Choosing your wine cabinet well: serving, ageing, number of bottles
An electric wine cabinet keeps your bottles at the right temperature, still and out of the light. You still need the right type: you don't keep a great Bordeaux for ten years the way you chill a rosé for the weekend.
- Serving : ready to drink; ageing : keeping for years
- Two zones for serving reds and whites at the right temperature
- The bottle capacity is given for Bordeaux bottles
- Stable temperature, few vibrations, door UV-protective
Serving or ageing: the first question
The serving wine cooler
It keeps your bottles ready to serve, at tasting temperature. Adjustable from cool (sparkling, whites) to room-temperate (reds). It's our best-selling type.
a few dozen to 100 bottles
The two-zone wine cooler
A cool zone at the top or bottom for whites and sparkling wines, a temperate zone for reds. Everything is ready to serve, no need to take reds out an hour in advance.
ideal if you entertain
The ageing wine cooler
A temperature stable at around 12 °C, good humidity and quiet. It's the one that replaces a real underground cellar.
100 to over 200 bottles
The criteria that matter
The number of bottles
Under 50 bottles for top-up, 100 to 200 for enthusiasts, over 200 for collectors. The stated capacity is calculated using Bordeaux bottles : with Burgundy bottles, Champagne or magnums, allow considerably fewer. And leave some margin, a wine cooler always fills up faster than expected.
Temperature and its stability
Wine doesn't like fluctuations. A good wine cooler holds the same temperature day and night, summer and winter. Also check the ambient temperature range of the room where it will be installed (its climate class): a garage that gets very cold in winter won't suit every model.
Quiet and darkness
Vibration and light tire wine. A wine cooler has a compressor mounted to vibrate as little as possible. The glass door looks very nice in the living room or kitchen, but it must filter UV light. For long-term ageing, a solid door remains the ideal choice.
The shelves
Sliding shelves, often made of wood, let you see the labels without taking everything out. Some can be set up as a display to showcase a few bottles.
Noise and location
In the living room or an open-plan kitchen, check the decibel rating. A wine cooler freestanding needs air around it: it doesn't fit into a niche. For a fitted kitchen, there are built-in and under-counter wine coolers.
Energy label
Wine coolers carry an A to G energy label, along with the number of bottles. Like a fridge, they run day and night: a good energy class makes a difference on the bill.
Make a list of what you actually drink: if it's mostly red to drink within the year, a single-zone service cooler set to around 14 °C will do the job very well. If you have bottles to keep for ten years, an ageing cellar makes all the difference.
The right serving temperatures
| Wine | Recommended temperature |
|---|---|
| Champagne and sparkling wines | 6 to 8 °C |
| Dry whites and rosés | 8 to 10 °C |
| Full-bodied whites, whites for ageing | 10 to 12 °C |
| Light reds (gamay, pinot) | 12 to 14 °C |
| Full-bodied reds (Bordeaux, Rhône) | 16 to 18 °C |
| Ageing (all colours) | Around 12 °C, stable |
Commonly accepted guide values; your wine merchant can fine-tune them for each wine.
Our wine coolers in store
Wine cooler HAIER HWS49GAE€449.00
Wine cooler HAIER WS 105 GA€849.00
Wine cooler CANDY CWC034€349.00
Wine cooler CANDY CWC150EMNF€299.00
Ageing wine cooler LIEBHERR WKV142€1,099.00
Ageing wine cooler LIEBHERR WKP142€1,049.00
Wine cabinet LIEBHERR WKP196€1,399.00
Wine cellar HAIER HWS247FDU1€1,299.00
Wine cooler BOSCH KWK16ABGB€1,889.00Prices and availability shown on product pages are the reference; Nimesclub members often get a reduced price.
All our wine coolers are in the wine coolers.
Frequently asked questions
Can you keep wine in a fridge?
For a few days, yes. For longer, no: a fridge is too cold (around 4 °C), too dry and it vibrates. A small service wine cooler does a much better job for a reasonable price.
At what temperature should you store wine?
For ageing, around 12 °C, always the same. For serving: sparkling wines and dry whites around 6 to 10 °C, light reds around 13 °C, full-bodied reds around 16 to 18 °C.
One or two temperature zones?
One zone is enough if you mainly drink one type of wine or want to age wine. Two zones are ideal for serving chilled whites and temperate reds at the same time.
Can a wine cooler be built in?
Only if it is designed for it: a freestanding wine cooler needs air around it. For a kitchen recess, choose a built-in or under-counter model.
How many bottles should you plan for?
Go a little bigger than your current stock: a wine cooler fills up quickly. And remember that the stated capacity refers to Bordeaux bottles, which are slimmer than Burgundy and Champagne bottles.
Come and see the appliances in person
At our Temploux shop, we open the doors and compare drums and finishes. Or ask our expert sales adviser online, right now.
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