator. It is a system that monitors the state of the wine cooler units and gives a signal in case of failure. It allows you to avoid unpleasant consequences, ranging from a critical change in storage conditions and damage to wine ending to serious breakdowns and even accidents.

— Child lock. A special lock designed mainly to prevent a curious little child from getting to the contents of the wine cooler. The child lock is turned on and off in a special way that does not create problems for an adult but is not available for a child. And in some models, such a lock is closed with a traditional key. It can also be used for general protection against unauthorized access to the contents of the wine cooler.

The type of control for wine coolers is indicated primarily by the type of control panel, and its location is also taken into account. According to these criteria, in our time, the following options are distinguished: internal rotary knobs, external rotary knobs, internal push-buttons, external push-buttons, internal touch controls and external touch controls. In details:

- Rotary knobs. The simplest type of control. It is quite rare due to poor comfort and tuning accuracy. And for wine coolers, which are not budget devices, this solution looks very doubtful.

- Push-buttons. A fairly convenient, practical and at the same time inexpensive way, suitable for both models with basic capabilities and advanced units; at the same time, buttons are simpler and more compact than rotary knobs and cheaper than touch controls. Therefore, this option is very popular in modern wine coolers.

- Touch controls. Such touch panels are somewhat more expensive than push-button controls, but this is almost imperceptible against the price of the entire cooler. Touch controls are made only electronic, so it is accurate and as functional as possible. At the same time, the touch controls give the device a technological appearance and do not accumulate dirt due to the...absence of unnecessary slots and protruding parts. Note that this type of control is very convenient for coolers with thermoelectric cooling and is used in most of these models, although it is often found in compressor units.

It is worth noting that all types of controls can be both hidden and placed behind the door (internal) and available for settings without opening the door (external). The first option is more pleasing in terms of aesthetics. The second option makes it easier to configure the device.

The external display makes the operation of the wine cooler more visual and allows you to control the conditions inside without opening it. The display can show information about the temperature and humidity inside, running programmes and the stage of their running (for example, rapid cooling), the status of filters, etc.

It is the ability to control the wine cooler via the Internet. The unit connects to the World Wide Web via Wi-Fi, and the control features may be different. For example, some models use an application installed on a smartphone or tablet, while others use a web page in any browser. However, control via the Internet allows one to control the operating parameters of the unit and change settings from anywhere in the world where there is access to the Internet.

— No handle (push to open). Wine coolers equipped with doors without any handles. Accordingly, the opening method of such units differs from the usual one: the user needs to press the door lightly. A special closer is responsible for fixing the door; the mechanism securely fixes it and easily opens/closes. This feature does not affect the main functionality, but it can be very appropriate from a design point of view: for example, wine coolers with handleless doors are perfect for an interior in a minimalist high-tech design.

— Hidden door handle. Handle made in the form of recesses on the end of the door. This feature gives the cooler a neat, discreet appearance. In addition, an ordinary handle can be touched by careless movement, but with a hidden one, it is impossible. It is especially relevant in cramped conditions. Of any noticeable drawbacks of such a design, one can only name that it is less “grabbing” and reliable in holding than an ordinary handle. Because of this, some users find hidden handles less convenient; in addition, the aesthetic tastes of buyers are also different.

— Ordinary handle. Handles of a traditional design protrude noticeably on the door. Although the hidden design has several advantages, quite a few buyers still prefer the classic design. The main motive here is that ordinary handles can be gripped more securely, require less effort to open the door and are...generally more convenient to use. In addition, some users simply like the appearance of doors with handles.

The energy efficiency class characterizes how economically the wine cabinet consumes electricity. The highest class among modern units is A ++, then A +, A, B, C and further alphabetically.

Note that in this case, it is not energy consumption that is taken into account but consumption in comparison with units having similar specs (and the same type of cooling, see above). Therefore, a professional 80-bottle A++ wine cooler will consume more energy than a 15-bottle C-class unit. We also note that more economical devices have a higher price. However, they have a lower cost of maintenance during their life span.

This parameter characterizes the efficiency of electricity consumption by the wine cooler. Classes are designated in Latin letters from A to G, in ascending order of energy consumption. Actually, this was originally conceived until more energy-efficient models pulled up to class A, which eventually received the marking A +, A ++, and A +++. Further development of technologies allowed us to go even further. And in order not to produce pluses in energy efficiency labelling, in March 2021, manufacturers returned to the previous indices from G to A, where A is the most energy-efficient wine cooler. Accordingly, the 2021 models will have modern markings, while older models will be marked in the same way.

It is the amount of energy consumed by the wine cooler in a year during normal operation. Of course, the actual consumption will inevitably differ from this indicator in one direction or another, but these differences are usually not fundamental. So this indicator makes it possible to evaluate the efficiency of different models and compare them with each other. Recall that more energy-efficient units cost more on their own, but in the end, they can turn out to be more profitable due to energy savings.

The climate class to which the wine cabinet corresponds.

As the name implies, this parameter describes the environmental conditions for which the unit was designed. The warmer it is around, the more powerful the wine cabinet should be and the better thermal insulation it should have. Specific classes are indicated by letters. Here are the most popular options:

— SN (subnormal). Models for a cool temperate climate have an operating range from +10 °C to + 32 °C. Such a unit can be useful in a poorly heated room where the temperature can drop below +16 °C — for example, on the veranda of a private house, in a garage, etc.

— N (normal). Wine cabinets for temperate climates, with an operating temperature range of +16...+32 °C. Such a unit is suitable for most residential apartments and houses in mid-latitudes.

— ST (subtropical). Models for subtropical and humid tropical climates. Normally they work at the range of external temperatures +18...+38 °C.

— T (tropical). Wine coolers for dry tropical climates. Designed for temperature range +18 °C to +43 °C.

Also, note that there are many models on the market with an extended temperature range covering several classes. For example, a unit labelled N-ST will have a temperature range of +16...+38 °C. Such models are indispensable in complex climates, the conditions of which are not covered by one standard class — for example, in cold winters and hot summers.

It is the approximate noise level generated by the device during normal operation.

The lower the noise level, the more comfortable the use of the unit and the fewer restrictions there are for its installation. The decibel used to refer to this parameter is a non-linear unit, so the actual loudness of performance is best judged by comparative performance. So, the quietest models give out up to 30 dB, and a similar unit can be installed even in the bedroom: 30 dB is the volume of a whisper, and the upper noise threshold is allowed by sanitary standards for living quarters at night. 40 dB, conversation at moderate volume is already a daytime limit. Such noise is allowed, for example, in a home kitchen or living room. 50 – 60 dB corresponds to a conversation in raised tones; these values are typical for large models used in restaurants and liquor stores. And the loudest modern units give out about 70 dB — this is comparable to a busy city street, and such a wine cooler is best to be installed in a separate room like a pantry.

This parameter allows one to decipher the noise level in decibels. It is marked, like other classes, in Latin letters, where A is the quietest class of wine cabinets.

It is the country in which, according to the manufacturer, this or that model is manufactured. Even though most of the capacities are concentrated in China, European factories for the production of household appliances have not disappeared. And some models can be produced there. In general, such a division into a Chinese or European factory should not particularly affect the quality of products, but the stereotype of a reliable European assembly is present. However, it is possible that the model may have a country of manufacture, for example, Poland, and in the store under the same article, you will meet China.