Compare the Best Wine CoolersDecember 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

In total we found 124 coolers ranging from £49 to £4,599. The average price of a new wine cooler is £1,044 and 80% of coolers are priced between £174 and £2,499. The Miele KWT 6722 iGS is the most expensive cooler that we found at £4,599, and the Hostess HW02MA is the cheapest at only £50.

Wine Cooler Brands - Price Range

The highest average wine cooler price out of all brands is Siemens coolers with an average price of £3,800. Siemens coolers range in price from £3,800 to £3,800.

Miele wine coolers range in price from £1,999 to £4,599, and the second highest average wine cooler price out of all brands is Miele wine coolers with an average price of £3,232.

The average price of Liebherr wine coolers is £2,035 which is the third highest average price of all cooler brands. Liebherr wine coolers range in price from £1,059 to £3,949.

Wine Cooler Brands - Average Ratings

We have checked 1 expert reviews and 586 user reviews for wine coolers and used these reviews to evaluate 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 57 current wine cooler offers from Appliance City. The second biggest retailer is Home Source 4u with 26 offers. That means Appliance City is more than twice as big as Home Source 4u when it comes to wine coolers. Currys is the third biggest retailer with 25 current offers.

When Are Most New Wine Coolers Released?

We looked at the release dates for new coolers over the last 3 years, but couldn't see any obvious pattern. March was the biggest month in 2017 for new wine coolers, with 27 new wine coolers released that month. In September 2016 28 new wine coolers were released making it the biggest month that year for new wine cooler releases. In 2015 most new coolers were released in July, with 25 new coolers released that month.

How Fast Do Wine Cooler Prices Drop After Release?

On average, in the first 6 months after release, coolers drop in price by 2%. That means a saving of £25 on a typical £1,044 new 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 cooler with the biggest bottle capacity is the Caple WF1548, which is a 592 bottle(s) bottle capacity wine cooler and can be purchased for £1,681.99. The cooler with the smallest bottle capacity is the Hostess HW02MA, which is a 2 bottle(s) bottle capacity wine cooler and currently retails for £49.97.

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 the majority of coolers range from 1 to 2. The Caple WF1548, which is on sale for £1,681.99, has the most temperature zone and is a 3 temperature zone wine cooler. The Liebherr WKR 3211, which is available at £1,199.00, has the least temperature zone and is a 1 temperature zone cooler.

Noise Levels

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

Comparing all coolers, the noise levels range from 25dB to 55dB. The noise levels of most coolers range from 38dB to 41dB. The cooler with the loudest noise level is the Amica AWC300, which is a 47dB cooler and is available at £269.00. The Klarstein Vinovista, which can be purchased for £109.99, has the quietest noise level and is a 25dB wine cooler.

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 Appliance City. 37 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. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was Appliance City. 64.9% of their cooler prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.