All wine fridges, by default, open from left to right, the hinges are on the right and the handle is on the left. This arrangement doesn't suit everyone. Some customers need doors that are hinged on the left due to limited space or because they wish to purchase two wine fridges that open together from the middle.
Around half of our wine fridges, wine coolers and wine cabinets have reversible doors but what does that actually mean in practice, how much does it cost and which are the best wine fridges with reversible doors on the UK market?
Which wine coolers have reversible doors?
Check this link for a list of all wine fridges with reversible doors.
Why choose a wine fridge with a reversible door?
Customer choose to reverse the doors for one of two reasons.
The space in which the wine cooler will fit has a wall or obstacle in the way of a traditional left to right door action.
The customer needs two wine coolers that will stand together and open together from the middle, requiring one of the wine fridges to have a door reversal.
Which brand should I choose for reversible wine cooler doors?
Some brands are completely customisable and all their units have reversible doors whereas some specific series of wine coolers or individual units within the line have reversible doors.
All the Artevino Oxygen range from Eurocave allow you to choose which side the door opens before the wine cabinet is made. The Swisscave Premium Edition all have reversible doors too. With other brands it depends on the specific unit to whether the door can e reversed, many Dunavox, La Sommeliere, Dometic and Montpellier units have doors that can be hinged on the left instead of the right.
A major consideration when choosing a wine cooler if you need to hinge it on the left is the logo on the wine fridge. When a door is 'reversed' this means that the door is literally turned through 180 degrees and if a logo were on the top, now it would be on the bottom. This isn't a problem for some brands that have neat, singular letter or icon logos like Swisscave's S or the lack of logo on the door frame for Artevino, but some brands have names on their doors and this writing would appear upside should a door be reversed. Something to think about if your wine fridge is somewhere prominent and visible.
Who reverses the wine cooler door?
In some cases, if the customer wished too, they could reverse the door themselves. The units come with manuals that contain instructions on how to reverse the door. At CoolerSomm, we recommend against this with the large freestanding wine fridges as the doors can weight 20kg or more and should they be dropped can easily crack and break.
Most customers choose to use our door reversal service which means the wine cabinet arrives at your home already with the door reversed. This service costs between £60-£100 depending on the size of the wine cooler and the brand. If you need a door reversal, this can be requested after purchase or speak to us in the chat.
Does reversing the door invalidate my warranty?
If we reverse your door, then no and if you reverse the door properly, then also no. However, if when reversing the door yourself the job is not done properly and this causes damage to the wine cooler this would invalidate the warranty.
Our 5 best selling wine fridges with reversible doors
Swisscave Premium Range - The wine coolers from Swisscave come in either classic or premium editions. All the doors on the premium range can be reversed and the the stylish S logo doesn't look out of place at the top nor bottom of the wine cabinet.
EuroCave Wine Fridges - Almost all EuroCave wine fridges are made upon order and therefore the side the doors open can be chosen at the time.
Dunavox Grande Range - The super smart Dunavox Grande range of wine cabinets are built to impress with 100% sliding shelves, no bottle stacking and 3 choices of internal lighting. These units are frequently bought in pairs for that butterfly wing effect that gives a wow to any modern kitchen.
Artevino Oxygen Range - All Artevino wine cabinets are made to order, 100% bespoke, so you can choose which way the door is hinged at no extra cost. Artevino is a Eurocave brand, the quality of their parts and finish is second to none and these units are designed especially for long term wine maturation.
La Sommeliere SLS102DZ - Our top selling 100 bottle, dual zone wine cooler is one of the few at this bottle capacity that also allows for door reversal. Keenly priced, (under £1000 as of 02/07/22), the La Sommeliere SLS102DZ is frequently chosen by the serious wine collector with around 100 bottles of wine to cellar over the longer term but also by restaurants thanks to the dual zone capacity allowing for service temperature of red or white wine.
Montpellier WC181X - Our top selling built-in wine cooler is attractive in stainless steel and frequently purchased in sets of two for a stunning double door look for a modern kitchen. These units are exceptionally well priced for the quality however do not have a winter system so must be placed around the home and not in an outbuilding, garage or conservatory.
We strongly recommend you chat with us via live chat or over the phone if you're keen on a door reversal and we can talk you through the intricacies of the process for your chosen model of wine cooler as well as quoting a price for our team to reverse the door before arriving at your home.