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looking for a new wine fridge - 8/16/2016 9:18:06 PM

asaweli

Posts: 5
Joined: 11/3/2010
Status: offline

Hi,

I recently moved to the US from Europe and am looking into buying a new wine fridge/cabinet for my wine collection. I have a Eurocave in the Netherlands but cannot afford to buy a second one here in the US.

Currently refining my search and have narrowed it down to a 200 capacity artevino sold by Costco or alternatively a 166 capacity dual by N'FINITY PRO. I am of course open to other suggestions as well but don't want to save USD 500 to only regret it later.

Does anyone have any experience with comparing both brands or in general have some good advice for me what a good choice would be if you don't want to spend more than USD 2.000 ish and want to (realistically) store approximately 150 bottles.

thanks!

Post #: 1

RE: looking for a new wine fridge - 8/16/2016 11:22:27 PM

vinorog

Posts: 43
Joined: 7/5/2010
Status: offline

If you can stretch the $, would definitely recommend a TransTherm. Have one with about a 170 capacity. Have had it for 5 years without a single problem. Welcome to the states.

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Roger

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Post #: 2

RE: looking for a new wine fridge - 8/17/2016 12:47:13 AM

pclin

Posts: 1911
Joined: 5/29/2012
From: Exile in my own country
Status: offline

Not sure if you can get it in the US but I have a Liebbherr wine fridge which has been good for 5 years now, should be cheaper than Eurocave and TransTherm. I used TransTherm before, it's good. Another name to look out for is Bosch.

< Message edited by pclin -- 8/17/2016 12:50:48 AM >

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RE: looking for a new wine fridge - 8/17/2016 4:38:12 AM

nmw

Posts: 374
Joined: 5/22/2016
From: Tampa, FL
Status: offline

We have an Artvino from Costco. The whole experience was excellent, from purchase through delivery. Depending on bottle type 200 may be a real stretch. You may be able to catch a sale st Costco and save a few hundred $. We did. Welcome to the states and the boards.

(in reply to asaweli)

Post #: 4

RE: looking for a new wine fridge - 8/17/2016 8:04:25 AM

asaweli

Posts: 5
Joined: 11/3/2010
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: vinorog

If you can stretch the $, would definitely recommend a TransTherm. Have one with about a 170 capacity. Have had it for 5 years without a single problem. Welcome to the states.

Hi Roger thanks for the response. Is that the prestige manoir model? That would be indeed be a bit of a stretch for me as I could only find that for 2.750 online. They do look beautiful though. Probably will be out of my budget.

Thanks

(in reply to vinorog)

Post #: 5

RE: looking for a new wine fridge - 8/17/2016 8:07:39 AM

asaweli

Posts: 5
Joined: 11/3/2010
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: nmw

We have an Artvino from Costco. The whole experience was excellent, from purchase through delivery. Depending on bottle type 200 may be a real stretch. You may be able to catch a sale st Costco and save a few hundred $. We did. Welcome to the states and the boards.

Hi thanks for the reply. How long have you had it and how is it holding up? I am indeed looking for the sale on the 200 model at Costco as it has been on sale before. It seems this happened a couple of times in November which might be a longer wait. Do you remember when it was on sale for you?

Thanks again

(in reply to nmw)

Post #: 6

RE: looking for a new wine fridge - 8/17/2016 10:18:36 AM

nmw

Posts: 374
Joined: 5/22/2016
From: Tampa, FL
Status: offline

It's been flawless for about 2 years. And silent as well.

(in reply to asaweli)

Post #: 7

RE: looking for a new wine fridge - 8/17/2016 1:04:29 PM

Rackit

Posts: 278
Joined: 5/22/2016
From: Westport, CT
Status: offline

I did a bunch of research before buying my two N'Finity units. From what I read, some folks have had the Costco units fail and did not like the quality of the build.
To be honest, the N'Finity units can fail as well, although I've had absolutely no problems. I have the larger two zone units, which hold about 166 bottles each. I just keep a humidistat in each unit to make sure the levels don't drop below 50%. If it does, I add a small tray of water with a big sponge. Easy.
My main unit is a 600 bottle Le Cache cabinet. Beautiful piece of furniture and great racking system that fits all bottle sizes. Obviously more $$$ too.
The racking system on the N'Finity is a bit of a pain, but totally workable...especially if you have a lot of French Bordeaux.
Hope that helps. Let me know if I can answer any other questions.
BTW..Wine Enthusiast does run sales and often has scratch and dent units that are discounted. Worth calling...or going there if you're near by.

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"Anyone who tries to tell you they know everything about wine is obviously a fake" - Leon Adams

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Post #: 8

RE: looking for a new wine fridge - 8/17/2016 9:44:34 PM

asaweli

Posts: 5
Joined: 11/3/2010
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Rackit

I did a bunch of research before buying my two N'Finity units. From what I read, some folks have had the Costco units fail and did not like the quality of the build.
To be honest, the N'Finity units can fail as well, although I've had absolutely no problems. I have the larger two zone units, which hold about 166 bottles each. I just keep a humidistat in each unit to make sure the levels don't drop below 50%. If it does, I add a small tray of water with a big sponge. Easy.
My main unit is a 600 bottle Le Cache cabinet. Beautiful piece of furniture and great racking system that fits all bottle sizes. Obviously more $$$ too.
The racking system on the N'Finity is a bit of a pain, but totally workable...especially if you have a lot of French Bordeaux.
Hope that helps. Let me know if I can answer any other questions.
BTW..Wine Enthusiast does run sales and often has scratch and dent units that are discounted. Worth calling...or going there if you're near by.

Hi Rackit,

thanks for responding.

If I look into the N'Finity units I would probably choose between the following 2 models. would you have a strong preference for either? I am not specifically looking for a dual zone as my main purpose will be plain old storage. Also which humidistat do you use? does that really matter?

http://www.wineenthusiast.com/n-finity-pro-l-dual-zone-wine-cellar-(full-glass-door).asp

http://www.wineenthusiast.com/n-finity-pro-l-red-wine-cellar-(full-glass-door).asp

Another thing I was wondering.. do you know where the N'Finity units are made?

thanks again!

< Message edited by asaweli -- 8/17/2016 10:02:17 PM >

(in reply to Rackit)

Post #: 9

RE: looking for a new wine fridge - 8/18/2016 4:06:42 AM

nmw

Posts: 374
Joined: 5/22/2016
From: Tampa, FL
Status: offline

If you're looking for pure storage the Artvino will do a great job. Shelving while generous can limit capacity if you store a lot of rhone or magnum size bottles and you want attractive and easy access. Build quality is basically good enough. The "big however" is you have Costco backing your purchase. Having been through service requirements for my other storage this is huge.

(in reply to asaweli)

Post #: 10

RE: looking for a new wine fridge - 8/18/2016 7:49:10 PM

Rackit

Posts: 278
Joined: 5/22/2016
From: Westport, CT
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: asaweli

quote:

ORIGINAL: Rackit

I did a bunch of research before buying my two N'Finity units. From what I read, some folks have had the Costco units fail and did not like the quality of the build.
To be honest, the N'Finity units can fail as well, although I've had absolutely no problems. I have the larger two zone units, which hold about 166 bottles each. I just keep a humidistat in each unit to make sure the levels don't drop below 50%. If it does, I add a small tray of water with a big sponge. Easy.
My main unit is a 600 bottle Le Cache cabinet. Beautiful piece of furniture and great racking system that fits all bottle sizes. Obviously more $$$ too.
The racking system on the N'Finity is a bit of a pain, but totally workable...especially if you have a lot of French Bordeaux.
Hope that helps. Let me know if I can answer any other questions.
BTW..Wine Enthusiast does run sales and often has scratch and dent units that are discounted. Worth calling...or going there if you're near by.

Hi Rackit,

thanks for responding.

If I look into the N'Finity units I would probably choose between the following 2 models. would you have a strong preference for either? I am not specifically looking for a dual zone as my main purpose will be plain old storage. Also which humidistat do you use? does that really matter?

http://www.wineenthusiast.com/n-finity-pro-l-dual-zone-wine-cellar-(full-glass-door).asp

http://www.wineenthusiast.com/n-finity-pro-l-red-wine-cellar-(full-glass-door).asp

Another thing I was wondering.. do you know where the N'Finity units are made?

thanks again!

I believe the folks at Wine Enthusiast have the units made to their specs somewhere overseas...probably Asia/China, but you can ask them to be sure. I wasn't really looking for dual zone either, but that version is a bit wider than the single zone and fits more bottles...or more Burg bottles per shelf. The shelves are more generous and forgiving. If you've ever tried to pack a case of bottles onto a shelf in any cooling unit, you'll appreciate this point. They are also willing to negotiate as I paid a bit under $2K/unit last year. I'm away until Saturday, but can try to find the name of the guy I worked with if you like. Since these units are made specifically for WE, they are very responsive with any issues. Again, the build seems to be perfectly acceptable. If I were storing very high value wine, I might go for the Eurocave because of the superior racking system, temp/humid alarms and other features.
I've been told that all of the cooling units out there will fail eventually. For me, I'd rather buy a $2K unit rather than a $5K unit every 10-15 years...and I'm not storing my 1953 DRC in them.
Basically, I feel they're a good value.
As far as humidistats go, I got mine at Home Depot for about $15 each. The water tray I use to add humidity when it needs it is from leftover Chinese food. I did pony up for new, big sponges to help with evaporation. I have to adjust humidity maybe once a year. The units are pretty good at holding it.
If you do go for the dual zone units to get the extra capacity, you should know that there will have to be a 4 degree difference between the top zone and the bottom zone. I keep my top zone at 53 degrees and the bottom one at 57 degrees. It basically evens out as there are fans to circulate internal air in the middle of the unit.
They also were great at delivering and setting them up where I wanted them.
Overall, a pretty good experience.
Hope that helps

_____________________________

"Anyone who tries to tell you they know everything about wine is obviously a fake" - Leon Adams

(in reply to asaweli)

Post #: 11