Kalorik Thermoelectric Dual-Zone 18-Bottle Ventilated Wine Cooler, Stainless Steel/Black

• 18-bottle dual-zone wine cooler with thermoelectric technology
• Digital controls with LCD display; 2-zone adjustable temperature
• 6-bottle upper compartment for white; 12-bottle lower compartment for red
• Soft LED lighting with on/off switch; auto defrost; double-paned tempered-glass door
• Measures 19-2/7 by 13-1/2 by 26 inches; 1-year limited warranty

A couple of things I want to get out of the way first thing. This appliance cost me $189.00 with shipping. It is not an expensive appliance so if you are expecting 100% humidity, the ability to stay cold in your garage, or completely silent operation you may be disappointed.

On the other hand, if you keep your house or apartment fairly cool then you will have the ability to keep your wines at whatever temperature you most enjoy them along with fairly quiet operation.

-Cooling Ability

In regards to the unit's cooling ability I was initially concerned that any thermoelectric cooler wouldn't be able to stay cool in my apartment. From about 9:00PM to Noon the next day my apartment stays a relatively comfortable 76-77 degrees. However, starting at around 1:00PM the sun begins to hit the west side of my apartment and by late afternoon my AC cannot keep it cooler than 81 degrees. On occasion the temperature inside my apartment will hit 83 degrees in the afternoon even with the AC on. The good news is that this cooler can hold its own in these conditions. Because it has plenty of time during the night and morning to get down to its 50 degree setting it only drifts up slightly during the few hours of heat inside my apartment. In fact, I have not seen it get above 52 and usually it stays at 51. If you keep your place below 77 degrees you will not have difficulty getting the upper part of the cooler into the 40s from my experience (the lowest setting is 45). The bottom section stays at a rock solid 55 degrees in my apartment.

-Noise

It sounds like some people are buying this with the expectation of silent operation. I read the reviews so I knew it was going to be noisy, but from the reviews I read you would think it sounds like an aircraft trying to take off. It does make noise, but I have it on the other side of the wall from my living room and it is very difficult to hear. As long as it is one room removed from where you like to read, surf the web or whatever it should be fine. The TV easily drowns it out even in the same room.

-Other Thoughts

It looks nice, has a blue digital read-out on the front and a nice interior light. Overall, I am pleased with how it looks next to my bar. Mine arrived well packaged and with no damage which was a concern for me as I had read a lot of reviews reporting damage during shipping. In a year I will follow up to let you know how reliable it is. A couple of my taller wine bottles don't fit and champagne is a tight squeeze.

-Conclusion

I love it thus far. As long as it continues to perform the way it has it will be $189.00 well spent.

EDIT 11/11/10: I bought this in March 2009 and reviewed it in June 2009. It is still working exactly as stated in this review one year and eight months

later.

EDIT 05/07/2011: The lower compartment has lost its cooling ability. It has been just over two years since I made the purchase and the top of the unit is still keeping solidly at 55 degrees. It's a shame that the lower cooling unit seems to be over worked and just gives out over time. I am still using this unit but will probably retire it at some point and replace it with a higher quality one.

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We purchased this wine refrigerator in September. It ran without issue until February. Yes, a whole 5 months. At which point, it stopped working. Period. Will not turn on. Thus, I now have intimate knowledge of the "warranty" program. The warranty program is shoddy, at best. You have to provide the original receipt of purchase for Kalorik to evaluate (having original shipping box and label is inadequate). If they evaluate the receipt and determine that the product is under warranty, the purchaser (YOU) then has to pay the shipping costs to ship the product to Miami. The packing weight of the refrigerator and original box is 45 pounds. At this point, they will try to fix it or replace it. There is no additional warranty on the fix. Also, if they claim to have fixed it and it does not work when you get it back, you get to pay to ship it back to them again. If they cannot fix it, they ship you another one -maybe refurb, maybe new -I could not get clarity on what they would replace it with. However, that "other" unit does not come with an additional year of warranty. The person who provided these details on the warranty program is the person that answers the phone at Kalorik. It took no less than five times of being put on hold so that she could go ask someone else for clarity on my warranty questions. She could not email me a complete description of their warranty program, so it is anyone's guess if this program is administered the same way every time.

Bottom line -cheap, shoddy, Chinese made product with some kind of warranty that requires you to pay half as much as the product to ship it to Miami to have it fixed. I would not buy this product again, or recommend it to anyone. Go with a wine refrigerator from a reputable company with written warranty policies.

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I would love to have been able to review this item. I really wanted to try it. But, I ordered one that arrived damaged. I ordered a replacement and it arrived more damaged than the first one. Until they can improve the packaging, this will never make it through shipping.

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First unit arrived with a cracked doorframe, no issues returning. Second unit worked great for approx 3 weeks, but now will not cool in the lower compartment. Thankfully it decided to break before the end of the Amazon return window as none of the reviews for manufacturer customer service have been positive!

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I reviewed this item when I first purchased it, a year ago, and because it was fairly inexpensive, and made in China, along with the fact that the first one they sent was broken, I had a negative view on this

cooler. Oops.....I was wrong. It has run perfectly, done a fine job of caring for my wine, and I sincerely regret doubting it was going to be worth its price. It is. I love the look of this stainless steel beauty with that cool blue light casting a glow on the bottles slumbering safely within it. Next bottle I open, I'll toast to it. It's caring for two 1978 Stag's Leap Cellars Cabernet and doing a perfectly

marvelous job. (update) Well, the thing did end up dying, after all. What a shame, I loved that glow. It still protects bottles, but doesn't chill. RIP, beautiful little cooler.