Wine Coolers are designed to maintain wine at the proper serving temperature. They have wide temperature fluctuations and lack the high humidity, low vibration and low light conditions that are provided by Wine Cabinets. The temperatures are set at a cooler temperature for whites and a warmer temperature for reds. Many Wine Coolers are duel zone for this reason.

Wine Cabinets are designed for storage and aging at 55 to 60 degrees. This temperature range is warmer than the serving temperature for white wines and cooler than the serving temperature for reds. It is suggested that if you want to drink a wine directly from a Wine Cabinet, that you place a white wine in an ice bucket for a few minutes before serving or allow the red wine to warm up out of the cabinet. Proper aging also requires the storage cabinet have low vibration, low light and proper humidity, as well as proper storage temperatures.

Wine Cabinets & Wine Coolers – Wine Cellars Specialists Chicago & Dallas

Multi-Temperature Wine Cabinets are somewhat of a combination of the two. They have a small section usually at the bottom that is cooler for white wine serving temperatures, they have a small section usually at the top that is warmer for red wine serving temperatures, and there is a larger section usually in the center that maintains the 55-60 degree range for storage.

The majority of people who store their wines in a cooled environment opt for a traditional Wine Cabinet. However, it is important to look at your wine drinking trend and decide for yourself if you want to store your wines for aging or do you just want to have them ready to drink within a shorter period of time.