Input on an affordable wine "cooler" purchase, please?

I don't know enough about you from your postings here to give very strong advice, but here are a few thoughts.

1) Although I have no personal experience with them, Danby coolers have been pretty well excoriated here as unreliable for temperature regulation.

2) If your drinking window at the moment on your wines is not much more than a year (and if you're getting into wines, then "at the moment" is key here), then a cool interior closet should be fine for storing your wines, even in North Texas.

3) If you are looking to stores wines for multiple years right now, then a 35 bottle cabinet is not going to hold up for very long. Either look into storage facilities where you can rent a locker (I think that many people have grown from those small cabinets into using offsite lockers and moving their "ready to drink" wines into their small cabinets) or bite the bullet on a larger, higher quality, cabinet. It will fill - trust me.

But the Texas contingent on this board can help you far better than I can.

Amanda, I agree with SD on this. I am also fairly new to wine as well. Been drinking it for 5 or so years but more serious of late. I originally thought along the same lines as you, 35 bottle cooler will be plenty big. Well I started with one along this size, by the end of the month it went back and I came home with a 100 bottle wine cooler. In 2 months, I had 2 100 coolers. Now I am building a wine cellar because I have 2 coolers full and 6 full cases of ready to drink wine needing a home. The wine bug is very catchy----beware. Enjoy!

Good advice above. Bag the Danby, save the $ and get a real "cellar" when your budget allows.

PH

quote:

Originally posted by SD-Wineaux:


2) If your drinking window at the moment on your wines is not much more than a year (and if you're getting into wines, then "at the moment" is key here), then a cool interior closet should be fine for storing your wines, even in North Texas.

You might have two months a year an interior closet would work at the very most.

Not an option imo, just too darn hot.

Amanda, a couple of thoughts.

Please know many here on this forum (me) may be far more serious about wine than you and your husband are at this time. A cellar of 500 -1500 bottles is not uncommon here, but most started much smaller.

I have never owned a Danby product, but I do know people that own a Vinotemp. It looks like Costco has several under $500 if that still fits your budget, it might be a better buy. Also, if you are in North Texas, IWA is based in Garland. They have a showroom you can visit and buy from. They have several options also.

All that said, you must start somewhere and if you decide to upgrade after a year or two, no big deal. While you spent $200-$400 on a small short term cellar you may decide to sell off in a garage sell soon or gift to a "new to wine friend", you will have far more $$$ tied up on the wine in the cellar than the cost of the cellar, trust me!

Best of luck, and let us know if you have any other questions. If your in the Dallas Metroplex, we have several wine groups that meet each month that you both may want to join.

w+a

quote:

Originally posted by wine+art:

quote:

Originally posted by SD-Wineaux:


2) If your drinking window at the moment on your wines is not much more than a year (and if you're getting into wines, then "at the moment" is key here), then a cool interior closet should be fine for storing your wines, even in North Texas.

You might have two months a year an interior closet would work at the very most.

Not an option imo, just too darn hot.

See, I told you they could help you far better than I could.

I do appreciate the input and I'll check out the Vinotemp.

Beyond stable storage for some of the wines we will store for some period of time, we want something that will hold wines very close to drinking temp. Right now we have only Texas room temp, or refrigerator temp.

I know we are small potatoes at the moment (and may always be), but everyone here has been very helpful.

Wine + art, perhaps we will see you at an event around town. With "art" in your name, do you enjoy The Modern?

quote:

Originally posted by Amanda:


Wine + art, perhaps we will see you at an event around town. With "art" in your name, do you enjoy The Modern?

Amanda, I truly do not know how I ever made it without the Modern!

On a sunny day, the building alone that Ando gave us is a wonderful work of art. Many think my passion/hobby is wine, but art is my #1 passion/hobby.

Have you enjoyed the Modern as well?

Also, are you in the Metroplex? If so, I have a 200 bottle cellar I will sell you for what you will spend on a 36 bottle cellar.

Wine+art, we are members at The Modern but only as of this year, when we went to view the Ron Mueck exhibit. We've been a few times and enjoy the reciprocal privileges when traveling.

Can you tell me more about your cellar? We are in the Metroplex (in one of those "fastest growing" cities). Do you have a picture, dimensions, specs or link to same? I don't see a PM feature here, or I would send you my email address.

I'm not sure if that isn't too big for our house.

Amanda,

Email me and I will give you the information...

w+a

quote:

Originally posted by wine+art:
Amanda,

Email me

w+a

Amanda... email sent.

Amanda,

Glad to hear you are enjoying your new cellar!

Now fill it up, and bring a few to one of our wine dinners soon.

W+A