Compare the Best Wine CoolersApril 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.

Cooler Prices

We currently list 123 wine coolers ranging from £59 to £3,999. On average, a new cooler costs £813 and 80% of coolers are priced between £166 and £1,929. The Essentials CWC15B14 is the cheapest wine cooler at only £60, and Miele KWT 6833 SG is the most expensive at £3,999.

Cooler Brands - Price Range

The highest average cooler price out of all brands is Miele coolers with an average price of £2,771. Miele coolers range in price from £1,999 to £3,999.

Siemens coolers start at £1,149 and their most expensive cooler costs £3,500. The second highest average cooler price out of all brands is Siemens coolers with an average price of £2,325.

The average price of Liebherr wine coolers is £1,453 which is the third highest average price of all cooler brands. Liebherr wine coolers range in price from £249 to £3,999.

Cooler Brands - Average Ratings

We have checked 205 user wine cooler reviews written online and used this information to evaluate the average rating for each brand of wine cooler. The top three cooler brands are Haier, Magic Chef and Husky. Haier has an average rating of 90%, Magic Chef has an average rating of 89% and Husky has an average rating of 83%.

Biggest Cooler Retailers

The biggest wine cooler retailer by number of products currently for sale is Buywise. We found 35 current wine cooler offers from Buywise. The second biggest wine cooler retailer is Appliance City with 28 offers. That means Buywise is significantly bigger than Appliance City 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 clear pattern in the release dates for new wine coolers over the last 3 years. March was the biggest month last year for new coolers, with 26 new coolers released that month. The biggest month in 2016 for new wine cooler releases was September, with 28 new coolers released that month. 26 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, in the first 6 months after release, coolers drop in price by 2%. On a typical new wine cooler costing £813, by waiting 6 months before buying you could save on average £15.

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 most coolers range from 1bottle(s) to 28bottle(s). The CapleWF1548 has the biggest bottle capacity. This wine cooler is a 592bottle(s) bottle capacity wine cooler and is priced at £1,699.00. The CapleWF1548, which can be purchased for £179.00, has the smallest bottle capacity and is a 7bottle(s) bottle capacity wine cooler.

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 wine coolers range from 1 to 2. The cooler with the most temperature zone is the CapleWF1548, which is a 3 temperature zone wine cooler and is on sale for £1,699.00. The CapleWF1548 has the least temperature zone. This wine cooler is a 1 temperature zone wine cooler and can be purchased for £1,149.00.

Colours

We found 83 coolers that are coolers that have a Black coloured, which makes Black the most frequently found colour amongst new coolers. We found 41 coolers that are wine coolers that have a Stainless steel coloured, making this the second most popular colour amongst new coolers.

Case Designs

Amongst new coolers, the most popular case design is freestanding. We found 125 coolers that are wine coolers that have a freestanding Case design. The second most common case design amongst new wine coolers is built-in. We found 46 wine coolers that are wine coolers that have a built-in Case design.

Energy Efficiency of Wine Coolers

We found 179 wine coolers that have an energy efficiency rating of A+, which makes this the most common energy efficiency rating amongst new wine coolers. The second most common energy efficiency rating amongst new wine coolers is A. We found 179 wine coolers that have an energy efficiency rating of A.

Biggest Wine Cooler Retailers

We found 35 current offers for coolers from Buywise making it the biggest wine cooler retailer. That is significantly bigger than the second biggest retailer, Appliance City for whom we found 28 current offers for coolers. The third biggest retailer is Currys with 26 current wine cooler offers.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Coolers?

With the cheapest price on 14 coolers, Currys is most frequently the cheapest cooler shop.

Proportion of Wine Coolers for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

The cheapest shop by number of wine cooler for which they offer the cheapest price is Currys with the cheapest price on 53.8% of its coolers.