Built-in Wine Refrigerators

During kitchen remodels, I often have clients wishing to put in under-counter wine refrigerators. When the price comes in at $1,100 or more, their jaws drop. (Especially when there are wine refrigerators at Target, Lowe's, and Home Depot for about a third of the price, or less.)

But here's the difference, if the under-counter wine refrigerator is not called a "built-in", then it will probably not work properly, even if you provide the recommended clearances. My 12-bottle version from Emerson quit working after less than a year in a large pantry. From day one, my client's dual-zone wine refrigerator he bought online for $300 would never get to the right temperature. We ended up converting the space to room temperature wine storage with a basket on the shelf for bar tools:


So if you have your heart set on under-counter wine refrigeration that works, pay the "built-in" price! (p.s. that $300 online wine refrigerator works perfectly in the garage!)