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The 8 Best Wine Coolers: Reviews and Buying Guide!
Last updated 3rd May, 2021

From connoisseurs and collectors to occasional drinkers, wine coolers ensure that all your wines are stored at the ideal temperature prior to serving. This not only will help to ensure their longevity but can act as a great aesthetic addition to any kitchen or dining space, keeping those attractive bottles on show and ready to drink.

After our rigorous research process, we’ve compiled the best wine coolers available on the market to give you a head start in finding the best one for you. And even if you don’t find the wine cooler you’ve been looking for, we’ve got a detailed buying guide at the end of this article to equip you with the right tools and questions to find the perfect wine cooler for you.

What is a Wine Cooler?

A wine cooler is a refrigeration appliance designed specifically to store wine at the ideal temperature to serve. Typically, they will feature one or two temperature zones to accommodate a range of wines within the one appliance.

These are not to be confused with the wine cooler (drink) which is an alcoholic beverage made by combining wine and fruit juice. So, make sure if you’re looking to keep your wines cool, you’re searching for the right wine coolers!

Why Buy a Wine Cooler?

Purchasing any specialist appliance can be an investment but given the right amount of commitment and enjoyment of wine, a wine cooler is bound to be the perfect storage solution for you for three main reasons.

Taking Care of Your Wine

When it comes to storing wine, you have three things to get right: temperature, lighting conditions and vibrations. With a specialist wine cooler, you can optimise all three in order to increase the longevity of your bottles—retaining every note, flavour and aroma. This all contributes to a much more enjoyable tasting experience.

Storing with Ease

Having a dedicated, specialist storage solution for your wines will also ensure your wines are always stored safely away. Not only that but you’ll be keeping your kitchen tidy and freeing up much needed real estate in your fridge. A winning combination.

Always Ready to Serve

Best of all, having your wine always sitting at the optimal temperature for pouring a glass means that there is no pre-planning needed to achieve the perfect drink. So you can say hello to impromptu gatherings, immediate celebrations and even an immediate, albeit occasional, indulgent glass.

Top 8 Wine Coolers

1. Russell Hobbs Drinks & Wine Cooler (RH8WC2)

Weighing in at just 9kg here is one of the smallest and most affordable option to choose from, this cooler is perfectly suited to enthusiasts looking for a countertop cooler. Thanks to its small footprint, effective size and minimal (but attractive) design, this wine cooler will make itself at home anywhere while keeping up to 8 bottles at that perfect temperature. Space for 8 bottles of wine for such a small wine cooler is a great way to optimise your space.

  • Number of bottles: 8
  • Temperature zones: Single
  • Type: Countertop
  • Energy efficiency: A
  • Size: 45.6cm x 25.2cm x 51.5cm
  • Price: £
  • Retailer: Currys PC World

2. Baridi 12 Bottle Wine Cooler

With seven different sizes to choose from, each holding a different number of bottles and varying temperature zones, Baridi’s wine cooler options are a great choice for any desired size, while sticking on the lower end of the price range. The company’s attention to detail—including tempered glass to reflect harmful UV rays—is particularly impressive (and quite rare) at this price point. Their 12 bottle wine cooler is our favourite of the bunch, given its size and shape, and unique approach to put one wine bottle on full show – everyone has a favourite!

  • Number of bottles: 12
  • Temperature zones: Single
  • Type: Freestanding / Under Counter
  • Energy efficiency: A
  • Size: 25.2cm x 50.0cm x 63.5cm
  • Price: £
  • Retailer: Amazon

3. CDA Vertical Wine Cooler (FWC153SS)

While this cooler may hold fewer bottles than some other options on the market, it certainly makes up for that fact with its wealth of other features. Its UV protection and effective anti-vibration will ensure that those seven bottles are kept in pretty ideal conditions. Furthermore, we are fans of the vertical design, as it will suit locales which require an appliance with an extra-small footprint.

  • Number of bottles: 7
  • Temperature zones: Single
  • Type: Freestanding
  • Energy efficiency: B
  • Size: 88.0cm x 14.8cm x 52.5cm
  • Price: ££
  • Retailer: Currys PC World

4. Russell Hobbs Freestanding Wine Cooler (RH34WC1)

With an unbeaten energy efficiency rating (A++) this wine cooler by Russell Hobbs will appeal to both environmentally conscious drinkers and those who want to keep the energy bill down, but obviously there’s so much more to this wine cooler than just that... With its six shelves, storage basket, easy to manage temperature controls and tempered aesthetics this cooler will work well for those needing to store many bottles without breaking the bank. What’s more, is given its dimensions this freestanding wine cooler could even be stored away under a kitchen counter, if so desired.

  • Number of bottles: 34
  • Temperature zones: Single
  • Type: Freestanding / Under Counter
  • Energy efficiency: A++
  • Size: 44.0cm x 49.0cm x 84.2cm
  • Price: £££
  • Retailer: Amazon

5. CDA Wine Cooler (FWC304SS)

From its strikingly professional aesthetic to its soft-to-the-touch wooden shelves, this affordable wine cooler certainly has a premium feel to it. Pair that with its large capacity (storing a whopping 20 bottles of wine), UV protection and anti-vibration tech, and you have yourself an incredibly competent wine cooler which is sure to both wow your guests and deliver the perfect glass of wine, every single time.

  • Number of bottles: 20
  • Temperature zones: Single
  • Type: Freestanding
  • Energy efficiency: A
  • Size: 88.0cm x 29.5cm x 57.9cm
  • Price: £££
  • Retailer: Currys PC World

6. Haier Wine Cooler in Black (WS53GDA)

Housing up to an incredible 53 bottles, Haier’s top-performing wine cooler ensures that your collection of varied wines will all be ready for the moment you need them. Furthermore, thanks to its dual temperature zones, controlled independently, even wines requiring notably different storage conditions will sit comfortably within this cooler. Not only that, but its minimal black-fronted design draws your eyes right through the UV-protected glass to the well-lit bottles inside, giving it a good number of points for aesthetics and functionality – that really is the dream combination.

  • Number of bottles: 53
  • Temperature zones: Dual (2)
  • Type: Freestanding
  • Energy efficiency: A
  • Size: 127.0cm x 50.0cm x 54.0cm
  • Price: £££
  • Retailer: AO

7. John Lewis & Partners Under Counter Wine Cooler

As an integrated wine cooler this one is for those constructing a new kitchen, or looking to install a permanent addition to an existing kitchen. But if that sounds like you, this silver-fronted wine cooler may be the perfect one for you—given its more than adequate capacity of 38 bottles housed in easily accessible sliding shelves within two separate compartments. These two compartments are each accessed via a different door and have complete, independent temperature control. But all these premium features come at slight premium, meaning this pick might not be for everyone’s budget.

  • Number of bottles: 38
  • Temperature zones: Dual (2)
  • Type: Integrated
  • Energy efficiency: A
  • Size: 86.5cm x 59.5cm x 57.3cm
  • Price: ££££
  • Retailer: John Lewis

8. Liebherr Wine Cooler in Black (WKb4212)

You read that right, this behemoth of a cooler is ready to store up to 200 bottles, keeping each and every one of them in the optimal conditions and ready to drink. The standout feature of this large wine cooler is the fact it provides excellent humidity control across the entire volume, ensuring that the corks remain moist, locking in the all-important flavour of all 200 bottles. Not only that, but its wooden shelves, black exterior and gorgeously large glass door mean that it still looks stylish, even on this large scale.

  • Number of bottles: 200
  • Temperature zones: Single
  • Type: Freestanding
  • Energy efficiency: A
  • Size: 165cm x 60cm x 73.9cm
  • Price: ££££
  • Retailer: AO

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Buying Guide

Number of Bottles

Across the wide range of wine coolers on the market, there are many to fit the needs of those looking to store a handful of bottles as well as those who are avid collectors.

But regardless of which camp you’re in, the best question to ask is whether you’ll be using the wine cooler mainly for permanent storage, or simply for bottles to be ready to serve. If the answer is storage the chances are you’ll want a nice and large capacity.

That said, you may also want to consider a combination of a wine-rack and wine-cooler, to reserve the space in your cooler for the wines that need it the most (or the ones you just really want to drink first).

One fantastic way of guaranteeing a steady stream of great-tasting wine to fill your wine cooler is with a wine subscription, taking the hassle out of delivery with expertly curated wines delivered to your door. Why not have a look at our Best Wine Subscriptions and Wine Clubs blog to get ready to fill your wine cooler too.

Single or Dual Temperature Zone

Having multiple temperature zones means you can use the cooler to perfectly store wines which prefer different conditions—for example reds and whites.

Single temperature zone coolers are best for fans of a single or similar type of wine. In the UK this may be a no-brainer as reds are often stored outside of a cooler, however depending on your climate you may also need to keep your reds cool (particularly some of the hotter parts of the US).

Dual temperature zone wine coolers can effectively store reds and whites (if you’re in that pool of people that like to keep their reds cool), but equally are a great option for when hosting to provide guests with a varied ready-to-serve range of wines kept at a different temperature from the rest of your bottles. With the option to keep different bottles at two separate temperatures you really can play around with how you use your wine cooler to get the most out of it.

Triple temperature zone wine coolers are usually more expensive and a little less common—making them a bit of a specialist purchase. But they are great for those with large collections who want to store reds, whites and separate out ready-to-serve bottles, and so many other combinations as when you get deep into your knowledge of wine storage the more value you’ll get from your wine cooler.

Where Will It Be Located?

Space should always be on your mind with any appliance. With wine coolers you generally have three choices of placement:

  • Freestanding coolers are the most flexible, large-scale solutions given they can be placed anywhere with a power outlet.
  • Integrated wine coolers need a little more planning, given they will be built into your kitchen itself. But for this very same reason they can be the best options for those looking for a wine cooler that truly integrates with a space.
  • Countertop wine coolers are by far the smallest and cheapest options available and serve as great entry points into the world of wine cooling. That said, due to their limited capacities they are not the top choice for those with, or looking to build, an extensive collection. There’s no harm in starting small though!

Balancing Quality and Price

Price does strongly correlate with the capacity of the cooler you are looking for, but within each size option you will have the choice of a bunch of different components that can be game changers. Thus it is worth ensuring you are getting the best quality product for the price. The four key features we would recommend looking out for are:

  • Temperature control—all wine coolers worth having will offer this. If not, they’ll be using the term wine cooler very tenuously…
  • Lighting—most wine coolers will opt for LED lighting as it emits fewer harmful UV rays, while some options will also feature UV protective glass, to ensure no rays can damage your wine from the outside.
  • Vibration—some of the more serious coolers may have anti-vibration systems which reduce the impact of environmental vibrations when operating or moving around the wine cooler. These are important as vibrations can impact the taste of a wine.
  • Humidity—some of the more expensive wine coolers will also allow you to control and set your desired humidity. This is because low levels of humidity can dry out the cork. That said, simply storing your wines at the right angle (horizontal or -45 degrees) can also help to prevent such drying out.

FAQs

Should Red Wine be Refrigerated?

Red wines should be kept between 12˚C and 18˚C as a rule of thumb, but this depends on the wine itself as all wines are different. Those in hotter climates may need to place their reds in a wine cooler. For this reason, most wine coolers accommodate temperatures of 15˚C or more.

That said, refrigeration can also depend on personal preference, with some individuals preferring to serve red wines cold. That may sound like blasphemy for some, but you have to trust your taste buds!

Conclusion

Whether you already have a wide collection of wines in desperate need of cooling, you’re upgrading from a small wine cooler, or you just want to find a new home for those four bottles in your fridge, we have picked out some excellent wine coolers to suit a range of needs.

However, if we were to narrow our picks down to the two best wine coolers as we see it, they would need to be:

  1. Baridi 12 Bottle Wine Cooler – thanks to its great value for money offering low noise, UV protection and a clean aesthetic to boot.
  2. Haier Wine Cooler in Black – for incorporating a handful of premium features (two temperature zones, UV protected glass, and space for 53 bottles) and all in all offering a great combination of functionality and aesthetics.

That said, if you’re still yet to find what you were looking for do refer to our buying guide when completing your own research to ensure you find the perfect cooler to suit your needs.

If you’re looking to go further and create your dream kitchen or bar area, do consider taking a look at our Home and Corner Bars Blog for a tonne more inspiration.

Affiliate disclaimer: on some or all of the products above, we receive a small commission if you make a purchase via our site. This does not impact the price you pay, but it allows us to keep helping people by writing these reviews, so thank you!


Tom
Co-founder at Mancaves HQ

A true man cave enthusiast. When he isn't trawling through Instagram looking for new ideas, you can find him navigating through the streets of London.