Very well packed for shipping.
Very heavy upon delivery 99 pounds!
Once unpacked, it’s hard to maneuver around because there’s not much clearance from the bottom of the case to the floor. So your fingertips are in jeopardy, unless you drag it around the floor with some cheap potholders or something underneath. The instructions say if you move it full, you may destroy it.
Bordeaux!
Bordeaux!
Bordeaux!
Bordeaux versus typical North American size bottle: If you shop for a lot of California or Chilean wines, the bottles are much larger than Bordeaux (France) and you can fit maybe only 18 or 20 inside. I can’t emphasize that enough, even though other people have emphasized it enough. I thought that the bottles I normally buy from the shop are Bordeaux-size bottles, but they’re much larger.
The bottom shelf is shorter than the other shelves, as the compressor for the wine cooler sits behind it. You won’t get ANY long bottles in there at all.
The smaller upper zone is the cooler zone for whites.
The larger bottom zone is the warmer zone for reds.
Solidly made, I like the four fans, and the charcoal filter, which you should replace every 12 months. and with the blue LED light on: really sexy and atractive. The compressor versus thermal electric was critical for me as we don’t cool the downstairs, and the temperature can vary 20 degrees daily from the 60s to the 80s Fahrenheit. So I wanted to protect my wine with this cooler, and I don’t think the thermoelectrics would do as well in the heat.
One thing I didn’t like straight away: I stripped the screws that attach the door handle to the cooler. It’s an awkward geometry to put those in, including peeling back the silicon/rubber gasket that seals the front door. They should re-engineer that. The screws are cheap Chinese soft metal screws, so if you try to apply pressure you’ll just strip the heads. So, door “on,” and a bit “rattley,” but good enough.
If you’re thinking about getting a wine cooler, you probably have more wine than you think. So there are a couple of models in the market specifically tailored to what a North American might buy: the LARGER than Bordeaux bottles. And there are some models that are single zone and nicely fit 26 bottles for about $200. I might consider getting one for just whites and another one for just reds, for a total of about $400 To truly hold 52 bottles, versus $600 for truly only about 20 bottles. And there’s something wrong with the Feng Shui, about “stuffing” wine bottles in a smaller cooler. Not quite an elegant feeling: they should have some elbow room. Again if they’re all French Bordeaux size it would indeed be 28.
I think this is really designed as a pretty showcase cooler to hold, have handy, and show off a few of your favorite whites, and maybe three or four of your favorite reds, about two bottles each; to have a nicely presented and ready for a little company. Because it IS really pretty and the detail with the wood frontage on the shelves is nice. The drawer systems are very nice quality, mechanically. The overall interior design, and lighting is really sophiaticated and cool.
So in that role, it excels. For a strictly utilitarian use as a cooler, it’s overpriced, too small, and too fancy. Buy two single zone coolers, designed for larger bottles, with stainless steel racks, one for reds, one for whites, in that case.
Although I’m pissed off about the stripped screws in the door handle, as it’s elegant and beautiful and otherwise well-made; and the manufacturer emphasizes for Bordeaux size bottles (it being my fault I didn’t realize Bordeaux bottles were smallIer than what I typically buy). I will give it a five out of five stars for what I believe it’s intended purpose is: a beautiful, dual zone, well-displayed and well-made cooler to have a few of your favorites handy in an elegant presentation.
