Kalorik Dual Zone 18 Bottle Wine Cooler WCL-20629

• Kalorik WCL-20629 Thermoelectric Dual-Zone 18-Bottle Ventilated Wine Cooler
• KALORIK

Acquired this model about 6 months ago; it replaced a previous failed (different brand, I think, but can't recall the name) product of the same type. When it works, does so flawlessly.

However, this Kalorik unit itself failed, exactly ONE year after manufacture.

I guess unless one is wiling to spend upwards of $1200.00 for a bona-fide, secondary refrigerator, sanctioned only for wine storage, these thermoelectric versions are woefully lacking in either design or execution. We enjoy wine, but don't have the budget or space for a large, standalone appliance.

Spending $200.00 or more for an appliance with a projected lifespan of less than 12 months is absurd. Perhaps someone will soon design and build a better product that can be afforded by regular joes like us. (Folks who will not spend more than $40.00 or so for a bottle of wine.)

*********UPDATE*********** May 2011

After poking around inside the cabinet of this appliance, a bit of sleuthing turned up a small bit of something that appeared to be a burnt-out part. That tiny little part (about the size of a pencil eraser) was identified by a local t.v. repair shop as an electrical capacitor. Apparently the one inserted during manufacture is a cheap piece of crap... maybe an example of 'planned obsolesence'? At any rate, the great repair man soldered in a new one, (much larger than the original) and within an hour we once again had a working cool cellar. $40.00 well spent, and we'll see how long this version lasts. More convenient and less expensive than either returning to Kalorik for repair, or buying another make/model.

My advice to anyone thinking about buying, or having bought one of these units (by any brand name) that has died: don't be too afraid to carefully open up the back and do some investigating. Chances are that perhaps the entire appliance has become useless due to the failure of a simple $2.00-or-less part. Of couse, it helps if you can diagnose the problem yourself, but sometimes things such as this are not really that difficult to do. Don't be afraid of the appliance, just make sure to unplug it first. We certainly would generate much less waste if things were better-engineered, and we were less inclined to simply throw away things that no longer work, instead of fixing them.

Buy Kalorik Dual Zone 18 Bottle Wine Cooler WCL-20629 Now

The fiance and I have wanted a wine cooler for a while and figured this would be a great wedding gift for ourselves. What a mistake that turned out to be. Have owned this for about a month and the bottom section keeps the red wine at a balmy 68 degrees. Understand that the highest you can set it for is 64 degrees. The fans spin but it won't keep the wine cool. Turns out it would cost more to have a repair tech look at it than what we paid for it. If you're looking for a good wine fridge look elsewhere.

Read Best Reviews of Kalorik Dual Zone 18 Bottle Wine Cooler WCL-20629 Here

Excellent cooler for it's size category!quiet,dual zones work great and we like the lights.all different sized bottles fit just fine.it is worth the price rather than cheaper models.