Wine Refrigerators

[Daniel Kovnat]

I need a temperature controlled wine refrigerator. Does anyone out there have any experience with them here in Israel?

I think the size should be for about 28 bottles, though perhaps bigger is better, but no more than 130 bottles.
What do they cost?
What brand do you have and is it reliable?
How long has yours lasted without need for repairs?
Do you know of retailers here in Israel?
Has anybody had any experience purchasing one on the internet?

Any other information in addition to these questions would be appreciated. If you have something really bad to say and you don't want to "go public" feel free to send me an email. All input held in strictest confidentiality.

Thanks for your help -- Dan

[Ian Sutton]

I don't know if they're available in Israel, but Liebherr are a very good option in the middle ground price-wise.

Things to consider are location - does it need to look relatively classy as it will be in the house, or is it going to be in a quiet and unobtrusive location?

Do you want wine stored at different temperatures , or is one common temperature enough (for me it is, and the multi-zone units tend to be more pricey).

Do watch out for some cheaper units with overly narrow shelving (ok for riesling or half bottle, but impossible for burgundy or sparking wine bottles - the cheap frigidaire one we had first was like this).

Reliable? The frigidaire lasted little over 5 years, so a thumbs down. We may look into a repair (it might be a blockage or cooling gas leak as the motor seems to still run ok, it's just struggling to apply any cooling effect), but can't say I ever really liked it as much as the Liebherr (WK4127).

I have to ask about your upper limit. Is it representative of what you have now & if so is your interest in cellaring wine growing? Many underestimate how much they like buying wine and what seemed like 'more than big enough' is within 6 months full to the brim! In terms of storage space for your money, the equation is generally more favourable the bigger you go, so if space isn't an issue, then do also have a look at slightly bigger units. You don't have to fill them straight away though!!

Finally, if you do go for a bigger unit, it will pay to keep a record of what bottle is where, either through a spreadsheet, cellar book (the old-fashioned but classy option), or cellar management tool .e.g. Cellartracker. It does make life easier when you know where the wine is, so don't have to pull every bottle out to find it.

Best of luck in the search

regards
Ian

[Stephen Weil]

I have 2. One was standard and one custom made.
A couple of points you should watch for

today may bottles are the wide bottle and not all shelves allow for it,
some fridges are problomatic on shabbat
do you need space for boxed wine or magnums
fridges give off heat and some are noisy especialy the better ones which use a compressor

[Elie Poltorak]

I have 2. One was standard and one custom made.
A couple of points you should watch for

today may bottles are the wide bottle and not all shelves allow for it,
some fridges are problomatic on shabbat
do you need space for boxed wine or magnums
fridges give off heat and some are noisy especialy the better ones which use a compressor

What can be a problem on Shabbat?

[David Raccah]

Lights going on when the door opens. Showing the temperature when the door opens, etc. Nasty stuff that needs to be played and tested in the store! Check out Star-K appliances that have an approved sabbath mode :

https://www.google.com/search?q=star+k+ ... ine+fridge

David

[Elie Poltorak]

Same issues as any fridge... You can just unscrew the lightbulb.

[Adam N]

I need a temperature controlled wine refrigerator. Does anyone out there have any experience with them here in Israel?

I think the size should be for about 28 bottles, though perhaps bigger is better, but no more than 130 bottles.
What do they cost?
What brand do you have and is it reliable?
How long has yours lasted without need for repairs?
Do you know of retailers here in Israel?
Has anybody had any experience purchasing one on the internet?

Any other information in addition to these questions would be appreciated. If you have something really bad to say and you don't want to "go public" feel free to send me an email. All input held in strictest confidentiality.

Thanks for your help -- Dan

I sell them in my store. Call me in the store 08-971-7168
Adam N

[DavidNS]

I purchased a Vintec a few years ago and I am very happy with it.
Mine holds about 40 bottles while my brother has a much larger model and he is happy with his as well.
I would suggest a model with a compressor rather than thermo electric..... better reliability.

This is the site of the importer:
http://www.wineculture.co.il/

I purchased mine on Walla Shops for much less money but with the Warranty from the importer.