Preserve what matters most with a wine fridge. Engineered to defeat the enemies of wine, including temperature, humidity, light, and vibration, wine fridges are meant to generate a consistent temperature between 50 and 65 degrees to properly store and age your wine—and, in the end, highlight their true qualities and full flavors. Wine fridges are typically designed with a frame around a glass-panel door and are often seen as a symbol of luxury among frequent hosts and merlot enthusiasts alike. Additionally, wine fridges vary in terms of size and installation options, offering flexibility to those who prefer a discreet cellar built into their kitchen island or collectors that want a wine column that spans the height of the wall.
At a Glance
Check out our buying guide to help you find the best wine fridge for your storage needs.
The Best Wine Fridges: Our Top Picks
Your friends in the business at Spencer’s TV & Appliance compiled a list of our best wine fridges—from home-appliance brands you know and love.
✓ Whirlpool 24” Stainless Steel Undercounter Wine Center (WUW35X24DS) ‒ Store up to 54 bottles of your favorite reds and whites in this Whirlpool wine fridge. Custom temperature selection allows you to store wine the way you prefer. Plus, you’ll find just what you are looking for with bright LED interior lighting. Best of all, this undercounter wine cooler blends seamlessly with your existing kitchen design, thanks to the sleek towel-bar handle.
✓ KitchenAid 24” Black Stainless Steel Frame Wine Cooler (KUWL314KBS) ‒ Impressively, this KitchenAid wine fridge can host up to 46 standard Bordeaux-size bottles while two temperature-controlled zones let you separate your red and white wines to store them at the temperature you enjoy. Motion-activated LED lighting turns on as you approach, making it easy to see what’s inside. If that’s not enough, sensors monitor temperatures above 70 degrees—and if the system detects this temperature for more than 4 hours, an over-temp alarm and indicator light will alert you that service is needed. To top things off, the fully flush installation with hidden hinges provides that built-in look you’ve always wanted.
✓ Café 4.7 Cu. Ft. Platinum Glass Wine Center (CCR06DM2PS5) ‒ This wine center from Café keeps wine at the perfect serving temperature so that you’re always prepared to entertain guests. On the outside, this dual-zone wine cooler showcases a stunningly modern platinum-glass finish, which, lucky for you, is as easy to clean as it is on the eyes. On the inside, a bright LED light wall spans the back panel, illuminating the interior so every item is easy to find. Its capacity is large enough for 46 bottles, with magnum bottle storage that accommodates up to eight 1.5-liter bottles of wine without scratching the label or sacrificing sacred shelf space. But that’s not all! Built-in WiFi allows you to control the unit remotely, too—all from the SmartHQ app on your phone or tablet.
✓ Frigidaire 21.5” Stainless Steel Wine Cooler (FFWC3822QS) ‒ This Frigidaire wine fridge allows you to set the temperature anywhere between 41 to 64 degrees, holding it precisely to your exact specifications. As far as capacity goes, it holds up to 38 bottles of your favorite vino, even allowing you to store red, white, and sparkling wines separately to ensure each is kept at the appropriate temperature for the fullest flavor. Pro tip: Store your whites and bubblies at a temperature between 41 to 54 and store your reds at a temperature between 55 and 64.
What to Look for When Buying a Wine Fridge
✓ Freestanding vs built-in ‒ With fully finished exterior paneling, freestanding wine fridges are designed to look aesthetically pleasing anywhere they are placed. Freestanding units require about three inches of clearance around the unit for ventilation or else run the risk of overheating. By contrast, built-in wine fridges are designed to fit flush against cabinetry. Built-in units are typically more expensive, as these front-venting coolers are also designed to adequately ventilate without overheating.
✓ Column vs undercounter ‒ If you have a sizable collection of wines, you might be interested in a wine-preservation column, a built-in wine fridge that can span the full height of a wall. Due to its larger size, a column can host a third temperature zone, but most impressively, many models can hold up to 150 bottles of wine. That said, undercounter wine fridges are nothing to scoff at. Available as a freestanding or built-in appliance, an undercounter wine cellar is just you need for entertaining guests in the kitchen or sports den. A 24-inch undercounter wine cooler can hold up to 46 bottles.
✓ Compressor vs thermoelectric ‒ Compressor wine fridges make use of refrigerator technology we are familiar with—compressing air and releasing it to reduce the temperature of the interior of the appliance and then using a small fan to distribute the cold air throughout. A thermoelectric wine fridge incorporates a metal rod that is electrolyzed to create a temperature differential; the heated end faces the exterior to expel energy from the system while the cooler end faces the interior. A thermoelectric wine fridge also uses a small fan to disperse cold air throughout the box.
✓ Single-zone vs dual-zone ‒ With a single-zone wine fridge, you can expect one temperature to be disbursed and maintained throughout the entire box, chilling all your bottles to the same level. The cooling mechanism that runs a single-zone wine cooler can either be compressor- or thermoelectric-based since it would only keep one set temperature. Just like its single-zone counterpart, a dual-zone wine fridge can use compressor-based or thermoelectric-based cooling, but there may be some variance. With compressor cooling, it is likely that two different mechanisms will be used to chill both zones individually, but with thermoelectric cooling, you will need to replace the thermoelectric rod in the separate compartments.
Related: Small Fridge, Big Impact: Mini Fridges, Wine Coolers, and Beverage Centers
Premium Wine Fridge Features
- LED lighting ‒ Not only is this type of interior lighting helpful when viewing and selecting from your inventory of wines, but it also doesn’t give off heat, further safeguarding your collection.
- Adjustable racks ‒ For better organization (and view into your stock), you can look out for wine fridges that have sliding racks and shelves.
- Safety lock ‒ Available in select models, a safety lock will keep children, underage adults, and thieves from accessing your wine.
- WiFi connectivity ‒ If your wine fridge is smart-compatible, you can monitor and control temperatures from a connected app on your smart device. Capabilities vary between brands.
Related: Wine Cooler or Beverage Center: Which to Choose?
Best Wine Fridge Brands
Frigidaire
Offering undercounter wine coolers that can store anywhere between 24 to 52 bottles, this entry-level brand won’t force you to break the bank in the pursuit of luxury. Frigidaire wine fridges are stocked with LED interior lighting, easy-to-use electronic controls, and single-zone cooling.
Sub-Zero
If your budget can afford it, Sub-Zero wine fridges bring the pleasure of wine into any room with a variety of sizes ranging from 18 to 30 inches wide. Sub-Zero also gives you your choice of undercounter or column styles, built-in or freestanding installations, and stainless-steel or panel-ready finishes. In terms of capacity, Sub Zero stocks options that can house 46 to 147 bottles of your favorite reds, whites, and rosés.
Thermador
Another high-end maker on our list, Thermador stocks wine-storage solutions that include built-in preservation columns and undercounter cellars. Thermador wine fridges primarily consist of 24-inch undercounter models with an astounding 41-bottle capacity and 18- to 24-inch columns that can hold anywhere between 58 to 99 bottles. Most impressively, higher-end wine columns even feature three cooling zones!
Related: Keeping Up with Thermador [Brand Guide]
U-Line
Where there’s compact refrigeration, there’s a U-Line appliance in tow. For the best wine fridges money can buy, we turn to this industry titan of refrigeration. Boasting luxe features like convection cooling, quiet operation, full-width wine racks, and the volume to store between 24 and 48, U-Line wine fridges will keep your bottles adequately chilled, thanks to customizable temperatures you can set to as low as 34 degrees and as high as 60 degrees.
Shop Wine Fridges at Spencer’s
As always, don’t forget to shop local! Be sure to scour our catalog for the best wine fridges on the market, and if you have other questions about any of our top-rated refrigeration products, don’t hesitate to call or visit your friends in the business at Spencer’s TV & Appliance. Proud to have served our customers since 1973, we have 10 locations in the Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Glendale regions. Call or visit us today!