Avalon Bay AB-WINE21DS Wine Cooler

When we purchased our home last year, we went into the deal knowing that this 1980’s era house would require quite a bit of updating.  The sellers had done some minimal upgrades to bring it into the 21st century, but they left us with plenty of work to do.  Like removing the trash compactor in the kitchen.

I received a wine cooler to review from Air & Water.  All opinions are my own, especially the one about disliking the 1980s trash compactor.

We actually left it there for almost an entire year because we didn’t know what to put in that spot if we took it out.  It did a great job of holding all my dish towels and cleaning cloths though 😉  And then I had a genius idea…my husband could get me a wine cooler for Mother’s Day.  We ended up having guests during May, and then some other home expenses came up and the wine cooler just never got purchased. 

But a couple of weeks ago the good folks over at Air & Water asked if I wanted to review one of their wine coolers.  And my trash compactor went to the curb and I welcomed the Avalon Bay AB-WINE21DS Wine Cooler into that cozy spot in my kitchen.

I’ll note right away that even though it fits right into that spot between my cabinets, this is a free standing unit.  You’ll see that there is space on the top and the sides, and there is plenty in the back too.  The Avalon Bay Wine Coolers need enough space around them to not overheat as they’re cooling, so even though mine looks ‘nearly built in,’ it really isn’t.

The black body with the stainless accents is sleek looking and fits right in with the rest of my appliances.

This cooler is dual zoned with the upper section holding 6 bottles and the lower one holding 15.  This way you can chill your reds and whites separately rather than having to find a median temperature for both.   The temperature range of the upper zone is 44°-64° F and bottom is 51°-64° F.

The depth on the unit is really quite nice.  I have a couple of larger bottles in the cooler and they fit in the racks without incident and the door closes with enough clearance between the top of the bottle and the glass.  I even have one that has a stopper in it adding extra length, and it’s not a problem.  The racks slide out as well, so should there be a bottle that doesn’t quite fit, you can remove a rack so it does. 

When we first received the cooler the assembly was simple enough and the cooling seemed to happen relatively quickly…until I started stocking it.  Of course when you put in that many warm wine bottles (I placed more than a dozen in it) it will take some extra cooling time to get to the set temperature.  I didn’t anticipate it taking as long as it did though – over 12 hours.  Once it reached its set temperature though it remained steady while the cooler was closed.  Naturally each time the cooler is opened or another warm bottle gets placed inside it will need to reacclimate itself.

It’s also worth mentioning that because the cooler is thermoelectric and not a compressor system, it has a harder time cooling depending on the ambient temperature of where it is placed.  We keep our home quite warm at 78 degrees in summer.  The lower section of the cooler wants to stay at about 55 degrees even if I set it lower.  In winter when the house is cooler, I’m hoping that I will be able to set the temperature a few degrees lower with no issues.    

That being said, it’s a pretty quiet cooling system which only produces a low hum when in the process of cooling when it reaches the programmed temperature the latent noise it emits is barely noticeable.  Even in the cooling process I can’t hear it in the next room.

It also has an LED light in each zone to illuminate your collection.  It really doesn’t serve a purpose, but the geek in me thinks it’s pretty neat looking (especially when the kitchen is dark!), and the LEDs don’t emit any heat so you can leave them on as long as you like without it affecting your wines.

Here’s a YouTube video I created to let you get a better look at the cooler.

The manufacturer’s suggested retail price on the Avalon Bay AB-WINE21DS Wine Cooler is $259.99, but it’s currently priced at just $199.99 on Air & Water. Even better, Air & Water is giving away FOUR Avalon Bay Wine Coolers.  Contest ends 8/21/14.  You’ve got nothing to lose so be sure to enter!