pagreen wrote:

From the picture, it's a nice looking unit. Plus, no vibrations (thermoelectric). Even as a suburbanite (former exurbanite now victimized by creeping suburbia) who regularly drives to Costco, I appreciate the convenience of having someone deliver big and heavy stuff to my door. Anyway, the Amex link is a good tip. Thanks.

One caveat I should point out is that the only temperature control is a tiny Min->Max dial, and there is no temperature gauge. I haven't quite gotten around to picking up thermometers to place inside, but the bottles are being kept quite cold, even with the dial turned all the way down. The wines are actually chilled to the point where I have to let reds warm up before drinking. So I don't know how close the fridge gets to the 58-degree long-term-storage ideal, but I do know that it's better than letting my wines cook through a 90-degree heat wave ;-)

And a mandatory disclaimer about that wonderful AMEX link is that I work in advertising, and my main client is — wait for it — AMEX. All that means for your purposes, however, is that I know all the insider tips and tricks to getting the best deals with your Card. :-)

jeffek wrote: All that means for your purposes, however, is that I know all the insider tips and tricks to getting the best deals with your Card. :-)

Hey, tip away!

jeffek wrote:


One caveat I should point out is that the only temperature control is a tiny Min->Max dial, and there is no temperature gauge. I haven't quite gotten around to picking up thermometers to place inside, but the bottles are being kept quite cold, even with the dial turned all the way down. The wines are actually chilled to the point where I have to let reds warm up before drinking. So I don't know how close the fridge gets to the 58-degree long-term-storage ideal, but I do know that it's better than letting my wines cook through a 90-degree heat wave ;-)

And a mandatory disclaimer about that wonderful AMEX link is that I work in advertising, and my main client is — wait for it — AMEX. All that means for your purposes, however, is that I know all the insider tips and tricks to getting the best deals with your Card. :-)

find me a card with no annual fees and still get the bonus sign up frequent flyer miles! haha sigh. damn you annual fees.

i also suggest you get a thermometer quickly, those min-max dials are the worst for temperature regulation!

also check homedepot, i got a 50 bottle cooler for 249$ this weekend, fits about 48!
and this haier cooler is still available
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Customer-reviews-for-Haier-42-Bottle-Capacity-Wine-Cellar-HVF042BBG/sem/rpsm/oid/170063/rpem/ccd/productDetailReview.do#tabs
(free shipping!)

jeffek wrote:


One caveat I should point out is that the only temperature control is a tiny Min->Max dial, and there is no temperature gauge. I haven't quite gotten around to picking up thermometers to place inside, but the bottles are being kept quite cold, even with the dial turned all the way down. The wines are actually chilled to the point where I have to let reds warm up before drinking. So I don't know how close the fridge gets to the 58-degree long-term-storage ideal, but I do know that it's better than letting my wines cook through a 90-degree heat wave ;-)

And a mandatory disclaimer about that wonderful AMEX link is that I work in advertising, and my main client is — wait for it — AMEX. All that means for your purposes, however, is that I know all the insider tips and tricks to getting the best deals with your Card. :-)

Let's see, I work at AMEX in the WFC and manage a team out of phoenix, and I still bet you know more then I do

clayfu wrote:


i also suggest you get a thermometer quickly, those min-max dials are the worst for temperature regulation!

i got a simple but nice one from target - you put the sensor in the fridge and there's a digital read that sits on my desk. it tells me max temp, min temp (since the last time i reset) plus temp in the fridge. for kicks it also tells me the temp wherever the digital read out is (which is usually under a hot lamp!) it helped me calibrate the temperature setting in my magic chef fridge alot.

clayfu wrote:

i also suggest you get a thermometer quickly, those min-max dials are the worst for temperature regulation!

I agree that the dial is not optimal, but supposedly the thermoelectric models at least keep the temp variance minimal, which is most important for the long term.

That said, I'd take a 100-bottle compressor model for under $500 (with shipping!) any day of the week.

pagreen wrote:

Hey, tip away!

If you care to share what flavor of AMEX you've got, perhaps I can share a few tasty insider morsels.
Of course, that's a very personal question, so I can also give you the things that apply across all Cards.

clayfu wrote:

find me a card with no annual fees and still get the bonus sign up frequent flyer miles! haha sigh. damn you annual fees.

Allow me to suggest the SPG AMEX *big flourish with hands* 10,000 bonus points to start, and you can transfer points to 30 airlines (about half are 1:1). Best part is, when you transfer 20,000 points to miles, they toss in an extra 5,000 miles out of the goodness of their hearts. Seriously, no catch there (except for the fact that it's not instantaneous). Yes, there is a fee, but $30 is on the lowest end of fee cards (and your first year's on the house).

There's also Blue Sky, a rather interesting alternative to miles cards, which has no fee, but you'd have to do some digging to find a good bonus intro offer.

akretz wrote:

Let's see, I work at AMEX in the WFC and manage a team out of phoenix, and I still bet you know more then I do

AXPi? I'll not mention which agency of yours I work for, but isn't it nice to know that we advertise for you even when you're not paying us for a project? ;-)

dnarayanan wrote:

i got a simple but nice one from target - you put the sensor in the fridge and there's a digital read that sits on my desk. it tells me max temp, min temp (since the last time i reset) plus temp in the fridge. for kicks it also tells me the temp wherever the digital read out is (which is usually under a hot lamp!) it helped me calibrate the temperature setting in my magic chef fridge alot.

That's exactly the kind I'm looking for. I'm still kicking myself for not getting them when they were up on regular woot! but that was pre-wine fridge era.

jeffek wrote:

That said, I'd take a 100-bottle compressor model for under $500 (with shipping!) any day of the week.

you might want to watch out for large thermo or compressor models. I have a 50 bottle one (even my 32 bottle before) and the temperature variation from top to bottom is alomst 7 degrees.
Some people would say "that's great! you can put your whites on the bottom!" but sadly it doens't work out so well.

i have 6 levels, top level i 62degrees, then it drops to 60, then to 58, suddenly drops to 54 then 53 and finally 50 at the very bottom.

You make the whole fridge colder to drop the top levels lower and suddenly your last 3 -4 levels are under 52degrees which maybe a lil too cold for optimal red wine storage (but there is nothing wrong with TOO cold, just doens't age as well)

clayfu wrote:

you might want to watch out for large thermo or compressor models. I have a 50 bottle one (even my 32 bottle before) and the temperature variation from top to bottom is alomst 7 degrees.
Some people would say "that's great! you can put your whites on the bottom!" but sadly it doens't work out so well.

i have 6 levels, top level i 62degrees, then it drops to 60, then to 58, suddenly drops to 54 then 53 and finally 50 at the very bottom.

You make the whole fridge colder to drop the top levels lower and suddenly your last 3 -4 levels are under 52degrees which maybe a lil too cold for optimal red wine storage (but there is nothing wrong with TOO cold, just doens't age as well)

Hey, now I like my purchase(s) even more.

I've seen many fridge-makers trumpet their "dual temperature zones" and now you're making me wonder if it's actually a flaw of the circulation in the compressor models. Wouldn't be the first time a marketer tried to spin a negative into a positive. No, wait — we advertisers would NEVER do anything as shady as that . . .

the dual temperature zones are different, they are physically seperated by two separate fans.

Its not a gradual temperature change in those, its a very apparent jump in temperate between the shelves, which is what people want. So they combine it with the general idea top is hotter, bottom is colder and just add extra cooling in the bottom to further the difference.

at least that was my impression =P

But my whole bottom 2 racks are all white wines , all... 7 that i have that are worth more than 25$ ahah

akretz wrote:

Let's see, I work at AMEX in the WFC and manage a team out of phoenix, and I still bet you know more then I do

I worked on the 21st floor last summer, and as soon as I'm done clerking I'll be back there. Small world.

Loweeel wrote:

I worked on the 21st floor last summer, and as soon as I'm done clerking I'll be back there. Small world.

Awesome, I'm on 24. what team you work with?

Actually, in my thermoelectrics, the bottom is warmer! I tested it with those thermometers that I got off woot. I've been quite happy with them, though I am of course out of space.

jeffek wrote:If you care to share what flavor of AMEX you've got, perhaps I can share a few tasty insider morsels.

I have one of the Costco freebies (the older, silvery ones with 2% rebate accross the board).

I remember olden times, when Amex cards all came in green! Those were the days! (When we first set up our business, we tried to get Amex cards. They were willing to give them to us, as long as I personally guranteed all of the firm's cards--no flexibility at all. What was particularly frustrating was the double-talk we kept getting about how no personal guarantee was required, as long as I was personally "responsible" for them all. I think their script needed work. We ended up getting Visas.)

akretz wrote:

Awesome, I'm on 24. what team you work with?

The lawfirm that's on 20-21 of 3WFC

Morgan & Finnegan?
how did you like working at a smaller law firm? or one that does IP exclusively? Always curious if i'd get bored of always doing IP, but nowadays the big firms do so much IP its hard to avoid.

This may or may not be a deal, but it was on spoofee yesterday...

Amazon.com has the Factory-Reconditioned Cuisinart CWC900FR Private Reserve wine cellar for only $54.99 shipped.

This is good for 11 bottles.
item has a rating of 2.5/5.0 from 3 reviews.

Pricegrabber Price for New Unit : $170.05 ~ $211.64 Shipped

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000KI66U0/ref%3Dnosim/spoofee

So has anyone received one of the coolers offered as an incentive for some of the wine clubs these days? Any thoughts on those as a (very) cheap way to get a small cooler?

Are there any coolers out there that let you set different temperature settings for different sections?

Or as an alternative, how do you store both red AND white wine together?

Do you let the red sit out for a few hours before serving?

Please help.. thanks

mander77 wrote:Are there any coolers out there that let you set different temperature settings for different sections?

Or as an alternative, how do you store both red AND white wine together?

Do you let the red sit out for a few hours before serving?

Please help.. thanks

Danby makes this one which is sold from my very part time place of employment. Shipping would most likely be very high though. Still, last I looked I couldn't find it cheaper online so may still be your best option depending on shipping. If you live in or around K.C., MO they have a store there as well.

You could also get this which makes me happy and I may have to find out pricing on. Reasons like this is why I work part time at an electronics store.

mander77 wrote:Are there any coolers out there that let you set different temperature settings for different sections?

Or as an alternative, how do you store both red AND white wine together?

Do you let the red sit out for a few hours before serving?

Please help.. thanks

i usually let my reds sit out for about 30-an hour after leaving my cooler (which is usually 55-58 degrees). its a single zone, though i find the bottom is naturally about 3-5 degrees colder than the top, so i leave whites and reds i'm more interested in aging for a while down there.

Thanks everyone that definitely helps. Much appreciated I will need one after my wine party, I'll have lots of leftovers.

Can anyone recommend a good 100+ bottle cellar? One of my EdgeStar thermoelectrics is broken...it's still under warranty, but the warranty says that I have to pay shipping to and from the service site, so, um, yeah. Time to upgrade.

aces219 wrote:Can anyone recommend a good 100+ bottle cellar? One of my EdgeStar thermoelectrics is broken...it's still under warranty, but the warranty says that I have to pay shipping to and from the service site, so, um, yeah. Time to upgrade.

Aces, I don't have this, but it looks VERY nice

It's a danby 166 bottle cooler, with blue led lighting that won't mess with your wine, plus it's got UV glass, pull out shelves, the works. And I think if you go back through grammie said you can get one in Seattle.

grammie's quote is here As always, grammie rocks.

bhodilee wrote:Aces, I don't have this, but it looks VERY nice

It's a danby 166 bottle cooler, with blue led lighting that won't mess with your wine, plus it's got UV glass, pull out shelves, the works. And I think if you go back through grammie said you can get one in Seattle.

grammie's quote is here As always, grammie rocks.

It does look really nice! We have such high sales tax that it would be preferable to purchase it online.

OK, I really, really want this, but I have to find some place that will deliver it inside my house since it weighs 300 lbs. And I have to convince DH that it is a worthwhile investment.

aces219 wrote:It does look really nice! We have such high sales tax that it would be preferable to purchase it online.

OK, I really, really want this, but I have to find some place that will deliver it inside my house since it weighs 300 lbs. And I have to convince DH that it is a worthwhile investment.

this is gonna sound stupid, but if you have a refridgerator dolly 300 pounds is nothing. Two guys can pick up 300lbs and I can handle that much on a dolly by myself. Though for safety sake you'd want to have two guys. I wonder what shipping would cost on this thing? I'd imagine it'd be more than tax, plus most local places will deliver and set up. If you do buy it online the freight guy will probably bring it in and set it up for a couple beers or twenty bucks. That's also a good trick to getting rid of trash you're not supposed to throw away. You put a twelve pack on top of it with the word thanks written on it. Works here anyway.

Also, did you see the warranty is two years with in home service. From the sounds of the one you have that's worth it there.

aces219 wrote:It does look really nice! We have such high sales tax that it would be preferable to purchase it online.

OK, I really, really want this, but I have to find some place that will deliver it inside my house since it weighs 300 lbs. And I have to convince DH that it is a worthwhile investment.

if the danby is too expensive for you, Haier and Vinotemp has essentially the same thing for a bit cheaper.

Also to note,these things are horrors to put in pinot and large profile bottles.

bhodilee wrote:this is gonna sound stupid, but if you have a refridgerator dolly 300 pounds is nothing. Two guys can pick up 300lbs and I can handle that much on a dolly by myself. Though for safety sake you'd want to have two guys. I wonder what shipping would cost on this thing? I'd imagine it'd be more than tax, plus most local places will deliver and set up. If you do buy it online the freight guy will probably bring it in and set it up for a couple beers or twenty bucks. That's also a good trick to getting rid of trash you're not supposed to throw away. You put a twelve pack on top of it with the word thanks written on it. Works here anyway.

Also, did you see the warranty is two years with in home service. From the sounds of the one you have that's worth it there.

Tax is like 10% here, so shipping and tax are pretty comparable. I'll probably do the local place because I really need whoever it is to bring it in and set it up. Got DH to agree to it. It would be really nice if the local place actually had a display model I could check out.

I could turn the mini-fridge that still works into a pinot cooler, it has removable shelves.

probably won't deal with this until I'm back from DC, so a couple weeks. My wine is at about 65 so it shouldn't spoil in the meantime I don't think. Good time of year for this to happen.

This isn't exactly a cooler, but I didn't want to start a new thread.....

Has anyone used one of these? Sharper Image 2 Bottle Wine Cooler

It's a two bottle wine cooler/chiller. Basically you throw in 1 or 2 bottles and it brings it down to the right temp.

Any experiences? Good? Bad? Does it work?

Corrado wrote:I got the one-bottle version as a gift. It best use is keeping a bottle at the temp you want it (or close) over the course of several hours. It's not very useful in GETTING the wine to a ~60F drinking temp from ~70F room temp in a reasonable time. It's certainly no better than a normal grocery fridge for that and fails when compared to a bucket of ice-water.

Good to know! Thanks Corrado!

vaaccess wrote:I've posted this in some of the wine threads, but read this and thought I'd throw in my 2-cents...When I recently got into wines again I did a lot of reading on good/bad ways to store your wine, etc...This was my conculsion...

**********

First of all, wine should be stored in a vibration free, cool environment that is also dark. For reds, I believe the temp should be around 60-degrees...The long and short of it is that you can get Theremoelectric Wine Coolers that don't have a compressor. They don't cool as fast and I think they would not be as ideal for white wine because they might have a problem getting to a lower temp, but they'll work perfectly for red wines, which is all I drink. They also do a good job of circulating the temp inside the unit and typically have +/- 2 degrees from the bottom to the top...Whereas with a compressor unit the variance is greater I believe. Oh, the Thermoelectric ones are apparently silent.

The largest Theremoelectrics I found were 28-bottle units. There were three brands I found: Avanti, EdgeStar, and Urbina Design. Ultimately I went with the EdgeStar because it had tinted glass and an LED light that won't emmit very much heat nor be too bright and the EdgeStar also has wood racks instead of metal. the Avanti was cheapest and I found them for $220 or so shipped. The EdgeStar was $250 shipped. I bought it on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=005&item=150008866723

I just bought the ss covered model of the above the have it on sale for 199.95 + 5% off and free sh through tonight 11/30/2007

http://www.compactappliance.com/xq/JSP.detailmain/EdgeStar_Deluxe_28_Bottle_Wine_Cooler_with_Lock___Platinum/itemID.14116/itemType.Product/iProductID.14116/qx/shopping/product/TWR282S.htm

I got 2, cause I have managed to aquire 26 already and I have 12 more coming +++ I live in Florida, not a real big deal right now but I will need one before summertime Thanks, VA

Yesterday I acquired my second cooler, another Vinotemp in stainless that holds 60 bottles (really more like 54). I bought it used via Craigslist. Turns out the seller & I have mutual friends, and the Vinotemp was only $125!

The descent down the slippery slope continues.

Best Buy has a 35 bottle Danby on sale this week for 169. I know, I know, it's prolly not big enough for most wine.wooters. And mine will be overflowing, but I figure its a good start to get "something" in place for those pricier bottles.

luckyinla wrote:Yesterday I acquired my second cooler, another Vinotemp in stainless that holds 60 bottles (really more like 54). I bought it used via Craigslist. Turns out the seller & I have mutual friends, and the Vinotemp was only $125!

The descent down the slippery slope continues.

good price!

clayfu wrote:good price!

Thanks! I thought so too, thus I didn't even bother to negotiate...