Drinking a glass of your best red or white wine undoubtedly makes your soul happy. According to this study, wine is rich in antioxidants that can benefit your heart health. But, you can only enjoy your glass of wine when you take it fresh, meaning you need to store it in the best temperature zones. If not sure how to do this, we recommend getting the best freestanding wine coolers to preserve wine in.
A freestanding wine cooler is easy to work with as you don't have to build it into your beautiful kitchen cabinets. Instead, you can find space for it on your kitchen counter or floor.
Freestanding wine coolers have the best features to keep your wines fresh and fun to drink. We tested the best wine fridges in the market to come up with a reliable list of seven we recommend buying today. But, before you start looking at repurposing the best side-by-side refrigerators, here are a few reasons why owning a wine cooler is important.
Why is a Wine Fridge Important?
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Whether you want to take white or red wines, serving them at their ideal temperatures is the most important thing. Sure, it was long the best habit to serve red wines at room temperature, but this is not always possible with the ever-rising temperatures in most places that would leave the drink warm. Not refrigerating any wine can be terrible, especially when you want to serve your best collection to guests.
While you can store your wines in a standard or counter-depth fridge, you will likely struggle to maintain the best temperature zones they require. For example, white wines are generally served colder than red wines, and even if you want to store only one type of wine, it will still be hard to find the best temperature range to keep it and other food items in the fridge fresh.
Wines are living drinks that require controlled light, air/humidity, and temperature ranges for the best tastes. These are three elements you cannot guarantee with a standard fridge that stores other food items and that also gets opened many times. So, for the best wine storage, you will want to look for a good wine fridge or wine cellar.
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A wine cellar is an ultimate appliance that any wine enthusiast would want to have in the house. It is designed for storing wines only, so you can be assured of the right temperatures, light and air. Even more importantly, this wine fridge uses special shelves that are able to accommodate the various sizes of wine bottles in the right positions and placements.
Also, wine fridges are available in different sizes which makes it easier for you to scale up the number of wines in the fridge as you would want. Further, as you won’t be opening it very often more to interfere with the temperatures.
But, you will have to know the proper temperature to serve various red and white wines respectively. By this, you can find a wine cooler to meet the type of wine you enjoy most or find one with two separate compartments for storing wines at different temperatures. The latter is supposed to have temperature control for the reds and the whites separately at the back.
What Are the Best Temperature Ranges for Wines?
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As mentioned above, different wines need different storage temperatures to enable the best flavors as well as encourage aging. Therefore, when purchasing your best wine fridges, it’s important to know how to store your particular bottles so that you do not have to either put your wine in ice or leave it on the counter long enough before it cools to the perfect taste.
To understand the best storage temperatures for your wines, the first thing to determine is your wine's chemical composition. There is always that one quality about each type of wine that defines how cold it has to be served. For example, white wine must contain good acidity and the red one must give a sweet aftertaste.
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Regardless of the type of red or white wine you want to take, serving at the wrong temperature range can mute and not accentuate its qualities. With these facts in mind, below are the ideal temperature for storage and consumption of red and white wines.
- White and rose wines are recommended to be stored at 45F & 60F. However, it is better to learn about the flavors you want to retain in your food or beverage product. For instance full bodied white as Burgundy, Chardonnay, or California are best served at 50°F—60°F while light bodied white such as Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio should be served at 45°F—50°F.
- The preferred storage temperature of sparkling wines is 40 Fahrenheit and 50 Fahrenheit temperature. Besides, these wines contain a higher level of CO 2 which remains trapped intact in cold temperatures. Like the white wines, the champagnes which are a bit heavier and fuller in bodied require to be served slightly above 50°F while the light sparkling wines such as Prosecco are best served slightly below 40°F.
- Of all types of wines, red wines require a constant temperature of 55°F – 65°F for optimum preservation. Red wines for example are preferably served at room temperature and so understanding the flavors will avert serving of unappetizing red wine or warm red wine. When stocking your cellar, avoid exposing full-bodied wines such as Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon at a temperature, which is cooler than 65°F. Further, light bodied reds such as Cabernet Franc of the Loire Valley, should be stored around 55°F to retain acidity.
- You can keep wines such as Madeira and Port in temperature range of 60°F – 65°F. However, these fuller bodied wine in the red had to retain the rather potent flavors and at room temperature or slightly less.
Now that you understand why and how to properly store the finest wines, below are some of the current top rated wine fridges on the market.
1. Schmecke 12 Bottle Compressor Wine Cooler
- TEMPERATURE STABILITY - Schmecke wine coolers’ compressor...
- PRESERVE WINE’S FULLEST FLAVOR & AROMA - Set the temperature...
- UV-RESISTANT DOUBLE-PANED THERMOPANE GLASS - A double-paned glass...
- SOFT INTERIOR LIGHTING - Turn on the energy-efficient LED light...
- REMOVABLE RACKS & EASY-TO-USE TOUCH CONTROLS - Rearrange the...
If you don't need the best dual zone fridges, then this Schmecke is another single zone model we can recommend. This model is also designed to accommodate up to 12 bottles and has the dimensions of 17.72 x 9.92 x 31.18 inches to occupy minimum space on a floor or a counter as well. It will chill your finest wines within their optimal temperatures of 41°F to 64°F but needs you to discover an ideal temperature for storing your reds and whites.
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The modern wine fridge comes with a thermopane as well as a UV resistant door that has a perfect seal to ensure that the wine cellar temperature is well regulated. We felt that programming the Thermostat through the digital control panel was rather easy, not forgetting the LED lighting, which makes it easy to access the stored bottles.
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2. Kalamera 46 Bottle Dual Zone Wine Fridge
- ★DUAL ZONE THERMOSTAT:Upper zone ranges from 40-50°F, and...
- ★TEMPERATURE MEMORY FUNCTION: These small wine & beverage...
- ★STAINLESS STEEL & WHITE AIR OUTLET: Special stainless steel...
- ★LARGE CAPACITY FOR WINE BOTTLE: This mini wine fridge holds up...
- ★VERSATILE INSTALLATION: Takes just 23.4 x 33 x 22.4 inches of...
If you require additional bottle storage as you want a traditional wine cellar in a basement but cannot afford it, we tried this Kalamera unit for you since it can accommodate up to forty-six wine bottles. This freestanding unit measures 23. 4 x 33 x 22. 4 inches, taking the least amount of space on the floor or counter.
This wine refrigerator has two wine storage compartments and two temperature controls which you can use to type in different temperatures for the dense red wines and the sharp white wines. Also, it uses compressor cooling technology that makes it operate without producing any noise or vibrations. This Kalamera unit comes with beechwood wine shelves and each bottle has its own space, they do not need to be stacked.
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We found that the upper maintained temperature of 40-50°F, suitable for the white wines while the larger and lower section was appropriate for the red wine bottles at 50-66°F. We also especially enjoyed the temperature memory function that brings back the measures of temperature taken away when one is removing wine bottles.
The wine fridge met all the expectations in terms of placement and temperature but we still needed to make sure that it would block a lot of light and humidity which slows down wine aging. Fortunately, it has a stainless steel frame, white outlet and double layered reinforced glass door to manage the light and humidity.
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3. Ivation 12 Bottle Compressor Wine Cooler
- TEMPERATURE STABILITY - Ivation wine coolers’ compressor...
- PRESERVE WINE’S FULLEST FLAVOR & AROMA - Set the temperature...
- UV-RESISTANT DOUBLE-PANED THERMOPANE GLASS - A double-paned glass...
- SOFT INTERIOR LIGHTING - Turn on the energy-efficient LED light...
- REMOVABLE RACKS & EASY-TO-USE TOUCH CONTROLS - Rearrange the...
When buying the best wine fridges, you need to ensure the outside heat won't penetrate the wine bottles as that will limit the variations of temperature inside the unit required in the aging of wine. This Ivation wine cooler specifically ensures this temperature characteristic and entails a setting variation between 41°F and 64°F that is perfect for usage with red and white wines respectively.
On this we did not particularly care much for the single zone temperature range it provides for the wines and therefore makes it slightly ineffective when storing red and white wines respectively. However, it is the best wine cooler for you in case you wish to store only one kind of wine.
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It is a compact wine cooler that has dimensions of 9.92”W x 17.72”D x 31.18”H to help you save space on your counters or floor. More than that, new plastic design where exterior part is glossy black and double-paned UV-resistant glass door makes an addition of style to your interior.
A good wine cooler keeps external light at a minimum to guarantee wine aging. This one has LED light installed therefore it provides adequate lighting to the bottles once you require it. It also came with scalloped and adjustable wine racks with bottle retrieval that does not unsettle the wines and affects labels, and a digital control panel that can set the best wine conditions.
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4. Koolatron Urban Series 12 Bottle Wine Cooler
- Affordable Luxury: This elegant freestanding wine fridge holds up...
- Simple Controls: User-friendly controls let you easily select...
- Freestanding Convenience: You can place this compact freestanding...
- UV Protective Glass Door: Double-paned mirrored glass door...
- Reliable Efficient Cooling: Eco-friendly thermoelectric...
This Koolatron Urban mini wine fridge is one of the best freestanding coolers. The wine cooler has a capacity of 12-bottle and this has a dimension of 10 x 19.5 x 25 inch and works with the thermoelectric cooling technology that is eco-friendly compared to Freon and CFCs; with this type of wine cooler you can store your wines at 46°F-66°F.
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The wine fridge is not very large and has height adjustable feet meaning that it can be rolled around and positioned in various areas which can be plugged into. It also boasts of adjustability helves with scallops that safely hold standard wine bottles in their shape. It is capable of preserving whites and reds separately, but the ideal rage must be found to ensure full aromas are retained.
This unit was easy to operate through the smart touch controls for the unit to set temperatures and to toggle on/off the soft LED lights. It also has a sleek design which entails a UV resistant double glass pane door.
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5. Koolatron 6 Bottle Refrigerator Black Thermoelectric Wine cooler
The Koolatron 6-Bottle Thermoelectric Wine Cooler is a great unit for people who have little space for their wines. Its thermoelectric cooling mechanism means the system operates quietly and without any vibration good for the quality of red, white, or sparkling wines. Free-standing is ideal to be used in compact kitchens, flats, or even in trailer and recreational vehicles as it saves space couple this with style.
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The Koolatron 6-Bottle Wine Cooler is another great product for those who need a wine cooler for a home or office and doesn’t require a large capacity. However, it won’t be enough for those who have more extensive collections or if you have complicated requirements on how to store different kinds of wine.
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Factors to Consider Before Buying Your Best Wine Fridges
A wine fridge is a long-term investment for wine, therefore; it is wise to consider the best features of the product before getting to any of the wine coolers. Here are some factors that we deem crucial when choosing the best wine coolers.
a) Size
It’s important that you know where you should place your freestanding wine cooler before you make the purchase in order to save yourself some trouble later. For instance, if you lack enough floor space, then you may consider shopping for a fridges that can be stored on countertops.
b) Bottle Capacity
One of the important things to look at when selecting a wine cooler is the storage capacity. You have to decide the number of bottles you want to keep at one time. The feature also refers to the capacity of the whole unit where the capacity of cooler means the number of bottles it can contain and since more bottles signify a larger cooler, the size such a cooler will be large.
c) Cooling Technology
All wine coolers use thermoelectric or compressor cooling technology that makes your wine bottles to be cold. Both have proven to be efficient, however they are more advantageous compared to each other.
The thermoelectric cooler technology is the most environmentally friendly and least noisy as it is made of fewer components. Said that, the compressor cooling technology is more accurate when one needs to keep a certain temperature range.
d) Temperature Range
When planning to purchase a wine cooler, you have to figure out the temperature required for wine collections. In general, whites and roses and sparkling wines are stored and served a tad cold because their acids need to remain strong, while reds and fortifieds are stored and served just slightly above temperature because their sugars need to be intact.
So, whenever you are searching for the right freestanding wine coolers the following is how to go about it. For instance, if you take or serve more whites than reds, then it may be most appropriate to look for a unit that can lower temperatures dramatically. You can also search for the best dual zone wine coolers that will let you store whites and reds at different temperatures.
