Don't Wine

Lets talk about wine for a post. Wine is a living, evolving beverage unlike Coke, Sprite or Gatorade. Being a live grape versus a chemical concoction, it allows for a certain amount of spoilage. I once attended a class at the BCAE in Boston and the instructor said 3% of all wine sold in restaurants is "corked" or in layman's terms, spoiled. Under the best conditions, wine is perishable.

I can only image the perishability in residential applications. Most wine storage systems are basically the same as a refrigerator with wine racks. The wine coolers sold at $299 are a dorm refrigerator with a Plexiglas door and racks.

I have no issue with inexpensive products. However, wine is tough to store. Light, heat, humidity and vibration will damage wine. If you ever visit a winery, wine is usually stored in caves for this reason. Of all the wine products sold in the United States, in my opinion, only one can actually store wine for the long term

That company is SubZero. Lets take a peek:

Light: The door is designed to refract light and ultraviolet light. Interestingly enough, most wine coolers have a 60 watt bulb on the top of their cabinet to showcase the wine(and guarantee spoilage underneath). SubZero has low voltage bulbs in the middle.

Temperature: The SubZero has 2 separate temperature zones, where the temperature is displayed digitally. You can set each zone distinctly. Important as red and white wine are served at different temperatures

Vibration: The compressor is fixed to rubber gromats, so it will not shake the unit, which will in turn damage the wine. Also, each shelf glides out on special racks. Try that in any other unit.

Humidity: Humidity can destroy wine by drying corks or by allowing oxygen in the bottle. By having two evaporators, this unit allows for the optimum humidity levels


There are six different models to choose. The undercabinet is the most popular, and $3,000, it is slightly higher than a high end cabinet. Once again, if you are looking to simply buy wine and drink it quickly, then buy almost any product.


However, if you are storing for the long term, either look for a cave or consider a SubZero.