Cheap Wine Cooler Refrigerators - Find the Best Inexpensive Models

If you've only started to appreciate and collect good wines recently, and you have neither much space for a large wine cooler or a wine cabinet nor the budget yet to invest in a luxury wine cellar then cheap wine cooler refrigerators might be a good starting point to provide proper storage conditions for your wines.

We compiled information on some of the best cheap wine coolers and discount wine refrigerators so that you can research the appliances to make a well-informed buying decision.

The proper serving temperature plays an important role in the enjoyment of wine and enhances the overall experience. Nowadays as summer is becoming hotter wines kept at a wine rack in the kitchen can go off.

Even if your home is air conditioned you still have to protect your wines from harmful UV light, not to mention that when you go on a vacation and you turn the AC off your fine wines will suffer heat stroke.

You can still keep wine in the fridge but an ordinary kitchen refrigerator is too cold and dry for wines and the smell of the food stuff can permeate the cork over a longer period of time.

So an inexpensive wine cooler can be really useful to keep your wines at the right temperature, away from sunlight.

Wine coolers are becoming more widely available and more affordable, from small countertop wine refrigerators to more advanced dual zone or multiple temperature zone wine coolers.

The first popular small-capacity wine coolers by Avanti, Haier and Danby appeared on the market a couple of years ago.

Other small appliance manufacturers followed the trend and came out with their own wine refrigerator models. Today many cheap wine coolers imported from China are offered by retailers under various labels.

All in all if you want a quality discount wine cooler you have many options regarding technical features and design.

Note many people complain on the low quality of small, cheap, wine coolers by brands Avanti, Cuisinart, Danby, Chambrer, Edgestar, Emerson, Haier, Koolatron, Magic Chef/Ewave, Vinotemp, Sunpentown and Sunbeam. Reviews provided by owners of these wine coolers often mention:

early failures-break downs (within a couple of months, a year or just after the warranty period),
noise and
bad customer service (in case of some brands).

This doesn't mean that each and every unit by these brands is of low quality but the frequent complaints mentioned in reviews should make one extra cautious before buying any of these units.

Small Cheap Wine Cooler Refrigerators

In the 4 - 20 bottle capacity range there are some very nice inexpensive wine coolers that can be good first wine storage units for amateur wine collectors.

Review of Avanti 16-bottle Thermoelectric Wine Cooler - Model EWC16B

This is a compact countertop wine cooler that can hold max. 16 bottles of wine. Instead of a noisy compressor the wine cooler uses thermoelectric cooling technology that ensures silent and vibration-fr Avanti 16-bottle Thermoelectric wine cooelr ee operation.

In addition, thermoelectric wine coolers use less electricity than compressor-operated fridges and they are environmental friendly due to lack of cooling agents (CFC-s, HCFC-s).

The thermopane, see-through glass door has a recessed handle and the direction of the door opening can be reversed. Soft interior light, that can be turned on or off, provides nice illumination for the stored wines.

You can adjust temperature with the control knob mounted in the upper right hand corner inside the unit, The interior light switch is next to the temperature setting knob.

In order to maintain the set temperature and for effective cooling place the wine fridge in a room where the ambient temperature is between 72 - 78 ºF. If the temperature is well above 78 ºF the cooler won't be able to keep the set temperature at constant level.

You can set the knob to Max., Min., Med. and Off. The temperature range between the Max and Min settings is 51 - 62 ºF. According to the manual, when you install the wine cooler turn the knob to Max for 2 hours then adjust it to Med which is at 55 ºF. Setting the knob to Off turns off the cooling cycle but doesn't shut off the power to the appliance.

You can fit in 4 bottles on each of the 3 chrome-plated wire shelves that slide out smoothly for easy access. You can place 4 more bottles at the bottom of the cabinet.

Dimensions:

Height: 20.25"
Width: 17"
Depth: 19"

Price of the Avanti EWC16B 16-bottle wine cooler: cc. 120 $ (7.5 $ per bottle).

Avanti Little Tavern Deluxe Wine & Beverage Cooler - 16 bottles

The Little Tavern Deluxe Wine cooler - that's also made by Avanti under WC191BG model number - can accommodate about 16 bottles of wine on 4 slide-out chrome shelves. If you remove the bottom rack you can fit in 2 cases of 12 oz.-cans.

The black cabinet is made of sturdy steel and it has black-framed, tinted glass door that's tempered for efficient insulation. The door has a fairly large grip handle.

You can select from 4 temperature settings.

Dimensions:

Height: 19.5"
Width: 18.5"
Depth: 19"

Consumer Opinions on the Little Tavern Deluxe Wine & Beverage Cooler:

Some complained that photos of the appliance suggest that the unit has leveling legs while in fact it doesn't have any. Another user stated that she/he expected the glass door to be slightly smokier but otherwise she/he is satisfied with the cooler.

Price of the Little Tavern Deluxe Wine Cooler: cc. 120 - 150 $ (7.5 - 9.37 $ oer bottle)

TIP: For more inexpensive small wine coolers see our articles about

Take a look at this slim wine refrigerator by Chambrer, it's perfect if you have little space in your kitchen. See also user reviews and features overview of the Chambrer WC602-137 6+1 Bottle Wine Cooler Tower.

Medium Size Cheap Wine Coolers

There are many mid size electric wine cellars that hold around 20-bottles of wine. The GE 29-bottle Single Zone wine refrigerator, Model PWR04FANBS is one of the best in this category. It is a well-built, reliable unit with attarctive contemporary look.

Haier has a wide range of medium capacity electric wine cellars including 20-bottle, 24-botle, 30-bottle, 32 bottle and 35-bottle models. One of the most inexpensive unit is the Haier HVDO24E 24-bottle wine refrigerator (retails for cc. $150) with comressor cooling method, digital thermostat with automatic settings for red and white wines.

The Magic Chef 30-Bottle wine cooler is a cheap compressor based unit for freestanding use. The Wine Enthusiast 28-Bottle Wine Cooler is an inexpenisve thermolelctric unit for designed for standalone placement.

TIPS:

30-bottle wine refrigerators - suggestions on 28-32 bottle units.

See also our list of the Best Electric Wine Coolers Under $500 for more cheap, mid-capacity wine fridges.

Larger Capacity Cheap Wine Cooler Refrigerators

Haier HSVCE 24A 54-bottle Built-In Wine Cooler

This compressor-operated Haier wine refrigerator can store Haier 54-bottle wine refrigerator maximum 54 bottles of wine. The 6 full-depth wooden front, slide-out chromed racks can hold 8 bottles each, while you can place 6 bottles on the bottom tray.

You can easily adjust the required temperature with the electronic control integrated in the door of the cooler.

You can set temperature in the range of 41 - 64 ºF and the dual LED display indicates the actual adjusted temperature inside the unit.

The black cabinet comes with stainless steel-framed, flat, double pane glass door that is blue-gray tinted to filter out UV rays. You can fit the hinge on either the left or on the right hand side so that you can find the right placement for the fridge in your home. The door has a stainless steel grip handle for easy opening of the door.

Dimensions:

Height: 33 5/8"
Width: 23 7/16"
Depth (with handle): 24 1/4"

Since the appliance has front venting it can either used as built-in or freestanding.

Price of the 54-bottle Haier Wine Cooler: cc. 472-546 $ (8.74 - 10.18 $ per bottle).

TIPS: take a look at the dual-zone 52 Bottle Haier Aficionado Wine Cellar.

In the under $500 category the Magic Chef 44-bottle dual zone wine cooler is a good choice.

For a budget dual temperature zone wine fridge read review of the Avanti 46 Bottle wine cooler.

The lowest cost per bottle, large capacity wine storage coolers are the Vintage Keeper Wine Cellars.

The Sunpentown 32-bottle wine cooler refrigerator is also a good, affordable wine cooler.

Cheap Wine Cooler Refrigerators in the UK and Europe

Baumatic Wine Coolers - browse independent reviews of some Baumatic wine refrigerator models available in the United Kingdom.

Samsung Wine Cooler Review, 31 Bottle capacity, single zone wine cabinet.

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