Wine Cooler Refrigerators

[Roadrunner]

I'm curious as to whether anyone on the forums has installed a wine cooler refrigerator in their Airstream. I recently picked one up on sale and am thinking about building it into the existing cabinetry. Thanks...

Bob
Indiana, PA

TAC PA-5
WBCCI 4871

[idroba]

Many of them are thermoelectric and are very very inefficient. Only if you are plugged in to shore power are they viable. Even the compressor ones take a fair amount of power if you are not hooked up. I guess the true wine drinkers enjoy the selection and the temperature control to be perfect. I would use the space for something more valuable to me, but then, I am far from a true wine drinker.

Also, will a subsequent owner value a wine cooler as much as you do, or will it just be a liability to the sale.

Things to think about anyway.

[rogerdodger]

Just drink red wine, no cooler necessary. Ask me how I know.LOL

[JBinKC]

Master Sommelier Doug Frost says to chill red wines in the refrigerator 30 minutes before drinking. And to take white wines out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before drinking. Most of us drink reds too warm and whites too cold, he says. It's 4:30 somewhere.

[bradjenkins]

Ahhhh, finally, someone who is into wine as much as me...DO IT. I share an airstream with my business partner. We're both huge wine lovers. So we started this search a while ago - and no, putting it in the fridge for a purist wine lover like myself is absolutely unacceptable.

So we checked out loads and loads of reviews - found the following ones MASSIVELY resourceful - Wine Coolers Guide and then this review on the small 12 bottle on

youtube

was pretty good, and of course the ultimate resource is from the good chaps at VinePair.

What it comes down to, is how much do you like your wine? How much work are you prepared to do? Because nothing is going to just slot in, you'll have to do work around it. In the end we went for the SubCold Super 8Led wine cooler and haven't looked back since....

Was it worth all the drama? Absolutely !!!!

Originally Posted by Roadrunner

I'm curious as to whether anyone on the forums has installed a wine cooler refrigerator in their Airstream. I recently picked one up on sale and am thinking about building it into the existing cabinetry. Thanks...

Bob
Indiana, PA

TAC PA-5
WBCCI 4871

[Kyacker]

We’re doing a full interior restoration. I thought it would be fun to put in a wine cooler as we too like to have a great glass of wine. Ultimately I think I’m going to axe the cooler as we probably won’t be in the same place more than 3-4 days and the risk of bottle shock to our finer bottles. https://www.winespectator.com/drvinny/show/id/44883

I do love the way they look though and I’m not past loading them from a cool storage in the TV after we park somewhere.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by Roadrunner

I'm curious as to whether anyone on the forums has installed a wine cooler refrigerator in their Airstream. I recently picked one up on sale and am thinking about building it into the existing cabinetry. Thanks...

Bob
Indiana, PA

TAC PA-5
WBCCI 4871

Bob,

I just ordered two more bottles of Bob.

Bob
🇺🇸

[gypsydad]

I have thought about a wine cooler also, from time to time. The small one they show in the modified AS's from Airstream Adventures, I think holds 9 bottles; we had a protable model which holds "a few" in double wine fridge package, but again, you do have to keep plugged into AC. That's the downer...aside from taking up some space.

Bottle shock is something I had forgotten about...
We are conscious about heat also...we end up bringing along about 4-5 reds and 3-4 whites on a trip. We will keep the reds in the cooler or in the refrigerator...we keep the reds in the car while traveling. We use a 6 bottle wine sack so we can move easily from car to AS when camped....we have from time to time, put the reds in the cooler, if we are going to be out for a while in a hot area....not ideal, but I've found after we drink the first bottle, we don't seem to notice if there are issues with the second bottle...that's the trick I think...drink the first bottle before judging the others!

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Bob,

I just ordered two more bottles of Bob.

Bob
🇺🇸

Hi

.... but .... but ... errr .... they don't ship to PA !!!!!!!!! ....

====

Small wine fridges have never seemed to last very long for me. I suspect that in a "mobile" environment, they would die even quicker. One thing you don't want to do is constantly heat up and cool down wine. Running one of these long term .... yikes ....

Lots of issues ....


Bob

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

.... but .... but ... errr .... they don't ship to PA !!!!!!!!! ....

====

Small wine fridges have never seemed to last very long for me. I suspect that in a "mobile" environment, they would die even quicker. One thing you don't want to do is constantly heat up and cool down wine. Running one of these long term .... yikes ....

Lots of issues ....


Bob

Why Bob; here in Texas, that's how we tell if a wine is good or not--couple days in the car in July! I remember early on I belonged to a wine club in Napa, and they would send me wines to my place in Dripping Springs, TX, marked "medical", since it was illegal to ship wine into Texas. it would arrive typically after the local delivery company would call me to make sure I would be home, since it was delivered in refrigerated trucks locally. Well, one day, I wasn't called, and they left a new case of great Petite Syrah on the doorstep...101 outside...I had a nice walkin wine celler at the time...I remember putting it away, only to find a month later when I opened first bottle, it had started second fermentation...next bottle same...I called the winery, they apologized and asked me to send back...of course, I couldn't do that easily....heat and wine don't mix for sure...

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by gypsydad

Why Bob; here in Texas, that's how we tell if a wine is good or not--couple days in the car in July! I remember early on I belonged to a wine club in Napa, and they would send me wines to my place in Dripping Springs, TX, marked "medical", since it was illegal to ship wine into Texas. it would arrive typically after the local delivery company would call me to make sure I would be home, since it was delivered in refrigerated trucks locally. Well, one day, I wasn't called, and they left a new case of great Petite Syrah on the doorstep...101 outside...I had a nice walkin wine celler at the time...I remember putting it away, only to find a month later when I opened first bottle, it had started second fermentation...next bottle same...I called the winery, they apologized and asked me to send back...of course, I couldn't do that easily....heat and wine don't mix for sure...

Hi

Last time I was buying wine in Texas they told me that if it was hot out .... drink all the wine before you get to the truck ... somehow that only got mentioned *after* you paid for the case ....burp .....

Bob

[littleriver]

I need to know more about your airstream you posted a picture of. It looks awesome! Do you still own this or did you sell it? Did you customize it to have a wine cooler or did you buy it like that?

I am currently in search of a pre-owned AS that I can add a wine fridge to, but pre-owned ones are hard to find in my area. Do you have more pictures of yours? I wonder if I can buy a used one and have it customized? Thanks GypsyDad! You seem pretty knowledgeable.

[matthewk]

Originally Posted by gypsydad

I have thought about a wine cooler also, from time to time. The small one they show in the modified AS's from Airstream Adventures, I think holds 9 bottles; we had a protable model which holds "a few" in double wine fridge package, but again, you do have to keep plugged into AC. That's the downer...aside from taking up some space.

Bottle shock is something I had forgotten about...
We are conscious about heat also...we end up bringing along about 4-5 reds and 3-4 whites on a trip. We will keep the reds in the cooler or in the refrigerator...we keep the reds in the car while traveling. We use a 6 bottle wine sack so we can move easily from car to AS when camped....we have from time to time, put the reds in the cooler, if we are going to be out for a while in a hot area....not ideal, but I've found after we drink the first bottle, we don't seem to notice if there are issues with the second bottle...that's the trick I think...drink the first bottle before judging the others!

Too cold isn't going hurt your wine. Just give it 45min to come back to temp after you pull it out.

[matthewk]

Unless you're storing for longer periods of time, and trying to age. There's really no reason to have a wine fridge. You certainly don't want your bottles to get hot, but too cold doesn't really damage wine. If you're carrying older red wines while traveling, you're going to have more of an issue with the sediment getting stirred up, takes a few days for things to fall back to the bottom.

[matthewk]

Originally Posted by JBinKC

Master Sommelier Doug Frost says to chill red wines in the refrigerator 30 minutes before drinking. And to take white wines out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before drinking. Most of us drink reds too warm and whites too cold, he says. It's 4:30 somewhere.

I think Janice Robinson might have said the same prior to Doug, unfortunately she didn't get a lot of credit for her musings long ago.