Choosing the best wine cooler for either a laid-back night or a big party with friends and family, especially if this is your first time purchasing these appliances. It’s easy to get confused when you get to the appliance store with lots of features and factors to consider, such as double-paned glass, insulation, thermoelectric units, and lots more.
Plus, there are many options out there to choose from, which makes the already daunting decision process overwhelming.
Do you feel lost now?
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If yes, you’ve come to the right place. This post reviews the top 7 best 12 bottle wine coolers and includes a detailed buying guide to ensure you make an informed decision.
What are wine coolers?
Wine coolers look like a fridge, especially their external build. This appliance is designed to enhance your wine collection’s long-term aging process. While technically they don’t keep your wines cold, you can set the preferred temperature for optimal storage of your wines.
Wine coolers feature different construction such as air-filled walls and thermal insulation to guarantee enhanced aging and perfecting wine protection. This appliance is a decent choice for both periodic and passionate wine drinkers. It’s best for storing your vinos for the short term.
What is the purpose of a 12 bottle wine cooler?
The 12 bottle wine cooler is a more compact model with lots of perks. It stores up to 12 standard wine bottles at your preferred temperature quietly, thanks to its thermoelectric cooling system. Also, its simple design allows this cooler to fit perfectly anywhere: dorm, garage, living room, office, kitchen, etc.
This unit features an easy temperature adjustment and control to attain optimum storage conditions. Wine coolers come with either rotating or sliding shelves for easy and quick wine assembly or disposition.
Reviews of The Best 12 Bottle Wine Cooler To Buy
Here are top rated 12 Bottle Wine Cooler & 12inch for sale in 2021
Top 1 – NutriChef 12 Bottle Thermoelectric Wine Cooler/ Chiller
The NutriChef 12 Bottle Thermoelectric Wine Cooler is our top choice for chilling red or whites wines. It is equipped with the precision technology to guarantee your bottles are stored at the ideal drinking temperature.
This model features a compact design, making them fit and complement any kitchen, living room, or dining. The NutriChef 12-Bottle Thermoelectric Wine Cooler employs advanced thermoelectric cooling technology to allow you to store your wine bottle for the long term with a fresh and crisp consistency.
In addition, it has a user-friendly digital control, including a touch-button display to set the exact chilling temperature and toggle between Fahrenheit and Celsius based on your preference. Further, this appliance comes with a transparent front glass to allow you to see your collection without having to open the door at all times.
Even better, this model rocks a modern design coupled with a polished chrome finish for a dashing look to match your living area or kitchen settings. Lastly, unlike other cheap models out there, this best 12-bottle wine cooler runs quietly without the slight noise to cause distraction.
Pros:
- User-friendly digital controls
- Horizontal and vertical shelving
- It can hold taller wine bottles and champagne bottles
- Noise-free operation
Cons:
- Some customers might prefer clear glass instead of the frosted glass
Top 2 – Ivation 12 Bottle Compressor Wine Cooler
This wine cooler from Ivation boasts temperature stability using its compressor technology which prevents external heat sources from affecting the appliance’s internal temperature. This model can attain low temperatures anywhere from 41 – 64 degrees F to store your wines.
This appliance has a double-paned glass door for proper insulation. It’s equipped with a built-in fan that keeps the set temperature throughout. This creates the perfect storage environment for your wine, either for the long or short term. Also, it protects your wine collection from harmful ultraviolet light known to damage the overall flavor and tannins of your wine.
Another thing to love about the Ivation 12 Bottle Compressor Wine Cooler is the included LED light offering soft interior lighting. Plus, you don’t have to worry about the lightning affecting your wine flavor or fading the labels.
On top of that, users can easily rearrange the shelves to fit in oddly shaped or taller wine bottles with ease. Additionally, it’s easy to adjust the temperature, and the bright LCD displays add to its already impressive ease of use.
Pros:
- Unique fan system that circulates air evenly and quietly
- UV-Resistant Thermopane Glass to protect your wine
- Energy-efficient LED light to illuminate your collection
- Equipped with compressor technology for stable temperature
Cons:
- Poor quality control
Top 3 – Koolatron WC12DZ, Dual Zone Thermoelectric Cooler
Equipped with the latest thermoelectric technology and tailored with a sleek, durable design, the Koolatron WC12DZ, Dual-Zone Thermoelectric Cooler allows you to store 12 wine bottles without any hassle. This appliance keeps your collection cool within 46 – 66 degrees F without harmful CFCs or vibration.
What’s more? The shelves are easy to adjust to create perfect storage space for taller or oddly shaped wine bottles, thanks to its removable wire shelves. This unit features an intuitive knob to allow you to control the cooler’s temperature within its range – 46 to 66 degrees F effortlessly.
This freestanding cooler comes with an attractive mirrored glass door offering excellent protection from harmful UV rays. Also, it’s equipped with soft interior lighting to make sure your collection never goes unnoticed.
Pros:
- Touch screen display for an intuitive experience
- Dual-zone cooling chambers to store both red and white wines
- Eco-friendly thermoelectric technology for reliable cooling
- Mirrored glass door for maximum protection
Cons:
- It produces a little bit of noise
Top 4 – Schmecke 12 Bottle Compressor Wine Cooler Refrigerator
The Schmecke 12 Bottle Compressor Wine Cooler Refrigerator can attain low temperatures to keep your white wines anywhere from 41 – 64 degrees F without being influenced by external conditions. Its remarkable temperature stability has earned this model a spot on our list of the best 12 bottle wine coolers.
Coming with a built-in fan, this model delivers consistent temperature throughout, creating optimum wine storage for the long term. Like other options on this list, this unit features a double-paned glass door to keep your collection from harmful UV that alters your wine’s overall flavor and damages the tannins.
That’s not all: it comes with LED light to properly illuminate your collection. This is a better choice than the fluorescent bulbs known to be harsh on your wines. Aside from the gentle illumination, this appliance allows users to customize the storage space to accommodate any wine bottle size.
Even better, it has a bright LCD display to allow you to monitor the storage condition with ease, even in the dark.
Pros:
- Sleek, durable design
- Impressive temperature stability
- Removable rack for easy storage customization
- Energy-efficient LED light
Cons:
- Poor quality controls
Top 5 – TYLZA 12″ Wine Cooler
The TYLZA 12″ Wine Cooler offers more bottle capacity and can accommodate up to 18 standard wine bottles. This should be enough space to store any extra without taking up a lot of space. It comes with an advanced compressor that delivers stable, fast, and strong cooling and precise humidity.
What else is there to love about this appliance? It comes with adjustable cabinet feet and a vibration absorption system to keep the noise level at a minimum. Hence, you’ve no issue using this cooler in a quiet environment.
Thanks to its double-layer of a tempered glass door, this model delivers a stable temperature level. Also, the glass door shields your collection from harmful UV rays. The TYLZA 12″ Wine Cooler offers a wide temperature range from 41 – 72 degrees F.
Above all, it comes accompanied by a 24-month warranty and lifetime technical support that shows the manufacturer’s high confidence level in this device.
Pros:
- Two installation option:- built-in or freestanding installation
- Digital LED temperature control for ease of use
- White interior LED light to illuminate your collection
- Six beech wooden shelves to hold up to 18 bottles
- Wide cooling temperature range: 41 – 72 degrees F
Cons:
- Slight issues with the sliding racks
Top 6 – Antarctic Star 12″ Wine Cooler/ Mini Fridge
If you need a bit more storage capacity, you might want to consider the Antarctic Star 12″ Wine Cooler/ mini fridge for beer. This model offers enough space to store up to 18 bottles of standard wine bottles. It has a bigger space to allow you to store oddly shaped wine bottles without having to readjust the shelf. Despite its roomy storage space, this appliance does not require you to sacrifice a lot of space.
Like the other 12 wine bottle wine coolers on this list, the Antarctic Star 12″ Wine Cooler features blue LED lights offering a better view of the wine collection. What’s more? It comes with sliding beech wooden racks to make it easier to store your wines, and its double-layered tempered glass window allows you to showcase your wines.
The Antarctic Star 12″ Wine Cooler features an advanced cooling system coupled with a low vibration effect that allows your wine to age properly. Its wide temperature ranges from 41 to 68 degrees F to enhance your wine taste.
Pros:
- It offers consistent storage conditions
- Low vibration effect
- Sliding beech wooden racks to hold up to 18 wine bottles
- Wide temperature range to store both white or red wines
Cons:
- Customer service could be better
Top 7 – Wine Enthusiast 12-Bottle Compact Wine Cooler
If you need to store up to 12 Bordeaux bottles, this wine cooler is an excellent choice for small wine collectors. This model features metal racks to keep your vino bottles in place. Also, this type of rack offers easy access to your collection.
Here’s what we love about the Wine Enthusiast 12-Bottle Compact Wine Cooler; it comes with an easy-to-use digital touchscreen to easily control the storage conditions to enhance your wine’s flavor and taste. Also, it features an LED temperature display to read out the temperature.
Furthermore, this cooler is equipped with cutting-edge cooling technology to guarantee that this model runs quietly and efficiently. A 1-year manufacturer warranty backs this space-saving wine fridge to protect your investment.
Pros:
- It’s equipped with a cutting-edge cooling technology
- Quiet mode of operation
- Durable construction and sleek design
- Easy to use
Cons:
- It’s affected by external conditions
Things to Consider When Shopping for the Best 12 Bottle Wine Cooler
Cooling Zones
Single zone
This type of wine refrigerator comes with one zone, making it similar to a beverage cooler since whatever you’ll be storing will be under the same conditions. Therefore, if you’re purchasing a single zone wine fridge, that means you would only be able to store one particular type of wine.
While you might decide to keep both red and white wine, you should remember that these two types of wine require different temperatures for proper aging.
Dual-zone
This name explains itself. This type of wine fridge comes with two separate zones. The dual-zone models are appropriate for people looking to store both red and white at the same time for a long time. With two zones, you can choose a preferred temperature for each compartment.
Units
Compressor Units
Wine fridges with a compressor unit are similar to your regular kitchen refrigerators. They share a lot of components, such as a compressor and evaporator. With these many parts, this type of wine cooler tends to vibrate and make noise.
The compressor wine fridge can go as low as 30 degrees, making them a go-to for storing specialty wines. They pack a lot of power to keep more wines at once.
Thermoelectric Units
On the other hand, the thermoelectric units feature a simple working principle. It expels the heat flux created inside the unit outside. However, this type of wine cooler is not ideal for use in an unstable environment, as it’s usually affected by external conditions.
It comes with lesser components, which means less vibration and almost no noise. Plus, it does not consume much power. The downside is it does not go lower than 50 degrees F and has a relatively small storage capacity.
FAQs
1. Can you put beer in a wine cooler?
Yes, you can use your wine cooler as a beverage refrigerator.
2. Are dual zone wine coolers worth it?
Yes, if you love to store red and white wines at the same time.
Conclusion
Here you go, the top 7 best 12 bottle wine coolers out there. Now, it’s up to you to make an informed decision considering the factors discussed in our buying guide section.
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