Wine fridges

cindy · Post by **cindy** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 2:21 pm

I have been reading all your previous discussions on wine fridges but am confused and need help.

I am looking at buying a wine fridge for some friends as a wedding present and was wondering if they are used just to store white and red wine or can you drink the wine directly from the fridge.

Also I have been look at the 72 bottle Prima Wine Fridge and was wondering if anyone had any feedback on their perform and use of electricity etc.

Thanks
Cindy

Partagas · Post by **Partagas** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 5:11 pm

Hi Cindy,

You may have read some of my posts then but here you go.

Despite having emailed choice magazine about their findings on the Dome 24 btl fridges (They gave them a dud of the year vote) they funnily enough did not reply for comment. In turn I have now revoked my membership for not communicating with the people they are supposed to be serving, me the public and me the member. Enough of that.

I used those fridges non stop for about 2 years without a hitch. I had about 3 thousand dollars worth of wine in each fridge at all times constantly drinking and replacing. The temperature was checked with a high end thermometer mounted inside around the middle shelf. It did not fluctuate more than a single degree even in Perth summers. My power bill did not budge for normal what so ever. So in a nut shell they are tried and tested in demanding conditions without a glitch. Coast me $150 per unit.

I now have a LG 80-120 btl type that is also working a treat. Only issue there is if the power goes off and on, the bottom section defaults to 8 deg. I have very limited white wine and a hell of lot of rich reds. Also costs quite a bit more (paid $1600).

Dave Dewhurst · Post by **Dave Dewhurst** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 6:42 pm

I got a Prima just before the long hot summer started here in Perth. The main issue I have had is that I filled it on quite a warm day and the thing nearly thrashed itself to death due to the thermal inertia of all those wine bottles. During the summer, it has worked fine, not used much electricity and even on the hottest days has just been chugging along gently.

One other thing was that we had a power cut and the thermostat seemed to somehow lose touch with the temperature readout when it came back on and the thing started thrashing a bit. However, this was easily sorted by just re-setting the target temperature.

Cheers

Dave

Leigh · Post by **Leigh** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 10:18 pm

Hi Cindy,

I have three Dome wine fridges which I purchased several years ago from Target for $150 each. They are thermoelectric which means they are very quite, and excellent value for money. Basically they don't have a compressor which cuts in and out causing high spikes of electricity. They are also suppose to be better than a compressor wine fridge as they don't vibrate constantly. Apparently constant vibration is not good for long term cellaring of fine wine.

I have some very good wine in all 3 fridges and they run very well, having just been through some hot and humid Brisbane days without fail. Partagas makes some excellent comments re these units.

I used those fridges non stop for about 2 years without a hitch. I had about 3 thousand dollars worth of wine in each fridge at all times constantly drinking and replacing. The temperature was checked with a high end thermometer mounted inside around the middle shelf. It did not fluctuate more than a single degree even in Perth summers. My power bill did not budge for normal what so ever. So in a nut shell they are tried and tested in demanding conditions without a glitch

Don't waste your money on 'so called' high quality units. The aim of any wine fridge is to keep a constant temp. This will ensure that your good wine is preserved for years.

Welcome aboard!

Cheers
Leigh

DJZany · Post by **DJZany** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 11:39 pm

aaaarrrrgghhh, seems like I ALWAYS miss those things on special...

$300 at Target, but most people know they do a 1/2 price sale a couple of times a year. (Except the people on eBay paying that much for 2nd hand...)

Next person who sees Target with $150 Domes, please post back to this thread!!!!

As for the Primas, I have also seen those on eBay, seem pretty good, no personal experience, although I have heard that thermoelectric firdges struggle at larger sizes. However if the ambient temp is not too high or does not fluctuate too much (normal lounge room in an insulated house, not in the tropics) I reckon they would be fine.

And of course the Prima is bigger...

Daniel Jess · Post by **Daniel Jess** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 1:21 am

cindy wrote:I have been reading all your previous discussions on wine fridges but am confused and need help.

I was wondering if they are used just to store white and red wine or can you drink the wine directly from the fridge

Hi Cindy!

I store both my premium reds and whites in thermoelectric coolers - I don't really bother with the el-cheapo ones, especially if I don't think they'll improve much! I have inexpensive 24 btl Dome coolers too and a more expensive 150btl t-electric cooler custom-built for me.. but both are almost, if not exactly, equal in what they do! Dome has worked well for me for, hmm a few years anyway!

And you can certainly drink any wine straight from the wine fridge, but I prefer to chill my whites and sparkling/champers a bit more first!

davidg · Post by **davidg** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 9:37 am

Cindy,

I too have a Dome 24bottle fridge. Mine was given to me as a gift - although not a wedding gift. When it was given to me I already had off site professional storage and I remember thinking at the time that, while it was a very nice gesture, that what with my storage facility being relatively close by I probably didn't need it.

Once I started using it my position changed considerably.

I use it in conjunction with my off site storage. Basically, every once in a while I drag out enough wine to fill it so that I have a nice range of wines to choose from. Bottles probably spend on average less than three months there, but sometines considerably longer - particularly if it was brought from storage for an "occasion" but not consumed.

Occasionally, if I do a small trip to a wine region, or wine is delivered it will also act as storage until I get the time to go and put it off site.

Mine at least seems to be quite energy efficient, and there was no noticeable increase in electricity consumption once I started using it.
I keep mine in a relatively cool part of the house and have added a thin sheet of insulation with a reflective surface behind the glass to reduce heat transfer.

Hope this helps.

Cellar Rat · Post by **Cellar Rat** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 1:27 pm

I bought a 2 x 24 bottle Cara from bigshop.com.au and have been very happy with it (2 separate compartments with separate temp controls, thermoelectric, etc). They are out of stock at the moment though.

Other cost effective thermoelectric options would be:
http://www.shoppingsquare.com.au/p_2036 ... ler_JC150A
or
http://www.shoppingsquare.com.au/p_443_ ... LER_FRIDGE

Fans are a touch noisy, so keep them away from bedrooms (not as noisy as compressor types though).

Cheers,

CR

Giddyup · Post by **Giddyup** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 11:32 pm

Sorry to bring up an old thread but I finally got myself a wine fridge. Picked up a Dome 24 bottle fridge from Target for $119.

Question though, now that I have a place to store it, what are some good wines that I can get for an investment and hold onto them for 20-30 years? I have a few bottles of grange but what other good bottles are out there? And yes, I am totally new to the wine scene :-)

Thanks
Dan.

Wayno · Post by **Wayno** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 11:48 pm

How long is a piece of premium wine string?

20-30 year wines... other than Grange?

Hill of Grace, Wendouree, um... I'm sure there are others. If you take Jeremy Oliver for his word, Saltram Mamre Brook 04 Cabernet for example, or many of Halliday's write ups.

Dave Dewhurst · Post by **Dave Dewhurst** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 12:51 am

Giddyup wrote:Picked up a Dome 24 bottle fridge from Target for $119........what are some good wines that I can get for an investment and hold onto them for 20-30 years?

Thanks
Dan.

You're gonna need a bigger fridge, to paraphrase from summat well known I am sure but right now beyond my ken

Cheers

Dave

P.S. - Just got it, Quint, Jaws!

Wayno · Post by **Wayno** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 6:23 am

Brody, to be precise.

Wizz · Post by **Wizz** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 8:38 am

Giddyup wrote:Sorry to bring up an old thread but I finally got myself a wine fridge. Picked up a Dome 24 bottle fridge from Target for $119.

Question though, now that I have a place to store it, what are some good wines that I can get for an investment and hold onto them for 20-30 years? I have a few bottles of grange but what other good bottles are out there? And yes, I am totally new to the wine scene

Thanks
Dan.

Dan, If you're looking at an investment proposition with a 20 to 30 year time horizon, just buy shares. Too much risk in holding a physical investment like wine.
But if you really want it to be wine, buy some good quality 2005 Bordeaux, they should be arriving in Aus fairly soon.

Cheers

Andrew

pokolbinguy · Post by **pokolbinguy** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:17 am

I bought two dome fridges the other day for about $95 each from the local target.

At the moment they are $109 (When i bought them there was 15% off store wide) as a clearance item. But they are now labeled "wine coolers" but are the same units just a different colour (silver now not black).

I bought 2 just to protect my pricey bottles a bit better from the summer heat we get up here in the Hunter Valley.

So if you want some I would get onto your local target now and track them down.

I know there are some in the Newcastle region.

Brett

DerekJ · Post by **DerekJ** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 11:02 pm

I posted a while ago on the Choice reviews here http://forum.auswine.com.au/viewtopic.php?p=55274&highlight=#55274
As mentioned in the post, the criteria for "best" was very odd, as who would have a fridge/wine cooler sitting in 40+ deg temps?
For me, the criteria for ability to hold a certain temperature, minimal fluctuations and reasonable running costs would be more important.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Fri May 02, 2008 5:51 pm

The Dome 24 bottle thermoelectric looks to me like a good starter model for keeping wine.

Does anybody know any Target stores in the Melbourne area that currently have the Dome in stock? My local store is Highpoint and there were none last time I looked.

Red Bigot · Post by **Red Bigot** » Fri May 02, 2008 6:20 pm

mwenborn wrote:The Dome 24 bottle thermoelectric looks to me like a good starter model for keeping wine.

Does anybody know any Target stores in the Melbourne area that currently have the Dome in stock? My local store is Highpoint and there were none last time I looked.

Get them to phone around other store for you...

dave vino · Post by **dave vino** » Fri May 09, 2008 6:48 pm

Do not get a Dome compressor model. The humidity of these is abysmal. (around 30%) corks will be drying out, strictly screwcap only fridge.

The Thermo ones are fine.

Andre · Post by **Andre** » Wed May 14, 2008 5:08 pm

Interesting topic as I just received a data-logger (looks like a large USB memory card) that collects temperature and relative humidity every 10 seconds. Them I simply plug into my computer (using USB) and the software will show me exactly the historical temperature and humidity for the period I want.

I just dropped this device into my fridge (CyberCool 72 btls, a cheap thermoeletric I bought on Ebay) and will post the results in 24 hours....then I will try in the Prima 18 btls....

I am also very curious to see what I get from my wine storage and from the airplane baggage compartment...

davidg · Post by **davidg** » Wed May 14, 2008 5:19 pm

Andre

Can you post the details of the device.

Thanks
David

Andre · Post by **Andre** » Wed May 14, 2008 5:37 pm

This is the website:
http://www.lascarelectronics.com/temper ... logger=102

I bought from ProconTechnology:
http://users.tpg.com.au/users/p8king/qm1520.htm

I do NOT have any business relation with either companies.

Partagas · Post by **Partagas** » Wed May 14, 2008 6:24 pm

Well done Andre great find. A bit pricey but very good idea.

Sam

Andre · Post by **Andre** » Thu May 15, 2008 5:42 pm

Here is the result of 24 hours of my CyberCool 72 btls:

http://www.qexperts.com/redfridge.pdf

Pretty stable temperature around 16Ã‚Âº (although the panel was set to 12 and it is showing 12 actual) and around 65% humidity....

Nice for a short term cellar ??? Any thoughts ?

Will try now on a Prima 24 btls and will post results tomorrow.

BillMac · Post by **BillMac** » Thu May 15, 2008 9:12 pm

I bit the bullet about 6 months ago and outlayed about 5K for a Kitchener wine cabinet that holds over 400 bottles.
I was keeping my collection of around 300+- bottles inside the house and realised that the collection worth over 9K was cooking in summer where the house got up to about 25 - 30 deg on hot Sydney days.
We have limited space inside so decided that the cabinet kept in the garage was the way to go. The European models were too expensive per bottle so went with the aussie work horse.
So far its going great with temperature variance of about 1-2 deg above the set 16deg on the hottest summer days cooling down at night. Measured with a max - min mercury thermometer. Still have the old Bordex wine racks inside for the short term "cooking" reds and my wifes Sav Blancs etc.

Andre · Post by **Andre** » Fri May 16, 2008 4:47 pm

This is the log of a Prima Wine Fridge 18 btls:

http://www.qexperts.com/whitefridge.pdf

Temperature around 9Ã‚ÂºC (the control is in MAX)

Red Red Wine · Post by **Red Red Wine** » Sat May 17, 2008 3:33 am

woodwardbrett wrote:I bought two dome fridges the other day for about $95 each from the local target.

At the moment they are $109 (When i bought them there was 15% off store wide) as a clearance item. But they are now labeled "wine coolers" but are the same units just a different colour (silver now not black).

I bought 2 just to protect my pricey bottles a bit better from the summer heat we get up here in the Hunter Valley.

So if you want some I would get onto your local target now and track them down.

I know there are some in the Newcastle region.

Brett

I noticed this too which was why i didn't buy the dome unit a few weeks back because they were labeled cooler instead of fridge and were silver in colour. So assuming i was to buy one tomorrow i would be safe to get the silver one right and is it thermoelectric?

pokolbinguy · Post by **pokolbinguy** » Sat May 17, 2008 9:05 am

Red Red Wine wrote:
woodwardbrett wrote:I bought two dome fridges the other day for about $95 each from the local target.

At the moment they are $109 (When i bought them there was 15% off store wide) as a clearance item. But they are now labeled "wine coolers" but are the same units just a different colour (silver now not black)

Brett

I noticed this too which was why i didn't buy the dome unit a few weeks back because they were labeled cooler instead of fridge and were silver in colour. So assuming i was to buy one tomorrow i would be safe to get the silver one right and is it thermoelectric?

Yep they are thermoelectric. My mother actually bought one aswell from the same store and it was actually the black model with the tinted glass door. So might pay to check the pile as the black one would be better if you don't have a dark room to put it in. But if not just stick some cardboard or something to the inside of the door. But ultimately they are exactly the same unit but relabeled as a cooler...most probably to increase sales.

I have had mine running for the last few months and they are cruising along nicely at 16 deg. Might go and put a little dish of water in there though just to keep the humidity in check.

They seem like a practical unit to me, and good for the price.

Wonder what sort of power consumption they have though???

michaelm · Post by **michaelm** » Mon May 19, 2008 8:22 pm

Cellar Rat wrote:I bought a 2 x 24 bottle Cara from ********** and have been very happy with it (2 separate compartments with separate temp controls, thermoelectric, etc). They are out of stock at the moment though.

Cheers,

CR

That's a good finding as i was also looking for that for different temperatures.

danclarke · Post by **danclarke** » Mon May 19, 2008 9:38 pm

It's all realtive to volume I think.

Anything is better than nothing but I would buy anything under 250 capacity.

My kitchener is fine but drop the bottles down from 280 to 100, turn the heating on and bingo, within a day, it jumps from 15 to 16.

Nothing to worry about but something to keep in mind when working out what you really want

**Phoenix** · Post by **Phoenix** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 1:45 pm

Hi everyone, i'm a new member but have been lurking for a while.
I've been reading the threads and everyones comments about the Dome range of fridges/coolers, both the 24 bottle thermoelectric and the 40 bottle compressor units available at Target. For a beginner in the wine area, we are looking to probably buy 2 of the 40 bottle units, 1 for whites and 1 for reds, but would love to get some feedback.

They are both currently on clearance for under $90 each at our local Target store and we thought that the 40 bottle would be better value over the 24.

Everyone seems to say that the 24 bottle is good, being thermoelectric, but not many comments about the 40 bottle compressor units? Is a compressor unit THAT bad??? We are not looking to store Grange or anything like that, just the nice bottles of wine that we like to drink on occasion...

Any feedback would be appreciated.

PS. Great forum by the way!

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