The Wine Enthusiast 16-bottle wine refrigerator is a small-sized thermoelectric cooler that you can place on the counter top in your kitchen.
Another attractive feature is the low price though it might mean lower quality too.
Read this review including the major user complaints by owners to decide whether the Wine Enthusiast 16-bottle wine cellar is worth buying.
Wine Enthusiast 16-bottle Wine Refrigerator – Features
The unit has a max. capacity of 16 bottles of wine which according to the manufacturer can be reached with standard 750 ml bottles. Larger, wider bottles will possibly decrease the storage capacity.
The Wine Enthusiast 16-bottle wine cooler is available in 3 decors:
- black cabinet with a stainless steel-trimmed glass door,
- black cabinet with copper-trimmed glass door,
- black cabinet with graphite-trimmed glass door
The thermoelectric cooling technology has a couple of advantages over traditional compressor-operated wine fridges:
- Quieter operation – Wine Enthusiast even included Silent in the full name of its thermoelectric wine cooler models. Many users of this unit however complain that it’s rather noisy.
- No vibration – which is very advantageous when storing wines because vibration in the long term can disturb the sedimentation of dissolved particles in wine, altering its consistency.
- Eco-friendly appliance – a thermoelectric wine cooler doesn’t contain cooling agent (CFC-s or HCFC-s, commonly called freons) so at the end of the unit’s life cycle there’s no need for special treatment of these hazardous materials. Scientists found out that freons getting into the upper layer of the atmosphere can damage the protective ozone layer. No need to worry about this when you purchase a thermoelectric wine bottle cooler.
- Energy efficient operation: power consumption is cc. 1 kW/24 hours
The door glass is thermopane to ensure stable temperatures inside the cabinet. The door has a towel bar handle for easy grip.
The wine cooler includes 3 scalloped chrome racks that can be pulled out (completely if you wish) so that you can easily place and retrieve the bottles.
Each rack holds 4 standard-sized bottles of wine and you can put additional 4 bottles on the bottom of the cabinet.
Dimensions:
- Height: 20 1/4″
- Width (with hinge): 17 1/8″
- Depth: 21
Price of the Wine Enthusiast 16 Bottle Wine Cellar: cc. US$160 – 200 (US$10.0 – 12.5 per bottle).
Warranty: 1 year parts and labor.
Placement
This unit is only for freestanding placement and you must leave enough space around the sides, the top and the back so that the cooler will be able to vent properly.
Place it in a spot where the unit will not be exposed to direct sunlight, or heat generated by other appliances.
Before plugging it in for the first time let the wine cooler stand upright for about 2 hours.Make sure that the unit is level. Unlevel placement can cause noisy operation and the door might not close properly.
Plugs into a standard 110V/60 Hz electrical outlet.
Temperature Adjustment
Setting the desired cooling temperature is easy with the press buttons (Up and Down arrows) on the control panel built-in the upper door frame.
By pressing the arrows beside the LED screen you can increase or decrease the temperature by 1 °F increment within the range of 50 – 66°F. There’s another button for turning on or off the interior light.
The set temperature may fluctuate depending on whether the interior light is turned on and how the bottles are arranged if the unit is not fully loaded.
The appliance forgets the adjusted temperature when the power goes out so you have to reset it.
Note: One of the main weaknesses of the Wine Enthusiast 16-bottle wine cooler is that it can only achieve and maintain the set temperature when used in a room where the ambient temperature is between 77 – 80.6 °F.
This is a very narrow temperature range and it’s a bit warmer than temperature in ordinary apartments or houses.
Other reasons for the cooler not being able to hold the set cooling temp.:
- The door is opened too often.
- The door is not closed properly.
- There’s not enough clearance left around the sides and the back of the cabinet- the unit doesn’t vent properly and hot air generated inside the cabinet cannot dissipate in the surrounding area causing the interior temperature to go up.
TIP: Place the bottles with the cork facing the back of the cabinet to leave room for the fan to circulate the air better.
User Reviews of the Wine Enthusiast 16 Bottle Wine Refrigerator
Since this home wine cellar is very popular due to its size and low price, many wine lovers have bought it and some of them have shared their opinion about the appliance on the net.
Here are the major pros and cons of the Wine Enthusiast 16-Bottle Wine Cooler.
Pluses
- Attractive, ergonomic design – in 3 different door decors you can choose a model the blends well in your home furnishing.
- Compact, space-efficient size – fitting size for kitchen or living room placement though count in the necessary clearance for venting
- Easy to use – doesn’t require special installation (you just unpack it and plug it in a proper outlet) and maintenance, temperature adjustment is easy
- Holds bottles securely
Negatives
- Noise – many users complained that despite the name “Silent” it does generate noise, so do not expect it to be completely silent because it does generate some buzzing noise when the fan runs, but it’s still more silent than a compressor-run fridge.
- Doesn’t hold set temperature – this maybe because of too high ambient temperature or inadequate venting, see more on this above.
- Cooler breaks down too soon – some users stated their unit broke down after a couple of months of buying or just after the warranty have expired.
Review – Conclusion
All in all this is a fairly good wine storage unit for home use. It’s ideal for beginner wine collectors and for those who already have a wine cellar but want a smaller cooler in the house to have wine conveniently accessible all the time, at the right temperature.
Similar Wine Storage Coolers
- 16-bottle Wine Refrigerators – good-quality 16-bottle wine fridges.
- Avanti SWC1600M-1 Wine Chillers – cheap, countertop-size unit with superconductor (thermal electric) cooling).
- Cavavin Sobra 16-bottle wine cooler – a good-value freestanding unit with digital controls and thermostat.
- Cuisinart Wine Refrigerators – The Cuisinart CWC-1600 holds 16 bottles.
- Magic Chef 16-bottle Wine Cooler – a cheap, compact countertop wine fridge for home use.
- Wine Enthusiast 18-Bottle Wine Cooler – a slim, dual-zone model with touchscreen control.
