hi guys My wife has decided we need a wine fridge, as we now have a lot of wine at home. Personally, I think it means we just need to drink more Do people have any recommendations? Or brands to avoid? @Matty01 any suggestions? Thanks Daniel
Aldi have them during special sales. A mate of mine who is a wine nut has one at the beach house and he's quite happy with it.
Also keen to hear what @Matty01 thinks. My wife wants the same I'd keep Reds in it too, that makes her grumpy.
Whites go in the regular fridge...sry unless they are a warm drinking white. Reds should be cellar temp not cold!!!!
That's why Daniel needs a wine fridge. Cellar temp in Canberra in Winter is near freezing. Most wine fridges keep the wine at the required temp whatever the ambient temp is.
I have a Sub-Zeroin the kitchen. The top and bottom can be set to different temps for your whites and reds. In the basement I have a big Eurocave wine fridge, which is a bit nicer
Well, in Queensland wine that's sitting at 30C or more doesn't taste very good and goes off quickly. I much prefer an over-chilled red that's going to come up to room temp fairly fast anyhow
Plenty of good brands, I have a Vintec, though not all of their models are created equal. http://www.kitchenerwinecabinets.com.au/ are Aussie and do good stuff. Key is to have an external compressor ... minimising both vibration amd volume very important. If you want to get really nerdy, avoid the glass doors too ... or at least get one which minimises the ingress of light...
Then set the temp to a continuous 18- 20 degrees c, much lower than that and the wines development will be curtailed ...
Perhaps I should clarify I think wine fridges should be kept at cellar temp or just below. White tends to be served colder and most are not aged. My reds sit in a wine fridge, as well as my aging whites. My normal whites live in the regular refrigerator. Me thinks we are on the same page. I just hate drinking reds that are chilled. Yes you can set a wine fridge for whites, some models have a small white/beer lower area so you can store both. Also the sabbath note is just kind of interesting and I found it when going through an owners manual.
Caple (UK based brand) were the stock option at my wife's old company (bespoke kitchen makers). Unless the client wanted to start splashing cash (for the likes of Sub Zero as per post above) they'd recommend caple - reasonably well built, quiet and affordable. Haven't looked to see if they have an Oz distributor though...
I've got a Caple but to me doesn't keep white wine cold enough as only goes down to 8c, so just use it as a wine rack now and transfer to fridge when required
It must depend on the model - ours is a double. Each side is independent and will go down to 5c - which is nearly an acceptable temperature for Ozzie beer isn't it?
@Mathlar Having had quite a bit of experience with all types of coolers, may I recommend that you increase the air-intake to the bottom of your built-in cooler. It will run more efficiency and prolong the life of the compressor.
That was the integrated grate option that came with the fridge - otherwise there was a larger grill like @chunkythebulldog's but the missus said it didn't look as good :-S
On the rare occasions I have wine, I just get it chucked in a giant brandy glass with some ice cubes and a swizzle stick to stir it through. Annoys the shit out of the wine reps that hang out at my brother's restaurant.
Let your missus know that the larger grill will look better when you don't have to replace your fridge. As long as you're at it make sure the radiator for the compressor is clean along with the evaporator pan and hose that feeds it. Just like a car engine: The better it breaths, the better it runs and longer it lasts.
The radiator should be pretty clean - the fridge has only been in for six months. But your persuasive argument is definitely working - when my leg is back in one piece I expect I'll be asked to switch the grills.
