Compare the Best Wine CoolersFebruary 2020

A wine cooler is a specialist fridge specifically designed for storing wine bottles, to allow them to be stored safely at the optimal temperature. They are a step up from a bottle store in your fridge - if you find your bottle collection taking over much of the fridge, or if you want your wine cooled to a very specific temperature, it may be time to invest in one of these appliances.

Wine coolers vary dramatically in their bottle capacity, and how much wine you want to store at once will large dictate your buying choice. Our coolers range from very small 2-bottle coolers - effectively very efficient ice buckets - to enormous cabinets that can hold 300 bottles at once. Coolers also vary enormously in their shape and the number of shelves/baskets they contain - some will allow wine to be stacked closely on top of each other for maximum storage room, others concentrate on less storage, but display the bottles in a more aesthetically pleasing way.

Temperature Control

One of the biggest benefit of a specialised wine cooler is that you can set the temperature to whatever you want - allowing you to keep your wine stored at a different temperature than the rest of your food in the fridge. This is helpful, because certain types of wine favour different temperature ranges, both for storing and drinking.

More advanced (and therefore, expensive) wine coolers also have separate temperature zones. You can set the temperatures in these zones independently of each other, allowing even more flexibility in storing your wine.

The top-range coolers may even have a humidifier unit installed - this allows a high degree of control as to the storage humidity for your bottles. Humidity control is important to keep expensive wines in top condition for long periods of time: too much humidity, and mold may form on the bottles. On the other hand, too little humidity could cause the corks of your bottles to dry out. While humidity control may substantially increase the price of a wine cooler, it may be worth the extra investment if your wine collection is particularly rare and expensive.

Built In Freezer

Some wine coolers also have a separate freezer section - this can be helpful for storing ice and whiskey cubes to chill the wine while you drink it, or a sneaky carton of ice-cream!

Alarm System

Higher-tier wine coolers may have an alarm system - either a visual or aural alarm that goes off when the temperature strays outside it’s set boundaries. This can be very helpful for warning you if the door is ajar, there is a power failure, or some other problem that could threaten the climate of your cooler.

Wine Cooler Prices

Coolers range in price from $87 to $250 and in total we found prices for 5 coolers. On average, a new cooler costs $166 and 80% of wine coolers are priced between $125 and $250. The NewAir AW-280E is the most expensive wine cooler that we found at $250, and the Magic Chef MCWC6B is the cheapest at only $87.

Wine Cooler Brands - Price Range

NewAir wine coolers range in price from $250 to $250, and the average price of NewAir wine coolers is $250 which is the highest average price of all cooler brands.

Avanti wine coolers range in price from $197 to $197, and the average price of Avanti wine coolers is $197 which is the second highest average price of all wine cooler brands.

Magic Chef coolers start at $87 and their most expensive cooler costs $171. The average price of Magic Chef coolers is $128 which is the third highest average price of all cooler brands.

Wine Cooler Brands - Average Ratings

We have checked 2 expert reviews and 712 user reviews for wine coolers and used this information to determine the average rating for each brand of cooler.

Biggest Cooler Retailers

The biggest wine cooler retailer by number of products currently for sale is Overstock. We found 4 current wine cooler offers from Overstock. The second biggest retailer is Walmart with 1 offers. That means Overstock is over 4 times bigger than Walmart when it comes to coolers.

When Are Most New Coolers Released?

We couldn't see any noticeable pattern in the release dates for new wine coolers over the last 3 years. In March 2019, eight new coolers were released making it the biggest month that year for new wine cooler releases. March was also the biggest month in 2018 for new coolers, with 17 new coolers released that month. The biggest month in 2017 for new cooler releases was July, with 29 new wine coolers released that month.

How Fast Do Wine Cooler Prices Drop After Release?

In the first 6 months after release, wine coolers drop in price by 37% on average.

That means a saving of $61 on a typical $166 new wine cooler if you wait 6 months before buying.

Bottle Capacity

'Bottle Capacity' denotes the maximum number of bottles the wine cooler is capable of holding at once.

The bottle capacity of coolers range from 1 bottles to 315 bottles. The bottle capacity of the majority of coolers range from 0 bottles to 30 bottles. The wine cooler with the biggest bottle capacity is the NewAir AW-280E, which is a 28 bottles bottle capacity wine cooler and is on sale for $249.95. The Magic Chef MCWC6B, which is priced at $87.49, has the smallest bottle capacity and is a 6 bottles bottle capacity wine cooler.

Temperature Zones

'Temperature zones' are separate parts of the wine cooler, which can all be set to differing temperatures.

The temperature zones of coolers range from 1 to 3. The temperature zones of most coolers range from 1 to 2. The wine cooler with the most temperature zone is the Avanti EWC18N2PD, which is a 2 temperature zone wine cooler and sells for $197.49. The Magic Chef MCWC28B, which is on sale for $170.99, has the least temperature zone and is a 1 temperature zone wine cooler.

Noise Levels

The noise level of the wine cooler, measured in decibels (dB).

Comparing all wine coolers, the noise levels range from 25dB to 55dB. The noise levels of most wine coolers range from 39dB to 41dB. The cooler with the loudest noise level is the Magic Chef MCWC12B, which is a 39dB cooler and currently retails for $125.47. The wine cooler with the quietest noise level is the NewAir AW-280E, which is a 25dB wine cooler and can be purchased for $249.95.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Wine Coolers?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying coolers. For each retailer it shows the total number of coolers where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying wine coolers. For each retailer we took all of their prices and looked at what proportion of those prices where the cheapest on the market. The cheapest retailer that we found was Overstock. 4 of their cooler prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Wine Coolers for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for wine coolers by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of cooler prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's cooler prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers.