When choosing a wine cooler, it is crucial to know your way around their various parameters. You may be wondering about the right place to put your wine cooler, what size to buy, the difference between single-zone and two-zone coolers and its energy consumption. We can advise on which wine cooler will be best for you and how to use it properly.
Choose a wine cooler according to how many bottles of wine you want or need to cool at once. The size of the cooler will often be stated in the number of bottles. In the menu you will find:
This parameter is reflected not only in the price, but also in operating costs. According to the method of cooling, we divide wine coolers into:
Wine bottles are stored in the wine cooler on the shelves in a horizontal position to prevent the corks from drying out, so that air does not get into the bottle and the wine does not "spoil". The shelves are manufactured in two variants:
The width of the cooler also determines the number of wine bottles that can be stored on one shelf. You will most often come across wine coolers with a capacity of 3 to 13 bottles per shelf. To avoid the hassle of counting how many bottles you store per shelf and therefore how many shelves you need, the manufacturers state this number for you.
TIP: Do you often drink half a bottle of wine and save the rest? Then choose from wine coolers with space to store an open bottle or carafe.
Whether you choose a built-in or free-standing cooler for your home, pay attention to its location.
If you plan to place your wine cooler on top of another piece of furniture (like a table or counter top) . We recommend that you first check the furniture’s load capacity and select the appliance accordingly. It is important to take into account not only the weight of the appliance itself, but also the weight of the wines stored.
An important criterion when choosing a wine cooler is design. This depends not only on your taste, but also the style of the area in which the cooler will be located.
The number of cooler zones is directly proportional to the number of types of wine you plan to store your cooler. How many different wine cooler zones are there on the market and what are their benefits?
The most affordable are single-zone coolers. Second are two-zone coolers and the most expensive multi-zone coolers. The differences between these are several thousands of CZK. So it is important to be clear in advance what wine you will store in the future.
TIP: Bazaar will provide you with coolers at a cheaper price. Here you will find second-hand wine coolers of various types in excellent condition and with a guarantee.
Wine coolers are just like refrigerators or freezer appliances that run all day. They cool 24 hours a day, so it is necessary to take into account a certain level of energy consumption.
The energy label and energy classes will outline what operating costs to take into account when running a wine cooler. The most economical coolers will be marked with the letter A (or A + or A ++), coolers marked G consume the most energy.
What information can you find on the energy label of wine coolers?
1 – Manufacturer, model
2 – Energy class
3 – Color range of energy classes
4 – Annual energy consumption
5 – Maximum noise level
6 – Capacity (number of standard bottles)
7 – Regulation number
TIP: To get a better idea of the energy consumption of the wine cooler, you can calculate the approximate operating costs.
Example of the calculation of the daily and annual energy consumption of a wine cooler with a capacity of about 20 bottles
Energy class | Annual consumption in kWh* | Costs in CZK / day** | Costs in CZK / year** |
---|---|---|---|
A+, A++ | 106 | 1,39 | 509 |
A | 140 | 1,84 | 672 |
B | 171 | 2,25 | 821 |
C | 226 | 2,97 | 1 085 |
* You will find the annual consumption in kWh on the energy label, which you will find on every wine cooler.
** Calculated with the price of CZK 4.80 / kWh.
*** The energy consumption of the wine cooler is affected by the ambient temperature, the size of the usable volume, the type of compressor and other parameters.
Energy consumption is also often affected by the ambient temperature around the cooler. The warmer it is around the wine cooler, the more the cooler will have to cool (and therefore consume more energy) to keep the wines at optimum temperature. That is why wine coolers, as well as refrigerators or freezers, are designed according to different climatic conditions and divided accordingly into climatic classes.
The climate class indicates the optimal ambient temperature at which the wine cooler will operate. We distinguish four climatic classes for wine coolers:
Some wine coolers may operate well across several climate classes.
Are you planning to place your new wine cooler in the living room or another room that you normally spend a lot of time in? Then don't forget to take its noise levels into account when making your choice. The operating noise of the appliance should not be a disturbance/ irritating.
We already know that wine coolers with a thermoelectric cell are noisier and coolers with compressor cooling are less noisy. The fewer dB (decibels), the quieter the wine cooler will be. You can find the noise level of the wine cooler on the energy label.
To give you an idea of how loud the wine shop will be, here are a few day to day examples of noise levels:
If you have been looking in vain for a place to put a wine cooler, do not despair. There are coolers with a width of 15 cm currently on the market that will fit into any household. These narrow coolers are usually able to store between 1 to 7 bottles of wine and the bottles are placed horizontally on top of each other (one bottle per shelf).
The more space you have, the more you have to choose from. Think about how many bottles you want to store (some wine coolers can hold over 300 bottles of wine) and carefully measure the place where you want to place the cooler. Then all you have to do is choose the ideal wine cooler for your home.
With certain wine coolers you will find useful accessories that will provide you with better user comfort.
The lighting inside the wine cooler must not overheat the bottles. If you do not need to have the cooler lit all the time, you will appreciate lighting which is activated by touch (Touchlight). This will allow you to illuminate the wine cooler area for the required time it takes you to choose a suitable bottle without having to open the cooler. The original interior accessory is a wine cooler with LED lighting, which is constantly lit and does not heat up.
Displays the currently set temperature, humidity and other important information about the wine cooler.
The sun's rays contribute significantly to the degradation of wine. Therefore, choose wine coolers with a UV filter in the glass door panel. The glass can then be clear, but the bottles inside are protected from the sun.
You can also lock some wine cooler models. As a result, unauthorized persons or children cannot access the wines inside.
Often referred to as antiBacteria, it removes unwanted bacteria inside the cooler
The supercooling function makes it possible to reduce the temperature in the wine cooler for a short time so that the temperature of the wine inside the bottles is optimized faster.
The Airfreshfilter function neutralizes unwanted odors inside the wine cooler and keeps the air fresh at all times.
Moisture is especially important for the proper sealing properties of the cork stopper. It is ideal when in the range of 50-70%. As soon as the humidity inside the cooler drops below 50%, you run the risk of the cork drying out, air getting into the wine and the wine becoming oxidized. Long-term humidity above 70%, on the other hand, can cause mold and odors inside the wine cooler. The odors can then penetrate through the cork into the bottle and degrade the wine. The walls and shelves of the wine cooler allow you to keep the humidity inside at optimum level.
A constant temperature without large fluctuations is important for the storage of wines. That is why it is not advisable to store wines in the classic refrigerator, which you go to several times a day for food. The maximum fluctuation should not be more than 2 ° C to plus and minus. What temperature is optimal for which wine?
Optimal temperature for wine storage
Type of wine | Ideal temperature |
---|---|
White | 7-12 °C |
Red | 15-18 °C |
Rosé | 7-12 °C |
Sparkling | 5-7 °C |
Sparkling | 8-10 °C |
If you are cooling more than one type of wine, get a multi-zone wine cooler, see Wine cooler parameters - Number of zones.
Minor shocks that you often don't even noticel can disrupt the maturation of the wine and even devalue it. Vibrations prevent the slow formation of deposits, which dissolve in the wine. And while young wines resist vibrations, mature and usually expensive wines can be irreversibly damaged by them.
If you plan to store mature wines in your new wine cooler for a long time, choose coolers equipped with rubber stands, vibration protection, wooden shelves and, in the case of compressor cooling, also special rubber silent blocks.
Built-in wine coolers are increasingly becoming an integral part of modern kitchens. They fit perfectly into the interior and at first glance are indistinguishable from other electrical appliances. When choosing a design, you will only be interested in the front of the cooler, which should match other appliances in your home. The rest of the wine cooler will be hidden in the furniture.
Freestanding wine coolers are perfect for storing your wine in a living room or other living area. Three sides are usually visible, so appearance plays an important role. On the market you will find stainless steel and black coolers, but also a very popular colorful retro style, which forms an unmissable but elegant feature of the room.
Antibacterial protection is a coating with an active substance on the inner walls of a wine cooler, which stops the metabolism of microorganisms (bacteria, fungi), and thus prevents their growth and multiplication. Thanks to antibacterial protection (antiBacteria), bacteria and fungi cannot be transferred to stored wine. This applies throughout the life of the wine shop.
Supercooling is a function that allows you to temporarily reduce the temperature inside the cooler so that the temperature of the wine in the bottles is optimized faster.
AirFreshFilter is a system that neutralizes unwanted odors inside the wine cooler and keeps the air fresh at all times without having to change it during the life of the appliance.
Glossary