The 3 Best Wine Coolers and Fridges of 2025 | Reviews by Wirecutter

Most people don’t need a wine fridge. But you should think about getting one if you’re buying more good-quality wine than you can imbibe in about a month, you tend to keep a stock of several cases, you regularly buy bottles that cost $30 or more from a reputable source, you want to age wine, or you’re considering selling or trading bottles. Plus, storing and serving wine at the right temperatures will improve the taste. Levi Dalton, host of the podcast I’ll Drink to That, told us, “Good storage is going to make the wine-drinking experience better.”

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For this guide, we focused on medium-size wine fridges that will hold about five or six cases of wine. We think this size hits the sweet spot for keeping small collections safe, without taking up too much floor space. Every expert we spoke with also advised getting a fridge that’s twice the size you think you’ll need. However, for these fridges, size correlates with price, so that’s why our picks are all around $1,000. We know that space, budget, and collection size will influence your purchase, so we also highlight larger and smaller options.

A wine fridge is more than just extra storage. It’s almost like a safe for your collection. A great one will guard against the variables that degrade wine over time: light, heat, vibration, and changes in temperature and humidity. These unseen forces can affect a wine’s flavor and even ruin it.

Experts agree that proper storage is the number one way to maximize your drinking experience, whether you’re an oenophile or a casual drinker. “If you have limited resources but you care, the best thing you can do is store your wine well,” Dalton told us. “If you have a $50 bottle of wine, and you store it well, provided it hasn’t been damaged on its way to you, it’s going to drink better than a $500 bottle of wine that wasn’t stored well.”

Proper wine storage especially matters if you like drinking natural wines. There’s no legal definition for what counts as natural wine, but most makers use grapes that aren’t treated with pesticides and that don’t include additives or preservatives like sulfites. The category has recently boomed, and it shows no signs of declining (some people, like wine writer Alice Feiring, have for years championed natural wine as a way to embrace terroir). However, these wines are more vulnerable to oxidation (when wine is exposed to air, which can change its aroma or structure) or to spoilage. It’s a myth that natural wines can’t age—with enough tannins, careful fermentation, and proper shipping and storage, they can mature for decades. Even if you’re not storing natural wines long-term, they’ll still fare better if they’re kept at the right temperature and away from light, since they’re more fragile than traditional wines.

If you don’t have the space or the need for dedicated wine storage, a regular fridge will probably be fine for short-term storage of about a month. Even experts like master sommelier Pascaline Lepeltier and New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov sometimes stash wine in a regular fridge, due to space constraints. Still, it’s not ideal. Regular fridges are drier (which can desiccate corks), colder (which prevents aging), and vibrate more (which can disturb wine). For everyday bottles that you don’t want to age, these factors aren’t much of a concern because you won’t be keeping a bottle in the fridge long enough for it to matter. The other issue is that a regular fridge’s temperature (about 40 °F) is colder than ideal for serving any type of wine, whereas a programmable or multi-zone wine fridge can keep bottles at their respective ready-to-pour temperatures. But to cool or warm wine for serving, you can simply put it in or take it out of the fridge based on when you want to drink it.

You can also store your wine in a cool, temperature-stable space like a basement. If it tends to be damp, however, you may want to get a dehumidifier because moisture can destroy labels (this is important if you are aging your wine, and if you intend to resell it).

If you’re interested in getting into wine, you can also look for a used wine fridge or cabinet. These will cost far less than new fridges, especially high-end ones. People’s collections often outgrow their storage solutions, so it’s usually not hard to find deals on secondhand models. Look for name brands, ask how old the unit is and about the status of its warranty, and check that the unit can hold the desired temperature. And to get a feel for whether a used fridge will fit your needs, you can also ask what kinds of wines the collector stored there, sommelier Michele Thomas told us.

Some collectors also opt for off-site storage, where they pay to store bottles in controlled environments. If you don’t have a cellar or basement or room for a wine fridge, or if you have a large collection, this may work for you. Retrieving your bottles will take more planning than just walking to a fridge, however, and you may lose track of the bottles you have since they’re not in plain sight. Dalton cautioned that when you’re dealing with off-site storage, accidents, poor handling, or natural disasters could lead to ruined wine. And even if you do choose this option, you may still want a fridge to keep bottles in once you pick them up, since you may not drink them immediately.

To find the best wine fridges, we pored over thousands of reviews of the best-selling models from major appliance retailers, including Home Depot, Best Buy, AJ Madison, Costco, and Wine Enthusiast.

We also went deep on how to store wine and what makes a great wine fridge. The most useful articles we read on wine storage were from Wine Spectator, MasterClass, Eater, and The New York Times; we also consulted academic articles from the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research as well as pieces from the Iowa State University extension program. To find the best fridges to consider, we read reviews from Liquor.com, Epicurious, Wine Enthusiast, and The Strategist. Then we dove into the discussions on Reddit and Wine Berserkers to see what enthusiasts had to say about different makes and models. And, of course, we considered the advice from the 10 wine professionals we spoke with for the guide, cross-referencing their recommendations with everything we read.

We contemplated a wide range of fridge sizes, including models that can hold a maximum of 12 bottles to those that can hold 150. Considering the expert advice to always get a fridge that’s double the size you think you’ll need, we settled on fridges that would hold up to a half-dozen cases of wine. We think this will be an adequate size for storing small collections, without taking up too much space in your house. Naturally, your needs will vary based on your space and collection. Most fridges estimate capacity based on a collection of standard-size Bordeaux bottles. Wine Enthusiast (the seller of our picks) advises that if non-Bordeaux bottles make up half of your collection, your storage capacity may go down 20% to 25%; if more than half of the bottles are non-Bordeaux, capacity may go down 40%. You can get a fridge with similar features and different capacities from the companies that make our picks. And we discuss the details of various size options later in this guide.

A note on thermoelectric fridges: We originally recommended them because they’re quiet. But we’ve noticed a decrease in their availability. And these fridges also function best when the ambient temperature stays near room temperature. It’s also very hard to find larger thermoelectric fridges, and most collectors will want the maximum amount of space they can afford.

Once we gathered all of this information, we established that a great wine fridge should satisfy the following criteria:

Value: The golden rule of wine fridges is you should get one that’s double the size you think you’ll need. We looked for models that had the most space, the best features, and the longest warranties, all for the best price.

Quality construction: Many wine fridges fail—their compressors stop working, they stop holding their temperature, they leak, their doors break. We screened reviews for any mentions of poor quality.

Great customer support: Because wine fridges are large and heavy, we wanted to make sure that buying one would be an easy experience. We considered a company’s customer support, as well as its warranty and return policy, in case anything goes awry (and because wine fridges tend to fail). For an extra fee, some companies also offer white-glove delivery (to have a fridge brought inside, to a desired location, upon delivery).

Features: Most of the fridges we looked at had digital touchscreen controls (for managing temperature settings) and LED lights (for seeing what’s inside the fridge). It’s ideal for a fridge to have a front-facing vent because you need to leave space around the compressor to ensure the fridge is working properly. But for a fridge with a back vent, you can achieve the same effect by spacing it away from the wall.

We gave bonus points for high-quality features like wooden shelves (they’re sturdier and will absorb more vibrations compared with metal ones), adjustable shelves that can fit more and different kinds of bottles, locking doors, and charcoal or carbon filters that filter out odors (which may affect wine). One model we considered had a built-in hygrometer (a device that measures humidity), but this doesn’t actually solve any humidity problems; it can just indicate one. And unless you’re in a dry climate or concerned about reselling wine, you probably don’t need this. You can also buy a hygrometer separately.

Because most fridges look similar—large rectangular boxes of varying heights and widths—aesthetics didn’t factor heavily into how we picked. Although you can get some basic fridges in different finishes (stainless steel) or with wooden shelves, most vary only slightly in design features. Some higher-end fridges are made to look like furniture and have wooden panels or decorative lighting, but these are also far more expensive than our picks.

Quiet operation: We screened reviews for mentions of noise, one of the most common complaints we found with fridges. A loud fridge will not only be annoying, but the vibrations may also harm wine (though some experts disagree on this).

After our extensive research, we came up with a list of 42 notable fridges. We narrowed the list to 13 top contenders, based on our criteria. Then we compared them side by side and dove back into reviews before choosing our picks.

Top pick

If you want to store several cases at a time, this wine fridge offers the best combination of capacity and price. And the company provides some of the finest customer service we found.

Among the hundreds of wine fridges we considered, the Wine Enthusiast Classic 80 Wine Cellar has the best capacity and features for the price. This model is the best choice if you’re just getting into wine collecting but you want a fridge that lasts, or if you want to maximize storage space. The Classic 80 should hold about five to six cases of wine, and it is about the size of a large end table. After reading thousands of reviews on hundreds of models, we don’t think a perfect budget-friendly wine fridge exists. The Classic 80 is basic, but it’s made by a trusted company within the wine industry. Unlike big-box appliance stores, Wine Enthusiast sells only wine fridges, furniture, and accessories.

Multiple experts recommended the Wine Enthusiast fridges, including Ashley Santoro, Lydia Richards, Michele Thomas, and Eric Asimov, as do publications like The Strategist and Epicurious. The retail arm exists under the same umbrella company as Wine Enthusiast magazine, but the two are separate entities. A representative from the company told us the magazine does not write reviews of wine refrigerators because that would be a conflict of interest; Wine Enthusiast does sometimes cover the brand’s own furniture and accessories. Wine Enthusiast has been making fridges (and selling wine accessories) since .

The Classic 80 is a single-zone fridge. This means all of the wine you store in it will be kept at one temperature. You can choose to set the temperature between 41 °F and 68 °F (the recommended ambient operating temperature is 61 °F to 90 °F, though your fridge will have to work harder to stay cold in hotter climates). Most of the experts we spoke with didn’t consider dual temperature zones to be a must-have feature. If you aren’t concerned about dedicated aging, sommelier Michele Thomas told us that most wines should be fine stored at about 50 °F.

Single-zone fridges, including the Classic 80, will provide more space and flexibility for the types of bottles you store, since there isn’t a divider shelf between two compartments. Ashley Santoro, owner of Leisir wine store in New York City at the time of our interview, recommends a single-zone fridge for people living with space constraints.

Single-zone fridges are also more likely to maintain consistent temperatures—key for protecting wine from seepage or oxidation—and they last longer. Some expensive dual-zone fridges have separate compressors for each compartment, but most circulate air from one compressor between the sections with a fan. In our research, we learned that wine fridges commonly fail because the compressor (the part that keeps a fridge cool) dies relatively quickly. And in a dual-zone fridge, the compressor has to work harder to maintain two different temperatures, so it may wear out faster. Steve Johnson, an owner of Mr. Appliance repair franchises, told us that with dual zones, “As one cycles off, the other cycles back on, so it makes the compressor run longer.” Lydia Richards, sommelier and founder of Vino Concierge, said, “In my opinion, dual zones are not necessarily important. The main consideration is consistency in temperature.” To bring your wine to drinking temperature before serving, you can simply pull out a bottle to warm it up (conversely, you can give wines that need it an extra chill by popping them into the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes). But if you want to be able to pull out a bottle that’s ready to pour, you might want to consider our best dual-zone pick, the Classic 70.

Since you’ll likely need more storage than you anticipate, we think this medium-size fridge will work for most beginner to mid-level collectors. Most wine fridges hold fewer bottles than they advertise, especially if you buy larger California reds, taller rieslings, or bulbous magnums. You can store larger or differently shaped bottles in the Classic 80’s angled bottom display shelf (the slight angle should keep the wine in contact with the cork). Reviewers also report that if you need extra space, you can stack multiple bottles at the bottom of the fridge, and you can also remove a shelf for bulk storage.

Most of the fridges we looked at had digital touchscreen controls to set the temperature, and the Classic 80 is no different. This fridge also has blue LED lights (which don’t emit enough UV light to harm wine) throughout, so you can see your selection (and you can turn them on and off). The door to this fridge has three layers of glass, for extra insulation and efficiency, and it has a tinted coating to help guard against UV rays. Though glass will allow you to better see your bottles, a solid door is best for protecting wine from light. (Our upgrade pick offers that option.) The door on the Classic 80 has a handle on the right side.

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Like the aesthetics of most fridges we considered, the Classic 80’s aesthetics are straightforward. Some step-above fridges have stainless steel frames and all-wood shelves. But we think the Classic 80’s shelves—with their streamlined black finish and wood trim—look nice enough that you’ll want to keep this fridge in your home rather than banishing it to the garage.

Unlike some other basic fridges we looked at, the Classic 80 has sliding shelves, so you can easily add or retrieve wines. They are powder-coated stainless steel with rounded wires, instead of slats, and with elegant-looking wood trim facing the door. Higher-end fridges have all-wood shelves, with cradles for individual bottles; these help absorb vibrations, prevent bottles from rolling around, and generally look nicer. But we should note that the bottom display rack on the Classic 80 is all wood.

The Classic 80 also comes with a lock, just in case you want one. We didn’t notice significant noise complaints for this fridge; in fact many reviewers praised it for its silence. Online reviews for many other models we considered noted they were obnoxiously loud.

The Wine Enthusiast Classic line, which is entry-level compared with the brand’s other offerings, also includes larger, 150- and 200-bottle single-zone options. Wine Enthusiast makes smaller, no-frills fridges, as well as upgraded or larger fridges with dual zones, larger capacities, and more features. Some of these can also be built into cabinets, whereas the Classic fridges are freestanding.

It’s crucial to buy a fridge that comes with a good warranty and customer service. Sometimes fridges can arrive damaged or need replacement parts. They may also be too heavy for you to move into your home on your own. The Classic line has a one-year warranty, with a three-year warranty on the sealed system parts (warranties vary based on the line).

Other appliance companies offer varying levels of customer support to help you shop for a fridge, but Wine Enthusiast has a knowledgeable team that specializes in one thing—wine fridges. We discussed the company’s customer service with Marshall Tilden III, vice president of sales and wine education at Wine Enthusiast and contributing editor to the magazine at the time of our interview. Team members will help you choose the best option for your needs and space, to try to preempt any need for a return. They can also coordinate delivery and installation if needed. Tilden told us Wine Enthusiast offers free unlimited consultations while you’re shopping for a fridge, and it will even look over construction plans, if you’re building in a fridge. (AJ Madison and Best Buy offered comparable consultations.)

You can also opt to pay extra for in-home delivery service, so the fridge will be delivered not only to your door but also to where you want it in your house. (You may have to pay extra if the delivery people need to go beyond a set number of stairs or for assembly. But aside from installation of the handle, our picks are ready to go.) This service can be helpful because a wine fridge is an unwieldy appliance. Members of the forum Wine Berserkers also recommend Costco’s service and delivery, and the retailer offers several Wine Enthusiast fridges (but not our picks, at the time of writing). Wine Enthusiast also has a showroom in Valhalla, New York.

Reviewers note that the Classic 80 is “impressively quiet” and “the temperature holds quite well.” Most acknowledge that it holds fewer than 80 bottles, which is to be expected. Though editorial reviews we read generally recommend the Wine Enthusiast brand, they don’t describe any testing. The experts we spoke with also had generally good things to say. “Wine Enthusiast has a nice line that’s easy going, small, and pretty quiet (for compressor models),” said Michele Thomas. Vino Concierge’s Richards told us that she received a small Wine Enthusiast fridge as a gift long ago, and it “stays consistent in terms of temperature control.”

Flaws but not dealbreakers

This is a standalone wine fridge, so you can’t build it into cabinets. That said, Wine Enthusiast sells other models that can be built in. The Classic 80 also has a rear vent, so you’ll need to install this model in a place where there’s ample ventilation space around the fridge (not right up against a wall).

All wine fridges hold less than what they say they will, and the Classic 80 is no different. Tilden told us that certain pricier Wine Enthusiast fridges have shelves with more space to fit larger bottles.

Technically, you can reverse the handle on the Classic 80, but you will lose the lock function because you essentially will have to turn the door upside down.

There are nearly 150 reviews for this fridge (mostly positive). People on forums like Wine Berserkers and Reddit don’t have much to say about the line (the ones on Wine Berserkers seem to be more-serious collectors, and so they tend to discuss larger, higher-end fridges and alternative storage options, like luxury cabinets, cellars, or offsite storage).

Upgrade pick

Six of the experts we spoke with recommended EuroCave as the top wine-fridge maker. The EuroCave La Première S is the most basic option in the restaurant-quality line, and it has several elevated features, including removable, adjustable-height shelves.

If you’re looking for the most economical fridge from a restaurant-quality brand, get the EuroCave La Première S. For serious wine collectors who want to protect their bottles, EuroCave fridges are regarded as stalwarts in the wine community, and the brand was recommended by six of the experts we spoke with.

The EuroCave La Première S replaced our original recommendation, the EuroCave Première S. You may be able to still find a used version of the previous model—this is a common practice among the experts we spoke with, as well as among oenophiles on wine message boards.

EuroCave’s La Première S is a single-zone fridge, which is the most basic option in the EuroCave line, and it has an internal temperature range of 43 °F to 64 °F. Its 98-bottle maximum capacity offers truly customizable storage. You can adjust the fridge’s shelves to accommodate different bottle shapes and sizes—from broad-shouldered cabs to round-bellied Champagnes to elongated rieslings. This is something you can’t do with our Wine Enthusiast picks (or with most low-end to mid-range freestanding wine fridges). You can also remove the sliding shelves to fit more bottles, though you’ll lose the ability to easily access the majority of your collection.

This fridge comes with a glass door, but there is an option for a solid door, which will protect your collection from light. (Both door types can be installed on either side, depending on how you prefer the door to open.) The solid-door model has an ambient operating temperature range of 32 °F to 95 °F—ideal if you want to store your fridge in a garage. (This is a much wider range than that of our top and duel-zone picks; the ambient operating temperature range for the glass-door version of the EuroCave La Première S is 32 °F to 86 °F.)

A solid door is a feature we didn’t see on most other fridges. (You can get a UV-tinted glass door for an extra cost.) The EuroCave La Première S also comes with a charcoal filter (our other picks do not); this will help absorb odors that can affect your wine, but you’ll need to replace it about once a year.

Style-wise, EuroCave’s La Première S looks similar to our other picks: It’s a large box, neither an eyesore nor a decorative centerpiece.

Though many fridges we looked at had bright blue LED interior lights, the EuroCave La Première S’s lighting system is more subtle. (The company took out the previous model’s portable wand lighting feature, which was useful for displaying individual labels.) This fridge also has a digital control panel, a lock, a temperature alarm, and a hygrometer (to monitor and adjust for humidity fluctuations within the unit).

The EuroCave La Première S is expensive, we know, but so are many other wine fridges from brands that aren’t as universally revered. Tilden told us that these fridges are the best for holding stable temperatures, even in different ambient environments. And the experts we spoke with lauded these fridges for their quality construction: They last.

Since this fridge is relatively new, it has just a few customer reviews on the Wine Enthusiast site, but so far they are mostly positive. (The majority of complaints are related to the local delivery and installation, which will vary depending on where you live.) The fridge is sold by Wine Enthusiast (the only US-based EuroCave dealer; there is also a showroom in Valhalla, New York). So it comes with the same delivery assistance and consultation options as our other picks. The EuroCave La Première S has a one-year warranty on parts and labor, and it has a five-year warranty on the sealed-system parts—one of the best warranties we’ve come across.

Despite its deceptively simple appearance, wine is a complex, dynamic drink. Many of the experts we spoke with compared it to a living being. How we taste, smell, and experience wine depends on the biological and chemical reactions between its compounds and our sensory organs, as well as on the chemical reactions that are continually taking place within the wine itself.

Just as we do, wine ages. When people talk about the process, they’re referring to the inevitable chemical reactions that affect the flavors, aromas, and texture of a wine. Sometimes aging will dull a wine’s fruity or floral characteristics, making it taste off or just bad. But on rare occasions, wine can transcend into something magical—if you provide it with enough time and the right conditions.

Storage will affect the aging process. Many of these chemical reactions—particularly the oxidation and reduction reactions prevalent in wine—are significantly sped up by heat, light, humidity, and motion. Regardless of whether you’re planning to age wine for decades or keep it on hand for a few years, it’s best to treat it as you would a delicate sculpture: with care.

A specialized wine fridge will give you control over temperature. The ideal storage temperature for wine is between 50 °F and 60 °F; this is warmer than the temperature range of a normal fridge (which is cold enough to prevent much, if any, aging), and it is cooler than the ambient temperature of most homes (which hovers at or above 75 °F). The latter is too hot for storing wine for long periods of time. Temperatures over 70 °F can “cook” wine, creating flat, muddy, or off flavors. A basement or a cool room that stays consistently between 50 °F and 60 °F can work as storage, but overly damp conditions can encourage mold growth and damage wine labels. Fluctuations in temperature aren’t good for wine either. As wine heats up or cools down, the liquid—and cork—can expand and contract. The cork could be pushed out, causing seepage. It can also shrink and allow air into the bottle, causing oxidation. So, for example, if you live in a hot place, and you turn off the air when you go out, a wine fridge can guard against temperature flux. Some wine fridges offer dual-zone construction—two different compartments to keep reds or whites or other types of wine at the right serving temperature.

Light is problematic because UV rays can destroy flavor and aroma compounds, leading to dull and off flavors—like making wine taste nutty or raisiny, Talia Baiocchi, editor in chief of Punch magazine, told us. “Most people should understand what the wine should taste like, and if you store it near a window, it might not have that bright, effervescent flavor,” she said. Keeping wine in a cool, dark place—whether it’s a basement, a cellar, or a wine fridge—can halt these unwanted effects. A wine fridge with a solid door, or one with tinted or UV-protected glass, can defend against harmful rays.

Humidity can be a problem, too, but most experts we spoke with said that’s mainly a concern if you live in an arid climate or keep your wine in a very damp environment. When humidity is very low, a wine’s cork can dry out and shrivel, allowing more air into the bottle. You can combat this effect by storing wine on its side, so the liquid will come in contact with the cork. And again, this will likely happen only if you live in a desert or leave bottles upright for long periods of time. On the other hand, when humidity is too high, moisture can collect on the labels or corks, and mold can grow. A dehumidifier can help. If you’re concerned with monitoring humidity, you can get a standalone hygrometer and add or remove moisture to your storage environment.

The effect of vibration on wine is another contested topic. Movement can stir up sediment in old bottles of wine and make it taste off, and kinetic energy can also warm wine (which, again, is harmful). But professor Gavin Sacks, of the Cornell University Department of Food Science, told us, “Vibration is overemphasized.” He said that when it comes to aging, “We don’t have much evidence that vibrations are going to speed things up in any meaningful way.” This study from the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis found, however, that vibrations can have an effect. And intense vibrations from transit are more worrisome than movement from a fridge. “You’re concerned about vibration when wine is sitting in a truck somewhere, with a refrigeration unit that’s bouncing back and forth for hours,” New York Times wine critic Asimov told us. He emphasized how important it is to buy wine from a good shop you can trust. Regardless, it’s best to treat wine gently and to get a fridge that’s quiet (a loud fridge will be annoying anyway).

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