Not satisfied?  Does that solution seem a little cheap to you?  If all you want is a box with cold air in it to stack some bottles, you don’t need anything else.  But if you want features that make your wine fridge convenient or stylish, you’ll need to pay for what you want.  

 

Each feature added to a wine fridge increases its cost, and improves its convenience or appearance, or both.  Decide which features are really important to you, what your price range is, and you’ll be prepared to hit the internet and the stores to find your new fridge.  You can run through the features listed below, and tally up your expected tab.  

 

Before we begin, a note about long-term refrigeration and storage: wine is damaged by light, heat, and vibration.  A wine cellar kept in the mid-50‘s is ideal, but a fridge is the only option for most of us.  But unless you are a serious collector, most of the whites you buy will need to be drunk within a year or two.  Do you really want to pay to keep these, or can you just run to the store and get more when you need it?  Some reds, on the other hand, are better aged.  Or, you may find a vintage that you want to stockpile and hold on to for several years.  Since many reds will tolerate long-term storage, this is a great way to buy now and drink later, when prices will be higher or the vintage is no longer available.  So think about which wines you really need to store and whether it will be worth it.  This will help you decide how big of a fridge you really need.  

 

Obviously, when storage is the goal, bigger is better.  To us there seems little point in a small fridge that you will fill quickly.  Also, small fridges have components that cost the same as on a large fridge (compressor, electronics, etc.,) so the cost-per-bottle is higher in a small fridge.  You don’t start to hit the sweet spot until you get to fridges that are 50-bottle capacity or higher.  A good rule of thumb is to shoot for a fridge that averages out to $10-per-bottle or lower, but of course this depends on its other attributes.   

 

A fridge needs to blow warm air away from itself to work.  A wine fridge with front ventilation is made to be built under a countertop in your kitchen.  In 50-bottle models, this feature will add $100 or so to the price.  If you aren’t building it into your kitchen someday, you probably don’t need this feature.  For full-size, stand-up fridges, this is less of a concern.  

 

Cheap fridges are made of plastic housing material.  Nice ones are usually stainless steel.  Steel will raise the price significantly, as much as $100-150, depending on the size.  

 

There are a couple things to check regarding the door.  First, do you want a glass-fronted door?  They are more elegant, display your wines, and let people know you have a wine collection.  If you opt for glass, some models offer smoked glass, since light damages wine.  But if you don’t keep your fridge in the sunlight, you probably don’t need to worry about it, and what’s the point of glass that is hard to see through? 

 

Second, depending on where you put the fridge and whether you might move anytime soon (or ever), you might want one that is built to move the hinge and handle to the opposite side, to make it easier to open in any location.  

 

Glass and a reversible door will up the ante yet again, so decide if it’s important to you. 

 

It probably occurred to you already that the dorm fridge won’t work because you can’t stack wine bottles in it easily, and still get them back out without a lot of effort.  Most fridges have wire racks engineered to hold bottles in an efficient pattern.  The cheapest ones are fixed to the walls of the fridge, so you have to slide the bottles out by hand one at a time to see the label.  

 

The next step up is sliding wire racks.  “Sliding” is a relative term here, since the wire racks are rubber-coated and seated in grooves in the plastic walls.  This would create friction even without bottles on the shelf.  You will probably be wrestling with these shelves every time you want a peek at your stash. 

 

Racks on rollers are the way to go.  Don’t be a cheapskate!  Cavemen invented the wheel for a reason.  There are wire racks with a roller apparatus, or more heavy-duty and better engineered rolling shelves to choose from.  Ask yourself how long do those racks have to roll?  Are you going to wear them out?  

 

That leaves one final choice on shelves: many high-end models have wood-fronted shelves that give the fridge more of a furniture look through the glass-fronted door.  This is pure vanity--it has no function, and will probably add another $50 or more.  But if your fridge is part of your kitchen, or on display, you might feel this is worthwhile.  The wire racks can look kind of cheap in your house.  Of course, then again, most people aren’t sitting there staring at your fridge...hopefully.  

 

If you get a glass-fronted model, some will have the option of a light inside, to add a little dramatic lighting to your collection.  We have to admit, we’re suckers for the light.  It usually doesn’t add a noticeable amount to the price compared to other features.   

 

Whites are stored at a lower temperature than reds.  Some fridges have separate compartments which allow two separate temperature zones.  Again, ask yourself if you really are going to store whites, and if so, do you want them cutting in on the rack space you’re buying for your reds?  In our opinion, if you need that much space, buy two fridges, one for red and one for white.  

 

Vibration is a factor.  Some argue that a wine fridge, with the vibrations from the compressor, is doing as much harm as good.  But if you have a quality model with a compressor that isn’t noisy or rattling, you can keep it to a minimum.  You can also put rubber padding under the legs of the fridge to dampen any vibration, and keep your fridge in an area that has minimal temperature variation, to avoid excessive compressor activity.  This is a good argument for an under-the-counter model with front ventilation. 

 

Now you are all set to make those big decisions.  Look for these features when you’re shopping, and you’ll be able to make a smart decision.  If you’re like us, you’ll probably realize that once you start going down that road, there’s no turning back, and you’ll end up with a Cadillac.  In that case, here’s a tip: ask for a floor model at the store.  A couple scratches and a dent can save you hundreds of dollars.