And Then There were Two

Wine storage has always fascinated me. When America discovered wine in the 90's, factories scrambled to find suitable products. Wine refrigerators seemingly popped out of nowhere, but essentially they were regular refrigerators with wine racks inside.

Its pretty sensible using existing products to satisfy a totally different market. It is, however, not practical to someone who appreciates wine. Wine is very different than most consumables. Because it is a living grape, wine needs to be stored properly. It will react to light, temperature, vibration and humidity. Any changes will alter the complexion and the taste.

The first company to address the category realistically was SubZero.

They thought about wine as part of the design of this product. There is a low E door with hidden lighting to block harmful UV light. There are two temperature units for red and white and a gasket to prevent crossover. The racks slide and the compressor is on rubber grommets to prevent vibration

Absent from a cave, this was the best unit until now.

The new Uline 2275 series...

The Uline has many of the same features. It is almost a carbon copy of the SubZero. I am unsure of the vibration difference, but there are certainly 2 products now worth considering.

Cigars And 3 Wine Cooler Considerations

Walked around the showroom and saw this little novelty...

Its a humidor from Liehberr. Cigars need to be kept in a moist environment or they dry out, which is not optimum...This is a cool unit assuming, of course, you like cigars.

Once upon a time, a wine storage company stuck a humidor in their unit, which is not a good idea. Unless you want your wine to taste like your stogie.

Since wine is living grapes, it is sensitive to everything. In order to buy the right wine cooler for long term storage, it must do the following:

1. Protect against light. Some wine coolers have a low E door, which will block UV and other harmful rays.

2. Vibration will alter the wines composition (a nice way of saying "ruining it"). SubZero insulates their compressor on grommets, so the unit will not shake when cycling. For those who have less than 3,000 to spend, just insure the racks glide out to minimize vibration.

3. Temperature/Humidity control: Heat and humidity will, once again, kill wine. Humidity is a double edged sword. Too much and the labels peel. Too little and the cork will dry and allow air into the wine. Only a few companies actually have accurate temperature controls...You want 2, one for white and red.

Inexpensive, Not Cheap

According to most blog experts, I have to connect to readers with short bursts of compelling info. In the last 2 months, I have shorten the narratives to be more hard hitting. The old stuff, in my opinion, is better for people who are looking for the nuts and bolts on renovating, etc, especially the very first blogs up to early 2007.

Shifting gears, there seems to be more housing inventory on the market lately. Unlike years previously, there are, however, tons of ways to distinguish your home inexpensively....


Let's spend less than 2600:

Complete Frigidaire Gallery kitchen with 2 colored Tech Pendants.



GE Profile Range and wine cooler.



For about $2800, how about an induction cooktop, 5 LED replacement trims and 2 low voltage french optic pendants.

Cool New Products

Lets look at this Monogram Kitchen again...





The undercounter lighting is a new LED product...Simple to install and less expensive to purchase...





The recessed is trimless or seamless to the ceiling.





How do you light the inside of this wine cooler....Press the button.

Vineyard Part 2...The Bar

Our last post was about affordable luxury. This one is about luxury period.

Typically when you plan a bar refrigerator, the space is either 15 or 24 inches. Appliances follow cabinets, and this is the standard or almost universal size. In this space, the choices could be refrigerator, refrigerator and freezer, freezer alone, icemaker, wine cooler or refrigerator and wine cooler.

Buying a decent brand is my only guideline. The case is produced with metal instead of plastic. The compressor also breathes from the front instead of the back, so the product can be enclosed in cabinets.

There are plenty of decent brands: SubZero, Uline, Marvel, Viking, Scotsman and Monogram. Rick (from our last post) does not seem to be satisfied with one. He did create a magnificent bar and game room.

Have a look:

Electrolux Wine Coolers

This is an interesting unit. First of all, it is aesthetically pleasing with digital controls and perhaps the best feature for any wine cooler, LED lighting. As you know from our lighting posts, LED emits zero heat and at 3 watts produces the same output as a 50 or 60 watt incandescent bulb. This is highly significant for wine as the tannins in wine are highly reactive to light and heat.

At $1299, this is a great unit.

There is one small problem, however. The temperature gauge has one setting. Typically red and white wines require different settings with red being warmer than white. Now this is personal preference, and the only wine system with 2 true zones for wine is SubZero...The SubZero costs more than double...

Have a look:

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.

Decorative Lighting

A couple of times a year, I will journey outside of Yale and present the latest trends in the lighting and appliance industry. Over the last few years, the trends have been more pronounced. Consumers have moved to a great room, rather than a formal dining room and living room.

This change has affected our industry certainly in appliances with more cooktops, wall ovens, wine coolers and icemakers. It has dramatically changed lighting and how we light a much larger multi-purpose space.

We now have more recessed(or track) and undercounter lighting. It has also altered the type of light fixture. Instead of a chandelier over the table, we have pendants over an island....

If you walk into Yale, this is what you see








Pendants....But remember for islands, peninsulas and great rooms a pendant is the adaptation for this new style

Whats in the Name?

There are four major appliance companies in the industry plus a few aspirants. Often times, a manufacturer will produce the identical product under several different labels. With rebates, it is possible for a $200-400 price disparity on the same product. This information can save money when purchasing new appliances...Take a look

Bottom Mount Refrigeration:
Maytag, KitchenAid, JennAir, Amana andWhirlpool
LG and GE

Top Mount refrigeration
Amana and Maytag
GE and Hotpoint

Dishwashers
Siemens and Bosch
Thermador and Bosch
Uppper Maytag models and JennAir

Gas Stoves
Siemens and Bosch
Amana, JennAir and Maytag

Electric Stoves
JennAir, Maytag and Amana
GE and Hotpoint(basic models only)

Wine coolers
Marvel and Viking

Wall ovens
Monogram, Profile and GE...A few features different, but inherently the same

Pro Refrigeration
Thermador(not freedom) and KitchenAid
Thermador Freedom and Gaggenau