This Sleek, Quiet, and Stylish Wine Fridge Is the New Centerpiece of My Dining Room

It’s as beautiful as it is functional.

Wine Enthusiast

As Food & Wine’s Senior Drinks Editor, I accumulate a lot of wine through work, travel, and the general impulse I struggle with that forces me to to buy something new whenever I walk into a bottle shop (I’m a sucker, especially when the staff tells me what they’re excited about).

Up until now, I haven’t had the space for a wine fridge, and instead made do with a rotating cast of wooden wine racks, storing wine for short periods of time in the fridge (do not, I repeat, do not try to age wine in your standard refrigerator), and simply tucking bottles into the back of my coat closet. I won’t say that the desire to fit a wine fridge into my home drove me to move, but let’s just say that I immediately knew which corner in my new apartment I wanted to use for this purpose. Then, three months ago, Wine Enthusiast was kind enough to send me the exact fridge I had my eye on to test out.

Wine Enthusiast Classic 70 Dual Zone Cellar 

Wine Enthusiast

$999

Buy on Wine Enthusiast

I landed on the Classic 70 Dual Zone Cellar from Wine Enthusiast for a few reasons: It’s one of the largest capacity fridges that also happens to be New York City apartment-friendly, in that it’s got a relatively tight (just over two feet wide and deep) physical footprint. It’s the larger version of our overall tested favorite wine fridge — which can only hold 30 bottles, or roughly two cases — and I found it has many of the same features our testers loved (like how quiet it is) with the added bonus of being able to accommodate more bottles.

But a note on its capacity: Yes, you likely could cram 70 or so bottles into this fridge, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to have an easy time grabbing the Sancerre you’re looking for during your next dinner party, or staying on top of what exactly you’ve got in your collection. After all, wine bottles (like all of us) come in different shapes and sizes. With a little readjusting and a gentle game of tetris or two, I’ve found that I’m able to store about 55 bottles comfortably, meaning I can be in, grab the wine I’m looking for, and be back in my kitchen in just a few seconds.

I’ve been keeping the fridge in the dining room, and love that it not only blends into the decor, but adds a bit of my personality. When guests come over they can easily see my collection (and I can see it too!) thanks to the fancy LED blue light, which I keep turned off most of the time. Best of all, it’s almost completely silent, and I don’t really hear a hum, even when I’m reading on the couch with my dog or watching television.

As for its actual function — preserving wine (not just keeping it cold!) — I’m confident it’ll keep special (and everyday) bottles in perfect condition for years thanks to the adjustable thermostat. The fridge has a range between 41°F and 68°F, and it allows me the ability to set two different ranges, one for the top 3 rows of bottles, and one for the bottom four rows. This is important because reds should be kept at 55 and 65°F, and whites should be kept between 45 and 55°F. While it might seem like you won’t be able to notice that your bottle of Chablis has been hanging out in a section that’s a few degrees cooler than the shelf that holds your Pinot Noir, I can attest to the fact that the controls do make a difference both in long-term storage and in the drinking experience. The temperatures are simple to set, and I didn’t need to fiddle with the display after setting it up for the first time.

Which brings up another great feature of this fridge. During testing, we found that it could handle a higher ambient temperature than competitors to keep bottles cool and preserved. So even though I live in New York where the temperature fluctuations give me whiplash, I can be sure my prized bottle of Billecart will stay a consistent 46°F.

While this wine fridge runs at $999, there is the smaller version for half the price if that’s a bit too steep — it really just depends on your space, whether the dual zone capability is something you care about (maybe you don’t intend to store any white wines at all! Follow your bliss!) and the size of your collection.

For me, this was the right choice because I know I tend to have a larger number of bottles I want to hang onto for a while, and other big-ticket appliances that I use on a daily basis, like my espresso machine (I use our number-one pick) are around the same price point. Plus, while I routinely mess up the art of making a perfect cortado, my wine fridge doesn’t allow room for error — every bottle is perfect, every time.

Shop More Wine Fridges:

Whynter 34-Bottle Wine Fridge

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$434

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Wine Enthusiast 32-Bottle Dual Zone

Amazon

$499

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Vinotemp EL-28 Wine Fridge

Amazon

$449

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Black+Decker 8-Bottle Wine Fridge

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$167

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At the time of publishing, the price was $999.

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