Wine Cabinets

    Wine cabinets offer the best of practically all worlds when it comes to wine storage. They're beautiful, functional, space efficient, portable and quiet. Designed to look like fine pieces of furniture fit for any room in your home - even the bedroom, wine cabinets are actually wine refrigerators set to keep your wine at the perfect temperature and humidity. In fact, while at Wine Cellar Innovations, I was so impressed by the wine cabinets I couldn't figure out why someone wouldn't want one, other than for monetary reasons of course. But Jack Diener, sales manager at Wine Cellar Innovations quickly stated that space could be an issue, and he wasn't talking about a lack of space in your home.
    "Someone may have a larger collection than [a wine cabinet] holds," Diener said. "You have limitations with [a wine cabinet]. It's a specific size."
    But if you're wine collection is that big, I don't think you'll be complaining. Plus, as Wine Cellar Innovations's VP of Operations, Tony Wilke, mentioned wine cabinets are nice to have in your kitchen or dining room even if you do have a wine cellar. That way you can have the wine you plan to drink close by.
    However, don't think wine cabinets are just for avid wine collectors. They work wonderfully for the novice. Perhaps the biggest draw to wine cabinets is they don't need a room of their own. Instead, you can easily place one in your dining room or kitchen without needing to remodel or assemble anything. Arriving in a cardboard box pre-made, wine cabinets simply need to be plugged in to start working. Pretty nice, huh? Plus, if you plan to move, you can take a wine cabinet with you unlike a wine cellar.
   "In the event that you do move or need to move, most of our clientele seem to move every three to four or five or six years, as they go up the professional ladder, this is something they can take with them," Diener said.
    Just remember to measure the width and height of all hallways and doors before buying a wine cabinet. Because wine cabinets come pre-made, they can be hard to get into your home. If the wine cabinet you ordered can't fit through your doors or down your staircase, you won't have to worry about moving out when the time comes because you won't even be able to get it in.
    But size issues aside, a wine cabinet's stunning appearance can easily add to the beauty of your home, and best of all they are quiet, really quiet. Many wine cabinets are quieter than the average refrigerator, according to Diener. The one I saw at Wine Cellar Innovations was so quiet I didn't even know it was on, and cleverly, I suggested it was quiet enough for me to sleep next to. And I was serious.
    To keep from being disappointed when you order a wine cabinet, make sure you see one in person to judge its noise level. Different manufacturers' refrigeration units may work differently.
    While wine cabinets may be restricted in the amount of wine they hold, they still offer a wonderful solution to the wine storage problem, and if you can afford one, you may want to look into it before splurging on a wine cellar. After all, unless you're an avid collector, a wine cabinet might be just what you need.