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What’s the Best 15-Inch Wide Wine Fridge? – Wine Cooler Reviews

best-15-inches-wide-wine-cooler

Looking for the best wine fridge to fit into a 15-inch wide space under your counter top? Let’s review all the top 15-inch width wine cooler models.

Often it’s easy to narrow down your home appliance choices simply based on the amount of room you have available. A wine fridge is a great addition to any kitchen, especially when you install a built-in model under your counter top to fit seamlessly with your cabinets. When remodeling your kitchen, you might decide to remove an old trash compactor unit, for example, and find yourself left with exactly 15 inches of horizontal space to fill. Naturally you’re only going to focus on the wine refrigerators that fit to your specific size requirements.

Luckily for you, fifteen inches is a popular size for wine fridge manufacturers to use, and there are a number of quality models available. These range in capacity from 23-30 bottles and include both single-zone and dual-zone configurations.

(If you’ve got slightly more space, check out these 18-inch wine fridges.)

The 6 models that we’ll review here all belong to the compressor cooling technology group of wine coolers. As opposed to thermoelectric coolers, these compressor models can reliably chill down to temperatures as low as 40 degrees F without any risk of fluctuations due to increases in ambient room temperature.

Powerful cooling doesn’t exactly come cheap. It’s worth a small investment for something you can trust your precious wine collection to. The least expensive of these models comes in at just under $600, and the priciest is a bit over $900. Is the most expensive one worth the extra $300? Or would you be better off going with the cheapest of these 15-inch wide options? Let’s look at these 6 cooling units in detail so that you’re informed and better equipped to make a purchasing decision.

Allavino VSWR30-2SSRN 30 Bottle Dual-Zone Wine Refrigerator w/ Towel Bar Handle

Allavino VSWR30-2SSRN 30 Bottle Dual-Zone Wine Refrigerator w_ Towel Bar Handle

Product Details

Allavino gives us the most expensive of the 15-inch wide wine fridges, but it’s also possibly the most attractive of the lot. It features a 30 bottle capacity with special shelving that is designed to achieve this amount of storage while accommodating a wide range of wine bottle shapes. Only larger Pinot Noir and Champagne bottles are going to cause you to lose out on storage capacity.

Dual-zone cooling compartments allow temperature ranges of 41-60 degrees Fahrenheit for the upper zone and 45-64 degrees Fahrenheit for the lower zone. Unlike some other dual-zone coolers, the two zones can’t be set to the same temperature in this model. Rather the lower zone must be at least 4 degrees warmer.

Aesthetically, the Allavino looks good in stainless steel with a towel bar style handle. To be perfectly honest, all of the wine fridge models that we’re looking at here have a similar appearance with stainless steel and black exteriors to be par for the course. It’s mostly the style of the handle and details of the shelving that set them apart from each other.

The main advantage of this model is the flexibility of bottle shapes and sizes that the shelving can accommodate without sacrificing storage capacity. On the other hand, the fact that the lower temperature zone must be set warmer than the top zone can prove limiting. This is especially true when you consider that the shelf intended to hold champagne sized bottles is in the bottom zone. One would think that you’d want to chill these to a cooler temperature, so I would call this a major design flaw that could probably have been avoided with a little bit more thought.

allavino-wine-fridge-details

allavino-wine-cooler-different-bottles

Pros and Cons

Accommodates many bottle shapes/sizes
Stylish handle
Dual-zone cooling
Lower zone must be warmer than upper zone
Most expensive model

Avallon 23 Bottle 15″ Dual Zone Built-In Wine Cooler

avallon-wine-cooler

Product Details

The Avallon 15-inch wide dual-zone cooler is also a bit more on the expensive side. You can see from the construction of the shelving where some of the extra cost is factored in. The wooden shelves have stainless steel trim and smoothly roll out supported by telescoping braces.

The manufacturer only claims that it has a 23 bottle capacity. This is the smallest amount of all of the models here, but in fairness some of the other wine fridges can only get their advertised 30 bottle capacity when using all regular Bordeaux shaped wine bottles.

The upper cooling zone has a temperature range of 54 – 65°F, while the lower zone can be set to 40 – 54°F. This configuration makes a little bit more sense than the Allavino unit because the lowest shelf, which can accommodate wider bottles, is in the cooler zone, where you’d naturally store champagne. And if you are the type to drink only reds, you can still set both zones at the same temperature of 54 degrees.

If you want the two zones set to different temperatures, then keep in mind that the upper (red wine) zone can only hold a maximum 8 bottles.

avalon-wine-refrigerator-shelf-detail

Pros and Cons

Available in Left or Right hinge model variations
Smallest capacity at 23 bottles max
Dual-zone cooling
Roll-out stainless steel trimmed wooden shelves
Upper zone 54 – 65°F, lower zone 40 – 54°F

EdgeStar 30 Bottle Stainless Steel Built-In Wine Cooler

Product Details

This is the first single-zone cooler that we’ll look at. These are generally nice to have if you’re the type of person who predominantly drinks only red or white wine, but usually not both.

The temperature can be set within a range of 40-65 degrees F. With this model, though, you will usually need to set the temperature to 2 degrees lower than the actual temperature you want to achieve or it will never get down that low. This seems to me to be an engineering flaw. If the device consistently fails to reach the desired temperature then the manufacturer should have calibrated the difference into the temperature controls to eliminate confusion.

This is the lest expensive of the six models that we’re looking at. The wooden shelves simply slide out, rather than rolling out like on the Avallon model. If you have any wider than normal bottles, you’ll need to remove shelves to accommodate them, and this will reduce the fridges total capacity. If you’re not using all standard Bordeaux bottles then 26 would probably be a more realistic capacity, assuming none of the bottles are wide enough to warrant removing a shelf.

The bigger issue is with the quality of the product. Some users have reported that the compressor begins to fail after 8-12 months of use. Repairing it typically entails a bill nearly equal to the price of the fridge. So remember that when you buy the cheapest model, you’re not always getting the best value. If it needs replacing after a year, then it suddenly becomes the most expensive model in relative terms.

EdgeStar 30 Bottle Stainless Steel Built-In Wine Cooler-door-open

Pros and Cons

Can run noisy
Single-zone cooling
30 Bottle capacity
Least expensive model
Compressor durability issues

EdgeStar Dual-Zone Stainless Steel Built-In Wine Cooler

Product Details

EdgeStar has a second wine cooler model that fits the same 15-inch wide size category. The main difference between this one and the previous model is the dual-zone cooling configuration. Two separate refrigeration compartments allow you to chill various wines to different temperatures. The obvious use for this type of model is in order to cool red wines to a modest 54-65 degrees F while chilling white wines down to the 40-54 degrees F range.

The ability to control temperatures in two different cooling zones comes with a small price to pay. The overall cost of the unit comes out to approximately $100 more expensive than EdgeStar’s single-zone model. In addition to this, the divider between the two cooling zones takes up the same height as one row of shelving. This leaves you with space for six fewer bottles, so that the total maximum capacity is 26 standard sized wine bottles compared to 30 bottles in the single-zone model.

edgestar-wine-cooler-shelf-detail

One limitation of this model when compared to other dual-zone wine fridges is the relatively small capacity of the upper storage zone. The configuration of this EdgeStar dual-zone fridge is such that the upper zone can hold a maximum 8 bottles, and that may be generous. Five bottles in the upper zone is more likely based on the design.

If you tend to drink white wine more frequently, then this might work out well for you. But many wine collectors will feel that this model doesn’t provide ample space for their red wine.

Pros and Cons

Runs on the louder side
Reversible door
Dual-zone cooling
8 bottle upper zone, 18 bottle lower zone
More expensive than the single-zone model

Kalamera 15″ Wide 30 Bottle Built-In Wine Cooler

Kalamera 15" Wide 30 Bottle Built-In Wine Cooler

Product Details

Kalamera makes a number of great wine refrigerators, and this 15-inch wide model with a 30 bottle capacity is no exception. Like the others here, this unit features a stainless steel and black exterior look. Inside, we have 6 slide-out beech wood shelves. There’s a bit of extra space on the bottom row for wider bottles if you choose.

The shelves seem a little lightweight, but the overall operation of this wine fridge is quite reliable.

Like many wine refrigerators, you are only going to reach the maximum bottle capacity under ideal conditions—using all standard sized Bordeaux shaped bottles. Using bottles with a mix of shapes and sizes will cause you to fall short of the 30 bottle maximum, but you should still have enough space in this unit for a modest collection. The fact that this is a single-zone cooler means you get a little extra space too.

One really helpful feature of this model is a temperature memory function. This means that, in the case of a power outage, the wine fridge can return to the temperature you had it set to rather than a default temperature. With many other wine fridges, people have run into trouble because the fridge defaults to a factory-set temperature after a brief power outage rather than the cooler temperature that the owner had it set to. In some cases it has caused people’s wine collections to get ruined. But you won’t have that problem with this Kalamera model.

kalamera-15-inch-wide-wine-fridge-door-open

kalamera-15-inches-width-wine-cooler-shelving-detail

Pros and Cons

Temperature memory protects wine after a power outage
Single-zone cooling
30 bottle max capacity
Reliable cooling
Slide-out wooden shelves slightly flimsy

NewAir AWR-290DB 29 Bottle Compressor Wine Cooler

Product Details

The last model that we’ll look at is another dual-zone cooler. In this case, NewAir has put the section intended for white wine on the top. The upper section can be set to 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit. It can hold a maximum of 10 bottles with 5 on each of two shelves. The nice thing about the design of this model is that there is extra space above the top shelf, so that it would be able to accommodate wide bottles for Champagne or Chardonnay, etc.

Meanwhile, the lower section can be set to 50-66 degrees Fahrenheit. It is a little larger with regular sized selves and a third shelf on the bottom with enough vertical space to stack up two rows of bottles on top of each other. You could also use this lowest shelf for wide Pinot Noir bottles, etc. At most, you could fit about 19 bottles in the lower zone.

I think this configuration is one of the best in a dual-zone wine fridge as it gives more space for your red wines, which you’d typically want to collect more of.

newair-wine-fridge-in-kitchen

Pros and Cons

Dual-zone cooling
Most logical dual-zone arrangement
Least expensive dual-zone model
Reliable compressor
Runs very quietly

Summary

My overall recommendation depends on whether you want a single-zone or dual-zone cooler. If you’re in the market for a single-zone wine fridge, then I recommend buying the Kalamera 15″ Wine Cooler. It’s attractive, reliable, and rather affordable at under $600 currently.

If you’re looking for a dual-zone cooler, I think the best value is with the NewAir AWR-290DB Wine Cooler. Not only is it the least expensive of the dual-zone coolers, but it also runs quietly and reliably, and the two cooling zones are arranged in the most logical manner.

On the other hand, if you want something a little more fancy looking, the Avallon Dual-Zone Wine Cooler has slick roll-out shelves with stainless steel trimming. If the relatively small red wine zone is not an issue for you, then you just have to determine if the extra cost for the fancier shelves is worth it to you.

Wine Enthusiast 21-Bottle Dual-Zone Curved-Door Wine Cooler

I’m really liking the Wine Enthusiast 21-Bottle Dual-Zone Curved-Door Wine Cooler. Today I’m going to review this model, looking at the features that distinguish it from competing products, the pros and cons of this unit, and finally give you my recommendation as an item to consider purchasing or not.

Product Features

First of all, I’d generally categorize this cooler as a highly versatile medium-sized wine fridge. It has a maximum capacity of 21 regular sized wine bottles, which probably puts it in the smaller range for medium-sized coolers. It’s versatile due to different shelving options and the dual cooling zones, which allow for wine to be stored at different temperatures.

This model uses solid-state thermoelectric cooling technology. The upper zone can be set to 46-65 degrees F, while the lower zone can be set to 52-65 degrees F.

The top zone holds 2 racks of 3 bottles each for a total of 6 bottles. The lower cooling zone has 2 different shelf configurations. For maximum capacity, you can use the normal horizontal racks to create 5 standard rows of 3 bottles. This would make 15 bottles in the bottom and 21 bottles total for the entire cooler.

The other option is to use the special standing rack for the 4 lowest rows. With this rack, 4 bottles can be stored on their sides and another 4 bottles can stand upright. In this configuration, the fridge can hold a total of 17 bottles. While the total capacity is reduced, this allows for the storage of odd shaped bottles and also bottles that have been opened already.

There are independent digital temperature controls for each cooling zone. Interior blue LED lights, a smooth black exterior, and curved front doors all contribute to give it a highly modern look.

Pros and Cons

One of the strong points for this cooler is obviously the ability to adjust the interior of the bottom zone to a configuration that suits your needs. For many wine drinkers a capacity of 17-21 bottles is more than enough to keep them happy. Tall bottles such as German Rieslings and wide bottles such as Pinot Noir can be accommodated when not using the maximum capacity setup. Also, when in the max capacity configuration you can easily fit 21 standard sized bottles without having to stuff them in ridiculously.

If you’re worried about the effects of low humidity for long-term storage, there is a water tray you can fill to add moisture to the cooler’s interior air.

Temperature controls are straight-forward and easy to use. And the actual cooling power is reliable.

The fans can sometimes make a bit of noise, but nothing to really complain about. As with all thermoelectric coolers, ambient room temperature and placement of the unit will have an effect on the maximum cooling achievable. If the air temperature in your home is 75 degrees, nothing you do will be able to help a thermoelectric cooler chill your wine below 50 F.

Buying Recommendation

I highly recommend this model if you’re looking for a reliable dual-zone cooler and don’t require super large capacity. A very serious wine collector might find the 21 bottle maximum capacity to be less than they need. But I think many individuals will find it to be more than plenty of space, especially if you’re the type to replace bottles at the same rate that you drink them.

On the other hand, for the type of person who drinks red wine exclusively, there isn’t any particular need for a dual-zone cooler, and you may be better of choosing one of the single-zone cooler models. If, however, you quite like the appearance of this Wine Enthusiast curved door cooler, you can always simply set the temperature for both zones to a suitable setting for red wines.

Koldfront 24-Bottle Freestanding Dual-Zone Wine Cooler Review

The Koldfront 24-Bottle Freestanding Dual-Zone Wine Cooler is designed to cool your red and white wines simultaneously. That is because it contains two compartments that enable it to cool the wines to their perfect storage or serving temperatures. It can hold 24 bottles, which is a good medium capacity size if you are storing wines for use at your home.

Product Features

Thermoelectric Cooler

The Koldfront 24 Bottle Wine Cooler uses thermoelectric cooling technology. This technology allows the system to run quietly and without any vibrations. It also saves you on energy. That means your electricity bill will not shoot up just because you bought this wine cooler.

No Vibrations

The thermoelectric cooler does not vibrate like a regular refrigerator does. That is a plus for wine storage since vibrations degrade the quality of wine. Vibrations disturb the wine sediments and spoil the taste. With this cooler, you can be confident that will not happen.

Silent Operation

The Koldfront 24 Bottle Free Standing Dual Zone Wine Cooler runs silently due to its thermoelectric cooling system. If you like silence at night, that is a plus. You will also be happy to know that it does not run continuously but only when the temperature rises. That mostly happens when you open its door to take out your wine.

Two Cooling Compartments

I like that I can store both red and white wines in separate sections. Ideally, they should get cooled to different temperatures. When storing in a regular cooler that has only one compartment, you’ll always have to chill your white wines additionally before serving. But this device will allow you to keep your white wines cooler than your reds. The top compartment gets cooled to a temperature range of 54 to 66°F, while the bottom one can be set within a temperature range of 46 to 66°F.

Digital Control

Most regular refrigerators only provide a dial knob for setting the temperature of the internal compartment. This wine cooler provides you with a digital control pad. That means you can set the precise temperature that you want for your wine collection. And each zone can be set individually. The digital control system also includes a microcontroller to monitor and keep the internal temperatures in control. It is the perfect internal temperature control for temperature sensitive items like wine.

Sleek Design

The Koldfront 24 Bottle Dual Zone Wine Cooler aims to amaze in its appearance. It has a metallic handle, black cabinet, with a stainless steel front door, blue interior lighting, and a slim vertical design. It is the kind of appliance you want to decorate your living space.

Pros

It has two compartments for cooling red wine and white wine
Digital temperature control
Silent operations
No vibrations
Energy efficient
Cools the different compartments to different temperatures

Cons

The only real negatives are minor points to consider when operating this model.

Do not keep opening the door, as it strains the cooling system.
Hold the tray with both handles when pulling it out. Otherwise, it will drop to the compartment below it.
The door must be opened to 180 degrees in order to pull out the storage trays. This means that you essentially need to place this unit in a spot where there is empty space directly to it’s right.

Summary

I like that this wine cooler enables me to store both red and white wines at their perfect temperatures. It’s a little pricier than some comparable models, however, the dual-zone cooling in a medium-capacity cooler is something that will appeal to many buyers.

EdgeStar 36 Bottle Built-In Dual Zone French Door Wine Cooler Review

Like many people, I enjoy a nicely chilled bottle of wine occasionally. It is also nice to have a variety to choose from because I don’t always like to drink the same thing. It can depend on the time of year, the type of food I am consuming the wine with, or even what my guests prefer. If you want to have ready access to a large variety of red and white wines, you should consider getting a dual-zone wine cooler. I decided to give the EdgeStar 36 Bottle Built-In Dual Zone French Door Wine Cooler a try to see if it lives up to my needs and expectations.

Features

I gave the cooler a through inspection upon buying it. The first thing I noticed was the modern design. The stainless steel and glass construction has the ability to blend into just about any decor. This EdgeStar wine cooler has a 36 bottle capacity which is plenty of room for storing a wide variety of both reds and whites.

It has french style doors and two different zones for greater temperature control. If for instance, you wanted to chill red and white wine at two different temperatures then you could do it with no problems.

The glass that forms the front doors is a tempered glass that has a black dot pattern. The cabinet part of the cooler is black with the stainless steel featured on the front. There are locks on each of the doors and matching stainless door handles. The dimensions for the cooler are 34 1/8″ H x 23 1/2″ W x 22 5/8″ D.

Inside of the cooler, there are wooden shelves that feature stainless trim. There is a total of ten slide out shelves for the unit.

Pros

This is a very stylish and sleek wine cooler. I love the way it brings a touch of sophistication to the area that you will be using it in.
It has a compressor but it runs quietly and smoothly.
It also gives you the option of using it as a built-in unit or a freestanding unit.
There’s also a double digital thermometer on the front so that you can see the exact temperature on each side.
The blue interior light gives the unit ambiance.
It also does a good job of keeping the temperature stable on both sides once it is filled.

Cons

The few drawbacks to this unit are quite minor.

If you want a completely quiet unit then I would suggest looking elsewhere. Even though it is quiet compared to other coolers with a compressor, it still makes some noise.
The light looks great inside but it does little to give you visibility when looking at the labels on the wine bottles.

Overall

If you are looking for a versatile and stylish wine cooler with plenty of features the this is the wine cooler for you. You will, however, have to be willing to look beyond the dim lighting and the slight noise that the compressor makes but if that is something that you can live with, you will be delighted with this purchase. It’s especially good for those who want a built-in model to go under the counter with dual-zone chilling for a collection of reds and whites.

Koldfront 18-Bottle Freestanding Dual-Zone Wine Cooler Review

Freestanding wine coolers are super convenient. You don’t have to worry about building out special areas for them and can simply plug yours in and let it do its thing. With the number of electric wine cellars available these days, it can be tough figuring out which one will not only work well, but be spacious enough and look decent enough to put on display. And if you fancy both red and white wines, there’s also the issue of finding a cooler that will somehow keep both at their respective optimal temperatures.

The Koldfront 18-Bottle Freestanding Dual-Zone Wine Cooler not only holds enough bottles to store most people’s wine collections, it works incredibly well and sports an attractive facade. Should you splurge and get one? Here’s more information about the model and whether it will fit your needs.

Product Details

Unlike most wine coolers, this Koldfront model has two temperature zones: the top chills wine from 46 to 66 degrees Fahrenheit, and the bottom of the cooler chills it between 54 and 66 degrees. This feature makes the chiller suitable for storing reds and whites at the same time and getting each to the right temperature. Imagine being able to grab two bottles of red and white wine, opening them, and finding that both could be enjoyed without additional chilling—that’s the type of advantage that comes with owning this fridge.

It also has wooden shelving, which is a break from the norm. As opposed to the metal shelves that are inside most wine coolers, the wood does a much better job at protecting bottles from cracking or breaking, and it provides a more stable surface. The motor inside this model is thermoelectric and runs fairly quietly. Plus, the doors of the fridge are tempered and also has a safety lock, which is a good feature for those who have children or pets.

Pros

You’ll find that this Koldfront cooler has tons of benefits:

It has two zones so you can keep different types of wine at their proper temperatures.
Though it stores 18 bottles, this cooler isn’t imposing and can fit into most average sized kitchen areas.
The wine cooler has wooden shelving, which is not only best for bottles to lay on but looks great.
It’s a freestanding model.
This fridge has a safety lock and tempered glass doors.

Cons

There are a few drawbacks to the fridge, but most aren’t dealbreakers:

The cooler has a slim design, but it isn’t small enough to fit on counter tops or really small spaces.
If you only drink one type of wine, the dual zone temperature feature may be a moot point.
Those with smaller wine collections may feel they’re paying for storage space that they don’t need.

Summary

This Koldfront wine cooler is awesome if you have a modest number of bottles to store or you have both reds and whites in your collection. The dual zone temperature feature works well, and let’s not forget that the cooler itself is attractive.

All in all, this is a great value wine fridge for under $200. Its reasonable price point and wealth of excellent features makes this chiller a smart investment if you often drink wine or keep it around for entertaining.