Compare the Best Wine CoolersJuly 2018

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

Wine coolers range in price from $67 to $3,299 and in total we found prices for 7 wine coolers. On average, a new cooler costs $607 and 80% of wine coolers are priced between $100 and $250. The most expensive wine cooler that we found is the Miele KWT 6322 UG at $3,299, and the cheapest is the Magic Chef MCWC6B at only $68.

Wine Cooler Brands - Price Range

The highest average cooler price out of all brands is Miele wine coolers with an average price of $3,299. Miele wine coolers start at $3,299 and their most expensive cooler costs $3,299.

The second highest average wine cooler price out of all brands is NewAir wine coolers with an average price of $250. NewAir wine coolers start at $250 and their most expensive wine cooler costs $250.

The third highest average wine cooler price out of all brands is Avanti coolers with an average price of $168. Avanti coolers range in price from $138 to $197.

Wine Cooler Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 212 user wine cooler reviews and used this information to evaluate the average rating for each brand of wine cooler.

Biggest Wine 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 4 offers. That means Overstock is the same as Walmart when it comes to wine coolers. Pricefalls is the third biggest retailer with 3 current offers.

When Are Most New Wine Coolers Released?

We couldn't see any noticeable pattern in the release dates for new coolers over the last 3 years. March was the biggest month last year for new wine coolers, with 27 new wine coolers released that month. In 2016 most new wine coolers were released in September, with 28 new wine coolers released that month. 27 new coolers were released in July 2015 making it the biggest month that year for new wine cooler releases.

How Fast Do Wine Cooler Prices Drop After Release?

On average coolers drop in price by 20% in the first 6 months after release. That means a saving of $121 on a typical $607 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 bottle(s) to 592 bottle(s). The bottle capacity of the majority of coolers range from 0 bottle(s) to 30 bottle(s). The Miele KWT 6322 UG, which can be purchased for $3,299.00, has the biggest bottle capacity and is a 34 bottle(s) bottle capacity cooler. The Magic Chef MCWC6B, which currently retails for $67.65, has the smallest bottle capacity and is a 6 bottle(s) bottle capacity 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 wine coolers range from 1 to 2. The Miele KWT 6322 UG, which is available at $3,299.00, has the most temperature zone and is a 2 temperature zone wine cooler. The cooler with the least temperature zone is the Avanti WC24T2P, which is a 1 temperature zone cooler and is available at $137.69.

Noise Levels

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

Comparing all wine coolers, the noise levels range from 25dB to 47dB. The noise levels of most wine coolers range from 39dB to 41dB. The Magic Chef MCWC12B, which sells for $99.78, has the loudest noise level and is a 39dB cooler. The NewAir AW-280E, which sells for $249.95, has the quietest noise level and is a 25dB cooler.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for 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 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 Walmart. 3 of their cooler prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of 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 wine cooler prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's wine cooler prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers.