Schmick wine fridges

[gap]

Has anyone heard of "Schmick" wine fridges? Or have any information on them?

Or does anyone have anything on comparing Vinovault and Kitchener dual zones?

I'm looking for something around 200 bottles (give or take 25 or so) that isn't going to cost a fortune and has proven back up for service if it dies.

[Scotty vino]

I got a vintec V110SGES3 single zone.

Bought it on a bit of a whim to be honest but it holds great temp/humidity. Managing wines in it can sometimes be a pain. If you own a fridge that can hold over 30-40 bottles it's an absolute must to have it catalogued. Because the bottles are end to end in the V110SGES3 it's near on impossible to see what's at the back without removing the front bottles. With the use of an 'unnamed' online cataloging system I keep it in order. But without that you're hosed when it comes to digging out bottles.

This fridge was made to hold standard run of the mill bordeaux bottles. Anything else (except for the bottom or top shelf) is a pain for any odd shaped bottles. I've trashed a few labels trying to slide shelves out holding burgundy/pinot style bottles. With some reorganising and careful planning I've got it working well but it took a few attempts to get every bottle in and sitting properly. Sliding shelves in and out to access wine probably isn't ideal if you're trying to keep wines still and out of the light. But if you use the top shelf for exactly that and descend from there you can avoid moving the good stuff around too much. Again, for me, planning was key to avoid constant juggling and re jigging. It's a pretty big unit too so any fridge over 100 bottles I'd recommend perhaps measuring out the area you're intending to use it in and double check it's gonna fit ok. I actually mocked up the fridge to the exact specs using cardboard from an already installed appliance (my wife thought i was nuts) before i committed to it. It really helped in giving me an idea of how it was gonna look. The door swinging out and the fact that the back of the fridge has to have a minimum distance to the wall (to avoid voiding the warranty) were also other space factors.

Despite some of the above, it performs it's main duty very well. As for dual zones....I'n not sure.
Maybe if you have a lot of champagne and sparkling wines.
I find the whites that come straight out of it at 12-13 degrees always seem to be just on the money for drinking. Mainly Rieslings, Chardonnays and Sems. I've experimented with chilling in a standard fridge but there's usually no need unless it's sparkling. I pulled a 2006 Leo Buring Eden Valley riesling straight out and it was bang on. I find the Reds warm up and drink beautifully if given the right treatment.
Overall I've had a lot of positive comments on the wines I've served up from it both Red and White. I guess it begs the question on whether to go for dual zone or not.

[TiggerK]

While no expert, a bunch of research a while back led me to believe that dual zones aren't as good at keeping consistent temperatures as a single zone. Never heard of Schmick, but if you can save a bundle of money, I say go for it as long as you feel the warranty will be honoured if things go bad. I think that many of the big name wine fridges are way overpriced.

[ctc]

This fridge was made to hold standard run of the mill bordeaux bottles. Anything else (except for the bottom or top shelf) is a pain for any odd shaped bottles. I've trashed a few labels trying to slide shelves out holding burgundy/pinot style bottles. With some reorganising and careful planning I've got it working well but it took a few attempts to get every bottle in and sitting properly. Sliding shelves in and out to access wine probably isn't ideal if you're trying to keep wines still and out of the light.

Hello. We have recently bought a smaller Vintec (V40SGES3) and have been having the same trouble as many other Vintec owners in terms of stacking it nicely. It seems it is almost obligatory to remove one or more of the shelves to fit more bottles in and to avoid the dreaded label damage, but we haven't been able to actually get any of the shelves out! We drag them out a little, tilt them, just as in the manual, but cannot actually pull them out completely. We've tried all sorts of different angles and things, without any luck.

Has anyone else had this difficulty? Any hints or tips would be appreciated!


Thanks,

Christian

[gap]

I eventually bought a De Longhi single zone 166 bottle fridge, based on price, back up and size.

No problems with it so far but it does run at 2 - 3 degrees warmer than what it's set at. Not a problem as I have a thermometer inside it to monitor the temp.

Unfortunately I filled it up before deciding that I should remove a shelf to fit the larger sized bottles and now can't do that because the door is up against a wall and I can't get it open wide enough to get the bloody shelf out.

So we can either boycott producers who use large bottles or just put up with it.

[Phil H]

Hi Christian
In relation to removing the shelves from the Vintec, have you tried removing the door. I am not certain of the model of my small Vintec, however it has reversable doors. It simply involves taking the plastic cap/cover off, and unscrewing three screws. Once the door is off the shelves will simply come out.
Good Luck
Phil

[Scotty vino]

Hi Christian
In relation to removing the shelves from the Vintec, have you tried removing the door. I am not certain of the model of my small Vintec, however it has reversable doors. It simply involves taking the plastic cap/cover off, and unscrewing three screws. Once the door is off the shelves will simply come out.
Good Luck
Phil

No need to remove door. The shelves slide out a certain distance then stop. At this point you raise them up and align the cutout notch with the stopper attached to the body of the fridge itself and they lift out. How do I know this? I had my emptied twice. All wine out, then all shelves out. Why? Fan number 2 shat itself and the only way to access is removal of the entire contents. After fan number 2 was replaced twice, it went again. New fridge after that.
The new one runs like a charm.