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auroraborelis

Help me pick a full size built in wine fridge!

auroraborelis
11 years ago

I'm looking for a full size wine built in wine fridge that is quiet and well insulated and I'm having trouble finding any reviews.

Any suggestions? Ideally I'd like to keep it under $5000, so that takes out the Wolf ones.

Thanks!

Comments (5)

  • deeageaux
    11 years ago

    The best options are

    Thermador Freedom Collection T24IW800SP $5500
    Thermador Freedom Collection T18IW800SP $4900
    Liebherr WS14300 $4800
    Marvel Professional Series MPRO66WCMBSG $4400

    The Thermdor 24" and 18" are excellent fridges but are available as custom panel only, no SS. The thing some people are not very pleased about is that they are made by Bosch in a Bosch owned plant in Turkey.

    Liebherr is an excellent 3 temperature wine fridge for red,white,and champagne made in Austria. But it is freestanding.It is 27" deep so if you choose to install in cabinet opening it will stick out 3". Plus it needs 2.5" clearance above top of fridge. You can have cabinet guy build custom wood grill/vent.

    Marvel is excellent at holding temps but this is really two stacked compact units .Made in USA. Many find this fridge to be LOUD. Most think noise reduction is adequate.

    You are really fighting diseconomy of scale. Very small market for these fridges make them very expensive.

    So the only built-in,quiet,and well insulated full size fridge is the 18" Thermador.

    BTW Wolf does not make refrigerators. Its sister brand,Sub-Zero,makes refrigerators.

  • auroraborelis
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks for the rundown! I appreciate it. I know, such a small market drives prices up.

    I wish the Thermador was actually branded as bosch - I'm ordering my dishwasher and stovetop at the moment with some fantastic rebates :) I've actually seen pictures of it with SS so it seems possible... Seems to be an extra $500 here http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/WFI1061.html

    What about summit, northland and vinotemp?

    And is it okay to install this next to my double ovens>

  • deeageaux
    11 years ago

    Summit is louder than Marvel IMO.

    Northland has the worst reputation when it comes to noise.
    It is also an energy hog. But they do keep rock solid temps and they tend to last forever.Well....

    Vinotemp is the Vizio of wine refrigeration.

    It is more an assembler of different components from various manufactures than an actual manufacturer.

    When they say "made in the USA" it is the bare minimum US content to meet the legal requirements. Ditto for "assembled and designed in the USA."

    They have Made in the USA ,assembled and designed in the USA and Made in the PRC aka Peoples Republic of China products. Generally, the critical parts like compressors are made in China.

    I know there are quality items made in China like Apple Iphones and Nike Air Jordan sneakers. They are usually American/European/Japanese companies with long track records for quality.

    Vinotemp IMO does not fall into that category. Even if HQ'd in So California for almost 20 years.

    Not ideal to put wine fridge next to double ovens but I think most manufactures Ok as long as there is a heat shield between the two appliances. Cabinet guys/Contractors should be familiar with that stuff.

  • phiwwy
    11 years ago

    Have you checked Wine Enthusiast? They sell Eurocaves, very quiet and the best. This is what they do! We have one (not built in) and we love it. It's 13 years old, never a problem!

  • auroraborelis
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Hmm... I can't find a built in version of the Eurocave. I do have an old Eurocave in my garage (there isn't much temp fluctuation where I live so it can survive there). I actually bought it used on CL for $500! I have no idea how old it is, but it works well, however I need more storage space and I'm really hoping to get a built in model in my new kitchen.

    The only option for built in wine fridge from Wine Enthusiast are N'Finity, which don't have the insulation we are looking for, and I beleive they are quite noisy!