First time wine fridge buyer

[Nick Wine Guy]

Thanks for all the advice, guys!

It's primarily to store stuff for a medium to long term (say 3-5 years for some and maybe 10 years for a few), but is opening it regularly to store short-term stuff/keeping opened bottles in it a bad idea?

I saw some Vintec ones at Harvey Norman, they seem fine. I just worry that the cheap Hisense ones may not offer the vibration control, humidity, etc. That make using them worthwhile.

Out of curiosity for the offsite storage guys. How much do you usually bring out of it when you take stuff out? I get if you don't have storage space at home, but it just seems inconvenient to not have stuff on hand.

[felixp21]

I’d say they’re priced high because they aren’t made in the bulk numbers as traditional fridges.
I’ve bought my three all off gumtree 2nd hand to be honest. Had to have my Delonghi repaired earlier in the year after 8 years of use and my other 2 (vintec and no brand) are going fine after 5 and 3 years respectively. I buy the ugliest looking models that hold the most bottles and I keep them in my garage. They aren’t for show, just to hold bottles.

I've got a 180-bottle wine fridge with all the cool stuff like snazzy lighting etc, keeps perfect temperature and humidity. I have had it now for 5 years, and have had absolutely NO problem with it whatsoever. Perfectly controlled at 13C and 70% humidity.I live in Southern China in a semi-tropical climate, with scorching summers (as Jamie will attest to )
The cost? AUD $325
The brand? Sunwai, total rip off of Vintec, but better quality. I kid you not. Sorry, they don't export.

[Ozzie W]

Out of curiosity for the offsite storage guys. How much do you usually bring out of it when you take stuff out? I get if you don't have storage space at home, but it just seems inconvenient to not have stuff on hand.

I plan ahead what I want to drink and bring out bottles from my off-site at Kennards that I want to drink over the next 1 to 2 weeks. My off-site is only 10 minutes drive from home. I also get most of my wine purchases delivered to Kennards, so when I'm collecting the delivery and putting into my cellar, I'll also pull out a few bottles to take home at the same time.

I personally don't find it inconvenient not to have my entire cellar on hand at home. However, if I wasn't planning ahead then I can see how it would become an issue. Also, if my off-site was say 30-60 minutes drive from home instead of 10 minutes, that would definitely be an issue too.

On the flip side, if I had my cellar at home, then getting wine purchases delivered would become an issue as during the day nobody is home. I'd have to get wines delivered to work and then lug them home, which would be less convenient than the current arrangement.

[winetastic]

Thanks for all the advice, guys!

It's primarily to store stuff for a medium to long term (say 3-5 years for some and maybe 10 years for a few), but is opening it regularly to store short-term stuff/keeping opened bottles in it a bad idea?

I saw some Vintec ones at Harvey Norman, they seem fine. I just worry that the cheap Hisense ones may not offer the vibration control, humidity, etc. That make using them worthwhile.

Out of curiosity for the offsite storage guys. How much do you usually bring out of it when you take stuff out? I get if you don't have storage space at home, but it just seems inconvenient to not have stuff on hand.

In that case, I would recommend getting offsite storage for your "cellaring" wines and a modest wine fridge at home for your "drink now" and "just delivered" wines.

When it comes to our offsite storage, I am usually putting in and taking out between 12-36 bottles at a time. We then have a fridge at home which holds around 80 bottles for the drink now stuff.

The fridge we have is a factory second from Kitchener who are based in Melbourne. They make solid reliable fridges which are affordable, however not as flashy as the European brands.

I used to have a 400 bottle Kitchener and it was reliable for the 7 years or so, however after crunching the numbers later, I realised it would have been more economical to have offsite storage rather than invest in the bulk storage fridge at home.

[Redav]

I believe it retails for about $400 (maybe less on sale).

I had been eyeing off that one for when the dodgy one from Gumtree dies. I was going to wait until there's a 20% off eBay for The Good Guys but this Homemaker thing keeps running haha. It's used exactly how yours is; short term for drink now and some medium term I couldn't be bothered taking to WA.

[TommyB]

Bump.

Hoping to get some recent experiences/suggestions on fridges. Am looking for ~200 bottle capacity for longer term cellaring. Nothing fancy - single zone and not fussed about aesthetics.

Is Leibherr still the best option when factoring in quality and price? They make a pretty functional looking 195 bottle fridge.

[TiggerK]

How much is the 195 bottle Liebherr available for? I've only owned one but it's rock solid. Too pricey if not 'on special' but 'buy once buy right' is a good motto.

[TommyB]

How much is the 195 bottle Liebherr available for? I've only owned one but it's rock solid. Too pricey if not 'on special' but 'buy once buy right' is a good motto.

You seem to be able to get it for $2,600.

[bdellabosca]

I have two of the Liebherr Grand Cru 312 bottle fridges with the oldest at around 10 years old. Have had no problems and always recommend them to others. They are energy efficient and reliable. Only challenge is trying to remember where you stored that one bottle you are looking for and it ends up being at the bottom of the back row of the second bottom shelf, which takes you half an hour to find and you end up moving half the bottles in your fridge to locate it... I mitigate this by doing a once off hunting session each few months where I pull out a dozen or more bottles I'll hopefully be drinking over the next quarter and store them somewhere easier to access around the house.

Would also note that if you think you want a fridge for ~200 bottles, imo you should be looking at a 312 capacity fridge rather than a 195 capacity fridge. You can never fit the nameplate capacity due to bottle size / shape variation and you always end up wanting more storage than you thought.

[TiggerK]

I know I could google it, but if the price of said 312 bottle fridge is decently better per bottle compared to the 195, I'm totally on bdellabosca's wavelength. Buy one big good fridge and be done with it. Otherwise I'd say get the 195, and think about quality over quantity, and/or when needed get a smaller 'quaffer' fridge in addition to the main longer-term higher end brand fridge.

[TommyB]

Thanks all - think I’ve found a relatively new 312 bottle one second hand so will take that advice.

[asajoseph]

First, and most important question is - what do you want to use it for?

Keeping reds & whites at 'ready to drink' temperatures?
Display, or in a garage?
Replicating the exact conditions of a subterranean Loire Valley dungeon for 30 years?
Or just keeping a few mid-range bottles in good condition for 6-7 years as you wait to see how they develop?

If it's option 3, as far as I understand Eurocave is the best game in town (though harder to get hold of in Aus it seems). Liebherr a close second. If it's option 4, you probably don't need to spend so much - obsessing about 1-2 degrees either way is academic (IMO) over shorter & mid-range time periods.