Getting a new wine fridge that will go in garage. Live in San Diego, so not as warm/cold as TX but still not cool. Want to ensure I get a unit that will perform in some heat. Probably about 300 bottles, but the model line probably more important than the specific unit.

Nice humble brag. haha

I dont have a good make/model recommendation for you, but I wouldnt think it would be wise to keep big of an inventory in a garage refrigerator since the environment is going to be tougher for the unit and if the compressor takes a crap on you, that could be a lot of juice wasted.

That's why I'm looking for a specific type built for the environment. I'll have it monitored and know immediately if it's rising. It's not like it would be sitting for days in high heat.

It's been years since we did our research and bought one, but at that time they didn't have many options for wine fridges that are meant to be left in the garage. The ones out there were small under counter units designed for outdoor kitchens and expensive. Like $3k for 24 bottles.

Seeing as your in San Diego, I'd probably just risk getting an indoor one and keeping an eye on it.

Here is one I'm looking at. There are others. Just curious if there were recs here.

You're probably good with that type of unit in a garage. Keep in mind that with different bottle shapes, it's unlikely you'll fit 300 bottles in it, and 250 is a more reasonable number.

HTownAg98 said:

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You're probably good with that type of unit in a garage. Keep in mind that with different bottle shapes, it's unlikely you'll fit 300 bottles in it, and 250 is a more reasonable number.

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Yep. Have a decent amount of sparkling from Shraumsburg that will definitely take up space.

We bought one from Costco. It is a eurocave model and was a good deal. One like this:

https://www.costco.com/artevino-iii-by-eurocave-200-bottle-free-standing-wine-cellar-with-display-shelf.product.100432410.html

I am a big believer in Eurocave. I have two units that have lasted 10+ years with zero issues.

That being said, my advice would be to do everything possible to avoid the garage. Simply too many variables (including loss of power) that start to add up to make it worth it.

I have a 170 bottle unit whose compressor went out. While having it repaired, I asked the guy what brand he would recommend and he said none of them. According to him, the "guts" are the basically the same in all of them and he spends half his life working on them. No idea how accurate but just food for thought.

Pretty sure that's false. I'd imagine a lot fall under that. But I'd be shocked if Eurocave, for example, had the same mechanisms

Electrical_Ag said:

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Am I the only one who thinks it unwise to spend $3,400 on a refrigerator for 300 bottles of wine, and put that in the garage?

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No, you are not.

My thought is if you can afford that kind of wine and that kind of chiller - find a spot in the house.

(She'll get over it eventually, trust me.)

Honestly, I don't get the hate for the garage. I live in an area that's pretty temperate and I'll have a monitor in it to alert me of an issue. The wine is exposed to way more temperature fluctuations when it's shipped to me. Unfortunately there is just not a good spot in my house for it.

No offense intended -- sorry if that is how it was taken. That setup would just make me really nervous.

ORAggieFan said:

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Honestly, I don't get the hate for the garage. I live in an area that's pretty temperate and I'll have a monitor in it to alert me of an issue. The wine is exposed to way more temperature fluctuations when it's shipped to me. Unfortunately there is just not a good spot in my house for it.

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There's so much more that can go wrong, that I would be uncomfortable with.

* You aren't around it as much to notice issues, like power loss, door ajar, fumes from the cars making their way into the chiller, etc.

* Shipping is a very short period of time. The temperature delta in your garage is much higher than in your home, and it is the range of temperature changes that can cause the cork to lose it's seal. Likewise humidity changes are greater in the garage.

* We had our first chiller in the living room because that's the only place it would fit.

* For me part of the fun is knowing I have the wine and looking at it frequently.

Note, all of this assumes that 300 bottles is $20,000 or so in value, and much of it is to be aged a long time. If it's a more casual selection, and the wine is constantly rotated out via consumption, then it really doesn't matter either way. Don't really even need a chiller, really.

And if you drink faster you won't have 300 bottles!

I mostly drink beer and bourbon and save wine......

With remote monitoring, I'm really not worried. I've had a garage fridge forever with no issues and my kegerator has been outside for 10+ years w/o issue.

But, I'm specifically looking for garage/outdoor models for a reason. Pay extra, but built for the higher fluctuations.