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wine cooler/cellar help?

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jeremy johnson

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wine cooler/cellar help?

by jeremy johnson » Thu Sep 27, 2007 3:13 pm

I am a young wine collector, and I've recently outgrown my 17 bottle cooler...I'm not in a position to build my own cellar yet (though I eventually plan to) and need a moderately higher capacity electric wine cooler/cellar until I'm in a position to actually build a cellar.

Does anyone have a used one that they would be interested in selling at a reasonable price? I've seen a 30 bottle Vinotemp unit for $300 but wanted to see if a fellow collector had possibly expanded and perhaps had an extra unit laying around that wasn't in use they might want to sell...
thanks!
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Robin Garr

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Re: wine cooler/cellar help?

by Robin Garr » Thu Sep 27, 2007 5:43 pm

jeremy johnson wrote:I am a young wine collector, and I've recently outgrown my 17 bottle cooler...I'm not in a position to build my own cellar yet (though I eventually plan to) and need a moderately higher capacity electric wine cooler/cellar until I'm in a position to actually build a cellar.

Does anyone have a used one that they would be interested in selling at a reasonable price? I've seen a 30 bottle Vinotemp unit for $300 but wanted to see if a fellow collector had possibly expanded and perhaps had an extra unit laying around that wasn't in use they might want to sell...
thanks!


Jeremy, I see you've got a lead or two over on the LouisvilleHotBytes forum. Just to chime in here, be aware that the 30 bottle unit isn't going to last you long! I think many of the wine geeks here would take the position that a very small unit (50 bottles or less) is going to fall so far short of capacity so fast that you might be better off to pursue other strategies until you can afford more space.
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Bob Henrick

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Re: wine cooler/cellar help?

by Bob Henrick » Thu Sep 27, 2007 6:56 pm

Jeremy, reading between the lines of Robins reply I assume that you live in or near Louisville. I live in Lexington and have a 450 bottle wine cabinet which keeps my wine at 55F. I also have more than 450 bottles so I have wine that spills over into my basement. While my basement is finished we use it very little so I have the heat registers turned off and the ambient temperature ranges from the mid to upper 60's in summer to the low to mid 50s in winter in the coldest period(s). My reason for telling you this is to say that if you do have a basement that is below grade, it is quite possible that a passive cellar will do you quite well. just make sure that the temp does not yo-yo frequently and that temperature changes are slow.
Bob Henrick
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jeremy johnson

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Re: wine cooler/cellar help?

by jeremy johnson » Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:41 pm

I see your collective points...and I actually completely agree, but I've measured downstairs and it goes between 48-85 and I think that's prolly a bit too much difference every year...d'oh

I have an area that would be perfect for a cellar, but I think I'd have to insulate it to get it a bit more regular...I had thought about putting some kind of inexpensive air unit down there, but I travel a lot and I do need something somewhat consistent, so I won't freak out if I invest a bunch on wine and won't be around to insure it's exactly where I need it.
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James Dietz

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Re: wine cooler/cellar help?

by James Dietz » Fri Sep 28, 2007 1:17 am

Home Depot usually has a 32 unit for about $200.. or less... I'd check any DIY place, too....

But.. you outgrew 17, you'll outgrow 30 or 50. .. so.. .go bigger NOW!!
Cheers, Jim
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Jenise

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Re: wine cooler/cellar help?

by Jenise » Fri Sep 28, 2007 9:53 am

James Dietz wrote:Home Depot usually has a 32 unit for about $200.. or less... I'd check any DIY place, too....

But.. you outgrew 17, you'll outgrow 30 or 50. .. so.. .go bigger NOW!!


Good advice: imagine whatever you think you'll need, and then buy twice that much space. And if you really want to go cheap because you're really going to build a real cellar eventually, why not just buy an old refrigerator?
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Jon Peterson

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Re: wine cooler/cellar help?

by Jon Peterson » Fri Sep 28, 2007 11:33 am

Exactly what I was about to say, Jenise. A used fridge as a temp wine storage solution while waiting to build a cellar is a great alternative. It's even better when you consider that, after the cellar is built, it can have another life as a refrigerator again; almost everyone could use another fridge.
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James Dietz

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Re: wine cooler/cellar help?

by James Dietz » Fri Sep 28, 2007 12:57 pm

Jon Peterson wrote:Exactly what I was about to say, Jenise. A used fridge as a temp wine storage solution while waiting to build a cellar is a great alternative. It's even better when you consider that, after the cellar is built, it can have another life as a refrigerator again; almost everyone could use another fridge.


That is sooooo true.. at the moment I have a 500 bottle VinoTemp, a Magic Chef 32 unit under the counter in the kitchen, an 8 bottle Magic Chef unit under my desk at work (!!), the BBQ fridge is full of wine...and my wife is after me to get out of the kitchen fridge the 2 or 3 bottles that don't have a home at the moment! So that's, what, 5 refrigerated units with either all or some wine in them!!!

I started with a 6 bottle wire rack from Cost + World Market.. :lol:
Cheers, Jim
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Max Hauser

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Re: wine cooler/cellar help?

by Max Hauser » Fri Sep 28, 2007 2:49 pm

This thread touched on the Wine-Cellar-Capacity Psychology issue, WCCP for short. Rarely understood before, but wryly lamented after, investing in storage capacity.

It works like this. You envision a reasonable, or generous, need for (say) 200 bottles of quality (cooled) storage space. Once you've provided that capacity, something happens, impossible to fully imagine until you experience it. Thinking changes qualitatively. The sense of constraint always in the back of your mind when you didn't have proper storage is now gone. Those fleeting deals for good-value wines in quantity start becoming serious prospects, and so on.

Result: Your sense of how much wine you need, or can store, increases more than your newly acquired capacity. That's WCCP in a nutshell. It's especially virulent in early stages -- from tens to a few hundred bottles. I could quote many testimonials.
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Jenise

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Re: wine cooler/cellar help?

by Jenise » Fri Sep 28, 2007 3:06 pm

Max, I'm not sure if Jeremy is ready for this news, but it would be irresponsible of us not to mention one of the most common complications of WCCP, which is OS--Offline Syndrome. OS first manifests itself when a sufferer is invited to an offline and believes he/she has no wines that are good enough/aged enough/impressive enough for the event. Say a person has 100 bottles--well, he/she then convinces themselves that if they instead had 200 bottles to choose from, then this dilemna would be nonexistent. But when they reach 200 bottles, OS prevents them from believing that any of those bottles are good/aged/impressive enough, but if they had 400 bottles, this would be solved. And again, once they reach 400 bottles, OS again convinces them none of these wines are suitable, and so on. It's viscious.
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Jon Peterson

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Re: wine cooler/cellar help?

by Jon Peterson » Fri Sep 28, 2007 3:16 pm

Max and Jenise - thank you both for your descriptions of both OS and WCCP. Your posts have caused me to change my retirement plans. I will go back to school, get my MD and devote myself to a study of these conditions. You can be sure that I will get government grants and establish a 'Corks for the Cure' program. Please give generously.
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Max Hauser

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Re: wine cooler/cellar help?

by Max Hauser » Fri Sep 28, 2007 3:20 pm

Another dangerous stimulus is if your budding wine appreciation occurs around people with longtime cellars. Who bought good wines by the dozens, or tens of dozens, 20 or 40 years ago. Before they got "discovered" by some pundit (i.e., when they were just as good, and much cheaper). So that they can be pulled out several at a time for special events. The impressionable wine geek perceives these behaviors as norms, to be emulated.

All these varied stimuli propel people down a slippery, ruinous slope. (I hear the US psychiatrists plan an official entry about it in the DSM, but that's been in debate for years. Public-health officials have also taken interest.)

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