Compare the Best Wine CoolersOctober 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

The price range of coolers is from £59 to £3,999 and in total we found prices for 123 coolers. A new cooler costs on average £850 and 80% of coolers are priced between £174 and £1,999. The Essentials CWC8B15 is the cheapest wine cooler at only £60, and Liebherr WTPES 5972 Vinidor is the most expensive at £3,999.

Cooler Brands - Price Range

The average price of Miele coolers is £2,791 which is the highest average price of all cooler brands. Miele coolers start at £2,100 and their most expensive cooler costs £3,999.

Siemens wine coolers range in price from £1,149 to £3,500, and the average price of Siemens wine coolers is £2,325 which is the second highest average price of all cooler brands.

Liebherr wine coolers range in price from £497 to £3,999, and the average price of Liebherr wine coolers is £1,511 which is the third highest average price of all cooler brands.

Wine Cooler Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 205 user wine cooler reviews and used this data to determine the average rating for each brand of wine cooler.

Biggest Cooler Retailers

The biggest wine cooler retailer by number of products currently for sale is Appliance City. We found 28 current wine cooler offers from Appliance City. The second biggest retailer is Appliances Direct with 28 offers. That means Appliance City is the same as Appliances Direct when it comes to coolers. Currys is the third biggest retailer with 26 current offers.

When Are Most New Coolers Released?

We couldn't see any evident pattern in the release dates for new coolers over the last 3 years. March was the biggest month last year for new coolers, with 26 new coolers released that month. In September 2016 28 new coolers were released making it the biggest month that year for new cooler releases. 26 new coolers were released in July 2015 making it the biggest month that year for new wine cooler releases.

How Fast Do Cooler Prices Drop After Release?

On average, in the first 6 months after release, wine coolers drop in price by 3%. If you are prepared to wait then you could save an average of £22 on a typical £850 new wine cooler by waiting 6 months before buying.

Bottle Capacity

This denotes the maximum number of bottles the wine cooler is capable of holding at once.

Comparing all coolers, the bottle capacity range from 1bottle(s) to 592bottle(s). The bottle capacity of the majority of coolers range from 1bottle(s) to 28bottle(s). The CapleWF1548 has the biggest bottle capacity. This wine cooler is a 592bottle(s) bottle capacity cooler and is on sale for £1,699.00. The CapleWF1548 has the smallest bottle capacity. This cooler is a 7bottle(s) bottle capacity wine cooler and sells for £169.00.

Temperature Zones

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

Comparing all coolers, the temperature zones range from 1 to 3. The temperature zones of most wine coolers range from 1 to 2. The CapleWF1548, which sells for £1,699.00, has the most temperature zone and is a 3 temperature zone cooler. The cooler with the least temperature zone is the CapleWF1548, which is a 1 temperature zone cooler and is priced at £1,149.00.

Colours

The most popular colour amongst new coolers is Black. We found 84 coolers that are coolers that have a Black coloured. We found 44 wine coolers that are wine coolers that have a Stainless steel coloured, making Stainless steel the second most frequently found colour amongst new wine coolers.

Case Designs

The most common case design amongst new wine coolers is freestanding. We found 129 wine coolers that are wine coolers that have a freestanding Case design. Built-in is the second most common case design amongst new wine coolers. We found 47 wine coolers that are wine coolers that have a built-in Case design.

Energy Efficiency of Wine Coolers

A+ is the most popular energy efficiency rating amongst new wine coolers. We found 183 wine coolers that have an energy efficiency rating of A+. The second most frequently found energy efficiency rating amongst new wine coolers is A. We found 183 wine coolers that have an energy efficiency rating of A.

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 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 Appliances Direct. 18 of their wine 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 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. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was Appliances Direct. 64.3% of their wine cooler prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.