OT: Wine Cellars / Coolers

[Ozz]

A couple years ago my wife gave me a 16 bottle Vinotemp wine cooler for Xmas...it was cheap, but seemed like a choice for storing the couple of really nice bottles I have.

Well, it died during the past heat wave we had here in Seattle, I had to move my nice bottles back to the basement bathroom shower ( :cool: ).

I also seem to be buying nice wine faster than I am drinking it....

Anyway, anyone have recommendations on replacing the dead unit with a nicer one? Probably looking for a 50 to 75 bottle unit....would like to keep the purchase uner $1000. Or, is it worth it just renting a wine storage space? There is company that does this just down the street from me...under the local grocery store.

As usual, thoughts, opinions and rants welcome.

Cheers.

:beer:

[znfdl]

I built my own wine cellar and put in a wine cooling unit for about $1K. It can hold about 20 cases.

check out: www.wineenthusiast.com

http://www.wineenthusiast.com/breezaire-wk-2200-wine-cellar-cooling-unit-(max-room-size-=-265-cu-ft).asp

[djg]

One thing to keep in mind -- an advantage for some, a disadvantage for others, and maybe a little bit of both for lots of us -- is that you'll buy wine to fill whatever cellar or cooler you acquire (buy or build or whatever).

I have Vinotemp's "60 bottle" model (60 is a stretch really -- I'd say it holds 4 cases of wine, not 5, although you can get a little more or less in there depending on the particular bottles). I always had a couple of cases put away, plus a few bottles here and there. Now I've got a full vinotemp, plus a few more bottles here and there. It's pretty common.

The unit is fine -- the wire racks can mess up some labels if you're not careful, but the temperature control seems pretty good and it's relatively quiet. You can build something nicer -- certainly larger -- for a reasonable amount of money but functionally I have no complaints. If the unit is not going to be on display, it's worth checking for their scratch and dent sales. I bought direct from the factory via fleabay and I think I paid less than half of retail and got free shipping as well. There's a small ding on the side, but it's not much and doesn't matter at all in the basement.