If you are looking for a low-cost, good quality, compact wine cooler that continuously gets high rates and good reviews on Amazon and other shopping sites then look no further.
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The Cuisinart® 8 Bottle Private Reserve® wine cellar comes with numerous cool features that make it one of the best-value wine coolers in its category.
Besides the small size, it has a wide temperature range (39°F – 68°F) allowing you to store in it various types of wine from crisp whites to fruity roses or bold reds. What’s more, it accommodates champagnes, magnum size bottles (1500 ml), around 6 of them will fit in.
The 3-year warranty is another huge plus and also the Cuisinart brand rings familiar to many, so this is not an appliance made by an unknown, newby start up.
Quick Specs
Capacity: cc. 8 bottles (750 ml, Bordeaux style), Champagne and other bigger bottles reduce overall capacity to 6
Model: CWC-800CEN
Cooling Type: Thermoelectric with ventilation fan
Zones & Temperature Range: Single Temperature Zone, 39°F – 68°F (4°C – 20°C).
Placement: Freestanding only, leave space around the sides, at the back and top.
Dimensions: H: 17.50″ W: 10.50″ D: 20.50″
Price: cc. 200 USD
Warranty: 3 years
Table Of Contents
How Does It Look & Work?
What we and other customers appreciate most about the Cuisinart 8-bottle wine cooler is the compact size combined with the sleek, black modern look.
It will fit perfectly on a counter in your kitchen or a small table or stand in your living room or home office.
Just make sure to leave a couple of inches space – 2″ – for proper air ventilation at the back, around the side and at the top .
This lets the cooler do its work – keeping your wines at the set temperature – more efficiently.
Triple-Pane Glass Viewing Door With UV Protection
The black cabinet with the black framed, see-through glass door and digital screen on the top door frame will seamlessly match most home decors.
The door – which opens to the left – has a recessed handle lending it a clean look.
The triple pane glass ensures great insulation keeping the cabinet interior at the set temperature. It is also slightly tinted to filter UV rays and protect your wines from the harmful light.
The low level, white LED lighting further complements the classy appearance. Press the “light bulb” icon to switch it on to showcase your wines inside.
The light will remain on until you press the light bulb icon again to turn it off.
Easy To Use – Just Plug It In
In terms of cooling and ease of use the cooler performs exceptionally well.
You can set the temperature within a wide range, from 39 up to 68. Just touch the + or – button on the top of the door to set the cellar to cool to the desired temperature.
Cooling Efficiency – Is Thermoelectric Cooling Good?
The Cuisinart 8-bottle wine cooler uses thermoelectric technology to cool the air inside the unit. It works well in small fridges like this 8 bottle model and has several benefits compared to compressor fridges.
A thermoelectric cooler is more quiet and uses less energy if placed properly with enough clearance at sides, back and top than an ordinary kitchen fridge .
The Importance Of Ambient Temperature
The temperature of the room where the unit is placed is also cruical for efficent, problem free operation. The manufacturer recommends no higher than 70 °F.
Note, however that to reach and hold 39°F the cooler has to be in very cool room (cc. 70°F).
According to the manufacturer, for the wine fridge to maintain 46°F – 48°F, room temperature neeeds to be around 75-77°F, for 50°F you will need 73°F or lower which is not bad in our opinion.
Owner’s Opinion From A Review On Amazon
According to many who bought the Cuisinart® 8 Bottle Private Reserve® Cellar it does quite well what it was designed for. It will keep your wines at the ideal storage or drinking temperature, based on your storage preferences.
This Cusinart wine cellar does exactly what I had hoped it would do: it chills my wine bottles 30 degrees below my indoor home temperature (from 76-78 degrees indoors to the setting of 45 degrees inside this wine cellar). I couldn’t be more happy!
Setting The Temperature
Wine experts recommend to store wine at 55 for the long term, but anywhere between 45 and 65 is good to preserve the quality of wine. You can read more about it here and here.
This Cuisinart cellar has a temprature band of 39 – 68 which is quite wide compared to what similar units have.
TIP: You can learn more about the pros and cons of thermoelectric cooling in our detailed post or visit this site for more in-depth information.
Shelving – 4 Sliding & Removable, Scalloped Metal Racks
4 slide-out chromed metal shelves hold the bottles, 2 each.
You can remove them should you need to make room for storing a bottle upright for example.
Rearrange the racks to your liking in order to fit in fat bottles or champagne.
Air Filter To Keep The Fan Dust-Free
You will find a plastic air filter in the packaging. It will remove dust particles from the air keeping the fan dust-free and clean.
You need to attach it to the rear of the cabinet, on the fan cover. Don’t worry, it’s easy to do. Align the tabs on the filter with the slots on the cabinet back.
Press the filter down until the filter attaches to the fan cover.
Clean The Air Filters Every 3 Months
For maximum cleaning efficiency remember to clean the air filter every 3 months or so. Just remove it from the cabinet back, wash it in warm, soapy water, let it dry completely then reattach it.
It will protect the fan and the fridge interiror from getting dusty.
Water Tray – Helps To Maintain Proper Humidity
The wine cellar includes a plastic water container too, to collect the condensation inside the cabinet. No need to get rid off the water, it will evaporate helping to maintain constant humidity inside.
Installing Your Wine Cooler
After you remove the packaging just plug the unit in a standard power outlet and it will turn on automatically.
Because it doesn’t have a compressor with refrigerant this fridge doesn’t have to stand upright for 24 hours before starting to use it.
Press the touch controls to adjust the temperature and you are (almost) ready to fill it up with your collection.
Make sure the fridge is placed on a firm, even floor or surface and where the ambient temperature doesn’t get too high (75°F/23°C).
Rotate the feet at the bottom to adjust a level placement.
TIP: When using it for the first time let it stay empty for cc. 24 hours to allow for the internal temperature to stabilize. Then you can fill it up with your favourite bottles.
Leave at least 2 inches space at the back because that’s where the ventilation fan dissipates the warm air from inside of the cabinet.
Key Features – Cuisinart 8-Bottle Wien Cooler
Capacity: 8 regular size, Bordeaux type bottles, accommodates larger bottles (1500 ml)
Cooling Type: Themoelectric
Number of Zones: Single zone
Temperature Range: 39 – 68°F (4 – 20°C) Note: It requires: no higher than 70°F ambient temp.
Temperature Control: Digital touchpad with display in blue LED
Door Lock: No
Door Swing: Opens to the left – direction is not reversible.
Interior Light: Low-intensity white LED lighting
Shelving: 4 chrome-plated, wavy metal racks that slide out
Installation: Freestanding only.
Clearance needed: at least 2 inches at the back
Adjustable Feet: Yes
Noise Level:
Air filter: Yes
Water Tray: Yes
Energy Consumption:
Auto Defrost: Yes, it automatically runs a defrost cycle so you don’t have to remember to do it manually.
Dimensions:
- Height: 17.50″
- Width: 10.40″
- Depth: 20.50″
- Weight: 27.2 lbs. (12 kg)
What’s To Like?
- Nice, compact size – will not take up much space in your home while storing your wines at perfect temp.
- Quiet – the fridge doesn’t make to much sound, according to some users it’s whisper quiet.
- Stylish look
- Easy to set up and use
- Low power consumption
- 3 year warranty – most wine fridges come with 1 year warranty.
What’s Not To Like?
- The blue LED display is a bit bright according to some owners.
- You must remove a rack to fit in wider, bigger bottles.
Price & Warranty
- cc. 200 USD (depending on store) – 25 USD/bottle
- Warranty: 3 years limited manufacturer’s warranty
TIP: Make sure you register the wine fridge at Cuisinart’s website! Keep the original proof of purchase too in case the manufacturer asks for it when you arrange for getting the warranty benefits should you encounter problems within the 3 year period.
Who Should Buy The Cuisinart® 8-Bottle Private Reserve®Wine Fridge?
This is the perfect little home cellar to keep a handful of your favorite wines in top shape. We could list all the great features and benefits again but let’s highlight only the ones we deem the most cruical.
- Trustworthy, well-known brand that provides 3 year warranty on this appliance. It’s very rare that a wine fridge has such long guarantee period, so if nothing else, this should be a major tipping point to buy this cooler.
- It will maintain the temperature you set it fairly well, depending on the ambient room temperature of course. If it gets too hot in your home, 80°F or higher, it will probably not go down to and hold 45°F.
- Silent – if you leave enough breathing room for the fridge, especially at the back and the sides it will be almost soundless. You can place it in the living room or work area and won’t disturb you.
To sum up, the Cuisinart 8-bottle wine cooler is an excellent budget choice if you want to store your wines at ideal temperature, in a vibration free, dark storage space.
Using it will free up space in your kitchen refrigerator. TIP: Get two of them to store whites in one and reds in the other!
Alternatives – Compare To Similar Wine Fridges!
Let’s see how the Cuisinart 8-Bottle wine cellar compares to other, same-size units!
All 3 options listed below have very identical features to the Cuisinart CWC-800CEN, but most importantly all of them come with shorter than 3 years warranty.
We recommend the Ivation 8-bottle wine cooler that boasts a sharply elegant look and does all that the Cuisinart model and currently costs less on Amazon: 159.99 USD (comes to 20 USD/bottle).
Ivation 8-Bottle Wine Cooler – Best Alternative
What’s Similar?
- Uses thermoelectric cooling method with two ventilation fans.
- Single zone
- UV blocking, thermopane, triple layer glass door with recessed handle.
- Freestanding only.
- 4 contoured, removable, chromed wire racks. Each holds 2 standard size and shape bottles (750 ml, Bordeaux type).
- Simple to use touch buttons to adjust temperature and turn on and off the light. (you can also freeze the settings by pressing the lock icon).
- Quiet
What’s Different?
- Temperature range: 46 – 65°F (8 – 18°C).
- You can lock in the temperature settings on the control panel.
- Temperature display is in white, not blue.
- Dimensions slightly differ: H: 18.70″ W: 10.40″ D: 20.10″
- Weight: 25.4 lbs.
- Price: cc. 160 USD (20 USD/bottle).
- Warranty: 1 year
Black & Decker 8-Bottle Wine Cooler
What’s Similar?
- Thermoelectric cooling
- Single zone
- Triple layer, insulated glass door, recessed handle.
- Touch button controls, LCD display in blue
- Quiet
- Auto defrost
- For freestanding use only.
What’s Different?
- Temperature range: 46 – 65°F (8 – 18°C).
- 3 removable, contoured metal shelves.
- Blue LED interior light
- Dimensions: H: 18.63″ W: 10.00″ D: 20.38″
- Weight:
- Price: cc. 152 – 170 USD (19 – 21.25 USD/bottle)
- Warranty: 1 year.
Koolatron 8-Bottle Wine Cooler
What’s Similar?
- This unit also has thermoelectric cooling
- Single zone
- Freestanding placement.
- 4 contoured, removable, chromed wire racks.
What’s Different?
- Temperature range: 46 – 65°F (8 – 18°C).
- Option to switch from Fahrenheit to Celsius or back.
- Blue LED lighting.
- Door is double pane only, compared to the 3 layers of glass of the other alternatives.
- Temperature display is in white.
- You need to defrost it manually.
- Dimensions: H: 18.00″ W: 10.00″ D: 19.90″
- Weight: 19.44 lbs.
- Warranty: 90 days.
- Price: cc. 190 – 206 USD (23.75 – 25.75 USD/bottle)
Related
See also our roundup of the best 8-bottle wine coolers available in stores in 2023!
