(There has been some contradictory answers in the "Will this hold pinot noir bottles?" Read on as I will give some details.)
This unit arrived clean, well-built and in flawless condition. In other words, it was very well packed. Over all I would give high marks: looks good; works well. Since the whole unit is the cost of 3 good bottles, it's a very good deal. But there are somethings you should know about it.
First, chilling takes a while. I believe this is going to be the case for any unit designed to hold a temperature economically. 28 bottles of wine carry a lot of thermal mass. It's going to take a while to lower them from room temperature - like days. That isn't the unit's fault, more to do with physics and what it is trying to achieve.
I loaded mine up and set the unit to 54 degrees. Then I monitored the interior temp with a probe. After about 7 days, it got down to 57 degrees and seems to be holding there. My room temp right now is 68. We'll have to see how it does in summer.
Second, there are no feet. So, if you set it on carpet (like the back of my closet) the door will rub the floor while opening. This is not really a problem for me, I will just add little blocks of wood.
Third, is the shelf fit. When you have 4 bottles on a shelf, the wood does not aways stay in the grooves along the side as you push it in. This is a minor issue and I won't ding it for that.
Fourth, the distance between the shelves. This is the 'pinot' problem. As others reported sometimes it's hard to move the shelf and remove the wine. I didn't think this would be a big deal, but it is. Some bottles wedge themselves on the shelf, making the surrounding shelves near impossible to remove. (You can see how the bottom shelf shifts trying to accommodate a Pinot Noir bottle.) After one such battle I tore the label on a nice bottle - not fun.
I contacted the manufacturer and he said the unit is designed for 'standard sized' bottles. That puzzled me as all my bottles seem 'standard' for each variety. On further investigation there are diameter standards by bottle shape. Bordeaux bottles are ~2 3/4 inches. Burgundy bottles are ~3 1/8" and Large Pinot bottles are 3 3/8".
Guess what 'standard' size this unit must be designed for? Yeah, Bordeaux bottles. So, if you are storing Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc you're in great shape as those come in Bordeaux bottles. However, if you want to keep Pinot Noir and Chardonnay you are in trouble.
I measured of few of my BV wine bottles:
Pinot Noir Maestro Collection is 3 3/16"
Pinot Noir Reserve is 3 3/8"
Merlot Maestro Collection is 3"
The 3" bottle fits fine. However, the Pinot Noir's wedge themselves in the shelves. Yes, 3/16" of an inch makes a big difference in this unit.
To remedy the situation I removed the bottom shelf and moved the rest of the Pinot's to the bottom area. It works better now, just not as attractive.
In hindsight I would have ordered the version with wire racks. Maybe things would fit better. I'm going to have to go with 4 stars. I hate to because the unit is so attractive and well built for the price. Maybe if the manufacturer clearly stated that is only fits Bordeaux bottles, I would rate it a 5.
Just the Wine Refrigerator I’ve Been Looking For!
I’ve been searching for just the right wine fridge for a long time. When I saw the Kalamera 73-bottle wine cooler with Dual Cooling Zones, I knew I had found the “one”! Now I can keep my white wines and red wines in their own thermostatically-controlled zones, and they are perfectly chilled when I want to open a bottle. This unit holds 73 bottles, so that’s ample room for my personal collection of wines.
I received the wine refrigerator in just a few days after I ordered on Amazon. It arrived very well-packaged, with styrofoam padding and strapping tape around the box to hold it in place. It was in perfect condition when I opened the box, and was super easy to set up! I just let it sit for 24 hours, then plugged it in, set the temperature controls, then let it cool for another 24 hours. Then I started adding bottles. The shelves are beech wood slats, so air circulates freely around the bottles, and I found that they cooled quickly, and stay evenly cooled, too! The shelves can be removed; however, when you just want to pull them out to add bottles, there are stoppers halfway on each shelf, so I can’t pull them all the way out by accident! There’s a fan inside that circulates the air, and the compressor is quiet and doesn’t turn off and on all the time.
The housing is black and silver stainless steel, and the door is smoked glass, with blue LED lighting inside, so it really creates an attractive accent to my home. And, it uses under 20”x23” of floor space! Not bad for creating my own home wine cellar! I am thrilled with the quality and performance of my new wine refrigerator!
We have only had for 1 week but it is doing a great job. We are very happy with the pull out drawers that make it easier to find our selection.
I've owned this for a few years now and was worried about the reliability of the unit, but it seems fine. It doesn't keep the most stable temperature (about +/- 2 to 3 degrees) but it doesn't fluctuate by much more than that. The design looks great and the size and lack of noise is really great.
lasted me 3 years, eventually had to upgrade, but when moving it, it stopped working, fortunately it was an $8 fix, the heating element needed to be replaced. (yes, there's a heating element, and that's what allows it to cool)
Feature Product
- 28-Bottle Capacity: You are able to keep a variety of wines on hand for every occasion.
- Low Noise: No compressor running, so your wine cooler stays virtually silent in your kitchen, dining area or living room.
- Low Vibration: Your wine cooler has no moving parts to vibrate and disturb sediments in your wine bottles, so wine tastes fresh and crisp with no bitterness.
- Digital Temperature Control (54~66ºF): push-button digital control is easy to adjust to pinpoint accuracy, keeping your wine at the proper temperature and taste all the time.
- Free-Standing Design with sleek stainless steel door frame and handle, 6 beech wood shelves, and soft blue LED light, so your wine cooler is elegant and can be displayed in any room.
Description
Do You Often Enjoy Sharing Your Love of Wine with Friends and Family? Would You Like a Special Refrigeration System that You Can Keep at a Proper Temperature and Condition for Your Wine Collection? Then the Kalamera 28-Bottle Wine Cooler is exactly what you need. Our wine cooler KR-28ASS is sleek and elegant, an accent to any room where you like to keep your wine. The combination of stainless steel doorframe and handle, the 6 beech wood shelves you can see through the glass door, all illuminated by soft blue LED lighting creates a sophisticated display to showcase your wine collection. The 28 bottle capacity means you can keep a variety of your favorite wines close at hand, at proper temperature, flavor and aroma, ready to enjoy whenever you want. This wine cooler has the thermoelectric technology design, which means you will have a refrigeration system that is virtually silent, so conversation does not compete with compressor noise. It is designed for low vibration, because when sediments in wine bottles are disturbed wine can become bitter and unpleasant to drink. Combined with a digital temperature control that allows precise control for the perfect atmosphere for wine to rest, you have a wine cooler that keeps your wine exactly how it is meant to be stored. The result? You enjoy drinking wine that is properly chilled, crisp, refreshingly delicious…Each and Every Time You Open a Bottle!
I have had this a week and so far I am pleased. It is a compact and lightweight fridge that I needed to replace an old one in a small cabinet. This fridge increased my capacity from 24 to 28 bottles. Because the bottles are stored tightly together, I must pull out a shelf a few inches to identify the wines. The shelves have a balsa-wood feel, so I am a little concerned about how they will hold up over time. The door and handle feel solid and strong -- made of metal, not plastic.
I love the look of this wine fridge. I was concerned that when delivered would not look as good as it does in the picture however it does look great. I like that temperature can be regulated. It is exactly as described. I have had this fridge for over 6 months now and has been working without any issues.
I bought this wine refrigerator as a gift for my parents. We enjoy good wine and spend a fair amout of money on wine each year or so, but do not buy prolific amounts (maybe 2 to 3 cases per year ) ...in particular Cabs, and Pinot Noirs and some good Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs. They needed a small refrigerator to store their wine at steady temperature. This fit their needs perfectly! It is nice looking, takes up a very small footprint, reached 60 degree temp very quickly and is amazingly quiet!
I read other reviews on Amazon and agree with other reveiwers---it fits Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc bottles best - and Pinot Noirs/Chardonnays and specialty bottles (we have some lovely Pinot Biancos - very tall/long bottle - will not - unless you angle it and only put 2 on a shelf sideways) do not fit as well - but they do fit --- I was able to fit nearly all of their expensive Pinot Noirs on the bottom and put every other bottle top to bottom on a shelf to fit better. I would gladly accept a slightly taller unit to better accomodate the extra width of Pinot Noir/Chardonnay bottles and hope this manufacturer consider sthis for futuremodels --but I still love this unit!
Also - as stated in another review --it sits nearly flat to the floor (there are small feet on three corners --and the hinge bolt on the front right corner that slightly elevates the unit - but if placed on carpet the door will "drag" on the carpet when opening the refrigerator ---this is no big deal and was easily dealt with by buying inexpensive small rubber carpet/floor protectors from the hardware store to place under the small feet and hinge bolt to elevate the door just enough to not drag on the carpet. Problem solved!
All in all a great wine refrigerator and great value! I highly recommend!
This does not get cold enough for white wine, only red. Otherwise a great fridge, good looking.
Very attractive design, l like the wooden shelves. The 73 bottle capacity can only be achieved by stacking some bottles on the back of the shelves, corks to the front, between the bottles on the front of the shelf with corks to the back of the fridge. Two separate temp zones, so you don't have to cool whites in the regular fridge before serving, something I had to do with my old wine fridge. The circulating fans do run all the time, but they're quiet. They can be heard, though, when things are quiet. Not obtrusively, though. Now it remains to be seen how dependable the appliance is. My old one lasted 18 years before it crashed a month ago. If this one lasts that long, I'll not only be satisfied, but probably dead to boot, since I'm 74 now!
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