May 17 2010
The Wine Enthusiast 48Bottle 2 Zone Wine Cellar
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Two doors. One side for your reds. One for your whites. It all adds up to total convenience! Not to mention style, a black cabinet with stainless steel doors, and tempered glass. 48 bottle capacity* Silent thermoelectric cooling Dual temperature zones with digital display Doors lock individually for protection Eco-friendly; releases no gaseous refrigerants; energy efficient 14 stainless steel-trimmed pull-out shelves Interior lights Free standing only Size: 33-1/4H w/hinge x 27-1/2W x 22-1/2D w/handle *Note: Shelving is meant to hold standard 750 mL size bottles, using larger Pinot Noir/Rhone size bottles may limit the capacity. If you would like to store larger bottles you can easily remove any of the shelves. This will also prevent scraping the labels on the larger bottles. Applications: This model is not meant to be built-in to cabinetry, recessed or put underneath a counter. Additionally this model is not meant to be used in an enclosed area. While the back of the unit does produce a minimal amount of heat, it still needs to vent to an open area ....read more
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Too Many Negatives…
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
Pros:
1) 2 sides so you can keep different temps
2) Looks nice
3) Quieter than compressor ‘cellars’
4) Keeps temperature
Cons:
1) Doesn’t fit 48 bottles
2) Pinot bottles don’t easily fit
3) Racks scrape labels
4) Light only illuminates top 2 rows
5) Doesn’t get as cold as documented/advertised
I read all reviews before purchasing and knew going in about the first 4 `Cons’ I’ve listed, but I was okay with that. What I had not read anywhere was `Con’# 5 (the unit’s inability to get as cold as documented), so I will focus on that…
First things first, the manufacturer (Wine Enthusiast) states the internal temperature range is 50 – 66 F +/- 7 degrees. Although they state the proper temperature for both whites and reds is between 53 and 57 I have to disagree. I have read and discussed with many `wine enthusiasts’ (wine makers, store owners, and drinkers) the proper chilling temp for white is 45 – 47 F. I `assumed’ (bad idea) that I could set each side at 50 F and expect to have the lower sections reach 43 F. Therefore I could chill whites on the lower shelves and reds on the upper shelves. I figured this would meet my needs and decided to purchase the unit.
I ordered the fridge from Amazon and received it within days. I anxiously unpacked it, plugged it in, set the temp to 50 F on both sides, placed a couple tester bottles in it from my other chiller and waited. 24 hours later I grabbed the bottles and tested the bottle temp (using an infrared thermometer – used to test surface temperature). To my surprise the lower bottles on each side were only 54 – 55 F, while the upper bottles were as warm as 59 F. Thinking my gun needed calibration I decided to test the internal temp of the unit. I placed two thermometers at the bottom of the left side (one digital and one analog/liquid) and waited another 24 hours. I checked each thermometer and sure enough the left side was only getting as low as 54 degrees (I repeated the test on the right side, same results).
I phoned Wine Enthusiast and they told me to unplug the unit, wait a couple hours, and plug it back in to `reset’ the thermostat. I did that and conducted the same test (with all three thermometers) 24 hours later and received the exact same results. I called back the next day and spoke to a technical representative who said possibly a board was bad and they would ship me another unit.
The shipment came about a week later and again I conducted the same tests. This time the temperature range was 51 – 53 F (lower section to upper section, respectively). I checked the temperature over the next several days and it never wavered (51 F lower section, 53 F upper section – both sides). So although the temperature was steady it was not cold enough to truly `chill’ white wine.
After contemplating my options I decided to keep the unit and store only reds in it. I think it would be fine for storing whites as well but not for chilling. I have another unit that goes as low as 41 (actually tested at 37 F) so I use that for my whites and the Wine Enthusiast for my reds.
Solutions for common issues:
To resolve pinot bottle storage, I remove the top rack and store pinot bottles on the next available rack (only 2 per side will fit comfortably) but this reduces total capacity by 8 bottles. The top rack is pretty much useless due to its proximity to the thermostat anyway.
To resolve the scraping, I use a 3 – 2 – 3 configuration. I flip every other rack upside down and this prevents scraping (but it reduces the storage capacity by another 6 bottles).
Bottom Line, there are a lot of bargain wine `cellars’ out there and from what I’ve read all have issues. However, I would not recommend this one to anyone wanting to chill whites. If you only want to store reds then maybe this is for you, but don’t be fooled into thinking it can store anywhere near 48 bottles (I think the total is closer to 32).
Arrived Damaged – twice
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Item was delivered 15 days after it was ordered only to arrive damaged (looked like it was dropped a couple times). The doors didn’t shut and the top was bent. After being on hold for 20 min, they were gracious enough to re-ship another unit but did not allow for the option to expedite shipping or change to a different carrier. The second item arrived 21 days later and was in worse condition than the first. The doors were ajar and the entire back was bent in. After another 30 minute telephone conversation, they agreed to refund the purchase price but were not going to refund the $85 shipping until I requested it. Very frustrating experience.