Freestanding Wine Fridges & Wine Coolers

Black Friday is LIVE - Fastest UK Delivery - 5 Star Trustpilot Rating

What is a freestanding wine fridge?

A freestanding wine fridge is a stand alone wine fridge that is used for either wine service or wine storage or both. They come in a variety of heights and widths. All freestanding wine fridges will protect your wine from the five elements that can cause wine to prematurely age or spoil, including UV light, heat, bad aromas, vibration and humidity. However, some wine fridges are designed to protect your wine over the longer term into wine maturation. For wine maturation you need a freestanding wine fridge with a carbon filter and potentially, if your wine are very valuable and may be sold at a future date, adjustable humidity controls.

Freestanding wine fridges or standalone wine coolers are designed to stand alone, with at least 2-3 inches of space around them and 30cm on top to allow them to vent hot air produced in the act of cooling your wine. Unlike built-in or integrated wine coolers, they are not meant to be part of your kitchen design and are commonly placed around the home, outbuildings, garages, conservatories, restaurants and bars. See our wine fridge buying guide for help choosing your ideal wine fridge.

All freestanding wine fridges will come with at least one programmable temperature zone, typically able to set between 5-18°C but many will have premium features like dual temperature zones (or even multi-zones), automatic humidity settings, carbon filters and other wine cooler technology that will make the freestanding wine fridge ideal for either service, storage or both.

Freestanding wine cabinets are the tall units that can typically accommodate anywhere between 100-300 bottles. These are for the serious oenophile who will want to cellar some of their selection over the longer term. Freestanding wine cabinets tend to include a lot more technology and are more energy efficient and cost effective per bottle typically than their cooler equivalent.

What’s the difference between a built in/integrated and freestanding wine fridge?

The differences in these types of wine fridge related exclusively to their position around the home and how the vent and expel hot air.

A freestanding wine fridge needs 5-10cm of space all around it and 30cm on top to allow ventilation. This means it can not be placed adjacent to walls or carpentry and must stand freely around the home, cellar or garage.

A built in or under-counter wine fridge vents from a panel at the front of the wine fridge so can be built into carpentry.

An integrated wine fridge sits off the floor and is integrated into a kitchen like an integrated oven might be. Typically it needs space at the back to vent although there are now some self-ventilating integrated wine fridges which can just be plugged in.

Why choose a freestanding wine fridge?

Freestanding wine fridges are chosen by wine lovers who don't want to put their wine fridge in the kitchen, or, whose collection is so large and potentially expensive, that it would not suit being in an undercounter wine fridge.

Restaurants, wine bars and premium wine shops often have freestanding wine fridges to showcase their wine whilst keeping them at the ideal service or storage temperature.

Those with large wine collections who wish to place their wine fridge in a garage or conservatory or cellar often opt for freestanding wine fridges as they have winter systems to battle low external temperatures.

Choosing the right freestanding wine cooler?

What features should I look for in a freestanding wine cooler?

This will depend entirely on what you want your freestanding unit to do. If you want it to hold Champagne then look for wider shelving gaps, if you want it to hold a mix of bottles, look for MIX shelving, if you want to mature your wine, look for carbon filters, if you want to serve wine of all varieties look for a dual zone. Common features of freestanding fridges include;

• Single, Dual or Multi Temperature Zones
• Alarm systems to notify of temperature dips
• Winter System - Ideal if you wish to place your wine cabinet in a colder room like a garage.
• Lighting on/off or changing coloured LED lights
• MIX shelving systems and space for Champagne bottles
• Carbon filters - you will find these in wine coolers with the potential to age wines
• UV protected doors - all units will feature UV protected doors to prevent your wine from sunlight damage

Considerations when choosing a freestanding wine cooler?

Every wine collector has different needs and considerations when choosing a freestanding wine fridge. It's important to consider;

• The space you can allocate to your wine fridge and its ambient temperature
  
• The number of bottles you need to store
  
• Is this wine fridge for storage or service or both - how many zones do you need?
• The budget you can allocate to wine storage
  
• The long term running and maintenance costs
  
• How might your wine collection evolve over time
  
• What shape and size are your bottles, what type of shelving will you need.
  

Which are the best brands for freestanding wine fridges?

The highest premium brands for freestanding wine fridges are EuroCave and Swisscave, followed closely by Liebherr and Dunavox. Other high quality brands include Dometic, Climadiff and La Sommeliere. Vestfrost is an affordable brand with high quality engineering along with mQuvee.

All of these brands come with at least 2 years warranty and fast delivery.

There are also freestanding wine walls, these can offer great narrow depth for those with special space requirements.

How to install a freestanding wine cooler?

The most important thing to remember about your freestanding wine cooler is that it will need to expel hot air and it also needs to be a kept in a place of moderate temperature fluctuation unless it has a ‘winter system’. Freestanding wine fridges need 2-3 inches of space around the back and sides and at least 30cm above. The top of the freestanding unit should never have anything place upon it as this impact the units ability to vent. If you buy a unit and surround it with cabinets, like a built-in unit, the unit will eventually overheat and break and you will also invalidate the warranty.

Place your freestanding wine cooler in a room where the temperature doesn't go frequently below 14°C or above 25°C, the exceptions to this are units with a winter system (which can heat up the internal environment so can cope with cold conditions) or wine coolers than have a large ambient temperature rating and are designed to cope with extensive warm temperatures.

FAQs

What temperature should I set my freestanding wine fridge?

If you have a single zone wine fridge then you should set the temperature for either wine service (around 5-8c for sparkling wines, 6-10c for white wines and room temperature for reds) or for long term maturation at 12c.

If you have a dual zone and wish to set the wine fridge for wine service then programme the two zones for the wine types you are storing in the zones. If you wish to use your dual zone for partial service, then set it at the desired service temperature and 12c for the storage section.

If you have a multi-zone wine fridge, then you will set the temperature for the bottom of the fridge and then as the levels go up through the fridge the temperature will get warmer, storing your whites at the bottom, your fine wines in the middle and the reds at the top of your wine fridge.

How long is a warranty on a freestanding wine fridge?

Generally two years parts nd labour, however some brands offer longer warranties on the compressor like Dunavox of up to five years. Eurocave offer five years and Swisscave and Liebherr allow warranty extensions of up to four years.

How many bottles can a typical freestanding wine fridge hold?

This would depend entirely on the height, the number of temperature zones and shelves in the wine cooler as well as the shape of the bottles in your wine collection. Our freestanding wine fridges hold as few as 16 bottles, for a countertop option, or as many as 330 bottles in the case of a long term wine storage option.

User our bottle capacity slider feature to filter our freestanding wine fridges to suit your wine collection.

Can I use a freestanding wine cooler for wine maturation?

If you rotate your wines fairly frequently and are not looking to age any bottle past two years, any of the freestanding options will suit you well. However, if you want to cellar wines for decades then you really should look at a wine cabinet that has the benefit of a carbon filter and maybe even individual humidity controls, these tackle bad odours and purify the air in the system and perhaps even a solid door unit if you will rarely inspect your wines as these are the most cost efficient and energy efficient too.

Are freestanding wine fridges safe for my wine?

Yes, wine fridges are ideal storage solutions for wine. Many have locks to protect from outside interference (use the filters and choose ‘lockable’) and all our wine fridges will protect your wine from heat, UV, humidity or vibration damage.

How long does it take to deliver a freestanding wine fridge?

Typically around 2-4 days if the wine fridge is in stock. However, expedited deliveries can be arranged. We can also hold your wine fridge for a month or longer if you don’t need the unit immediately.

Why are freestanding wine fridges so expensive?

Compared to integrated or built-in wine fridges, freestanding wine fridges are actually the most cost effective choice in wine refrigeration however, they are more expensive than a normal fridge.

The reason is that the internal tech in a wine fridge is greater and held to a greater level of consistency and quality than a regular fridge. Wine fridges need to hold your wines very strictly at a set temperature, they need to maintain humidity and come with expensive doors, for this reason wine fridges are more expensive than a regular fridge.

Can I put a freestanding wine fridge inside a cabinet or cubby?

You can't close a door on a freestanding wine fridge because it vents from all around and needs at least 5-10cm of space all around it and 30cm above. These units vent hot air and placing them in any enclosed space will eventually cause them to overheat, overwork and then break. Placing your freestanding wine fridge into a cupboard where it can not vent would also invalidate the warranty.

Why do freestanding wine fridges have only F or G energy ratings?

The energy efficiency rating standards change every decade and are revised. As better technology and more exacting standards are introduced electronics are expected to become more and more energy efficient.

Wine fridges are also compared against other electronic appliances that do not require as much energy, like a lamp, read our full guide on the energy rating of wine fridges here.

Does a wine fridge get as a cold as a regular fridge?

The coldest wine fridges we offer are from Montpellier going down to 2°c, most wine fridges only go down to 5°c as this is the typical service temperature of Champagne or Rose on a cold day. Wine fridges do not offer the ability to go to temperatures any lower than this because ice formation would occur and this would damage your wine.

Do freestanding wine fridges have wooden shelves?

Most wine fridges come with wooden shelves, however, some are wooden fronted wire shelves. Some cheap wine fridges only offer metal shelving which can be harmful to wine over the longer term as they do nothing to dampen vibration. Ideally a wine fridge should be bought with wooden shelves. Most wine fridges come with beech wood shelves, however, some more expensive brands use less dense wood like mahogany as this adds to the vibration control of the shelving.

Can you just plug in your freestanding wine fridge?

Exactly that. You can simply plug in your freestanding wine fridge, it doesn't need plumbing, it doesn't need to be installed anywhere special, you can simply plug it in and within a few hours the wine fridge will be at temperature. However, you should refrain from plugging in and using your wine fridge for at least 24 hours after delivery to allow the gases in the unit to settle.

I have a narrow gap for my wine fridge, can I buy a freestanding version?

Yes if the space around it is 5-10cm and it has a 30cm gap above it, it will be fine to place your wine fridge in a 50cm, 60cm or 70cm gap.

I want to place my wine fridge in a colder room, will it work?

If the wine fridge is going into a room that falls consistently below the temperature you set the wines to be stored at then you’ll need to purchase a wine fridge with a winter system. You can use the filters on our website and select only units with a winter system. Freestanding wine fridges can go into cellars, garages or conservatories if they have a winter system.

Can I reverse the door on my freestanding wine fridge?

Often on larger freestanding wine fridges you can reverse the door, its very rare on the smaller models. Use the filters to select ‘reversible door’ and wine fridges that can have their door reversed will be shown.

Can I put cider, vodka and beer bottles into a wine fridge?

Yes, a wine fridge can accommodate different bottle sizes. We recommend keeping your wine fridge at a lower temperature for storage of cider, vodka and beer.

Which are the best freestanding wine coolers?

Our three top selling freestanding wine coolers are listed below.

Best small freestanding wine cooler - La Sommeliere SLS34DZ

Our most popular freestanding unit is the La Sommeliere SLS34DZ. This well priced dual zone can hold 33 bottles and also has space for Champagne too. From premium producer, La Sommeliere, this wine cooler comes with a 2 years parts and labour guarantee. Benefitting from two temperature zones which can be set between 5-10°C in the upper compartments and 10-20°C in the lower, this wine cooler is designed for service and will keep red, white and sparkling wines at the ideal temperature. The upper zone holds 15 bottles while the lower zone holds 18 bottles.

Best full height freestanding wine cooler - Dunavox DX-166.428DSK

Supremely attractive in a stainless steel frontage, a piano black version of the same wine fridge is also available. This full height wine cooler is stylish as well as being ultra durable with our longest manufacturer warranty of 5 years on the compressor. This dual zone wine cooler has full stack shelving meaning there is no need to stack your bottles as every bottle will have its own shelf. It also benefits from wide gaps between shelves allowing Champagne to be stored on any shelf. The bottom section provides space for larger wine bottle formats too.

Best freestanding wine fridge for long term maturation - Swisscave WL455F

Our most popular freestanding wine cooler of all is the ultra-premium Swisscave WL455F. A single zone wine cooler designed for freestanding or built-in use, this unit vents from the bottom so you can place items to the side, back and on top of the wine cabinet. With a winter system, carbon filter and temperature alarms as well as a lock and key. This classic edition Swisscave will keep your wines safe and perfectly protected for the next decade or so.