I decided to go with the Vinotemp 300 wc after lots of research. In order to make the right choice, you should be able to determine the following:1. How many bottles are you planning to store (usually multiply what you currently have X 2 since having a wine cabinet will surely increase your wine buying habits)
2. Where will you put the cabinet? If you have a basement, that will be the ideal place, hence the unit does not need to be too flashy. You could also put it in your garage, if you have the room. Regardless, and unless you store it inside the house you must choose at least a 2,500 BTU unit... If you're thinking about having it inside the house, a 1,500 BTU should be enough (that's the standard)
3. Noise you should consider how noise is the unit, especially if you want to have it inside the house.
4. Shipping it is always really expensive. However, there are tons of promotions for free shipping
5. Door if you want it inside the house you can chose a glass door. Anywhere else, a solid door works best.
6. Temperature zones you don't really need more than 1 zone. You can usually keep the white wine on the bottom of the cabinet, where the temperature is a bit lower.
7. Shipping times Most of these cabinets will take anywhere from 3-8 weeks to be delivered after you place the order. Check to ensure the unit is in inventory and ask about shipping options/timeframes.
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Now, unfortunately, I did not take into account the lack of humidity controls on the Vinotemp unit. This is an issue for me, given that humidity in the cabinet is around 54%. I had to purchase an additional humidifier (additional $ 200) and have it running inside the cabinet in order to achieve 70-80 % humidity. This is something that the Vinotemp sales rep did not care to mention when I spoke to her. She said that the unit "promoted the right conditions for wine aging" which is clearly not the case.
I purchased the unit from Sam's club. Horrible experience. I waited 8 weeks to get delivery. Sam's club still advertise the unit as being "in stock"..."Cheap Sales Tactic" IMHO. All Vinotemp units are made to order. No one keeps stock. If they tell you the unit is in stock they are probably flat out lying or do not know how Vinotemp works.
Back to the unit itself, the outside finish is "not as nice" as it seems online. Luckily for me, the unit was intended to go in the garage. The inside rack (2 bottles go in each cubby hole) is just great, just like a real cellar. The overall feeling is sturdy. That's a big plus over other great units, such as Eurocave , which have trays (not a fan of trays). However, based on my experience, it seems that the Eurocave is a very strong contender, if not better but also more expensive than Vinotemp.
About Vinotemp, the company. Their customer service is HORRIBLE. I registered my unit online as soon as I received it. They don't have any records of the registration. They still cannot find me on their support computer (after 6 calls and 1 product registration, only 2 months after my purchase), and their customer service folks will never call you back. It puzzles me how bad their support is for products that are over $2,000...One should expect much more.
I hope this review is helpful. Feel free to drop me a line at jbastante@gmail.com.
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