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My wife had been wanting a home wine cellar for some time, so I decided I'd surprise her with one for her birthday. After shopping around and looking at several models, I ended up purchasing the Cuisinart CWC-800 8-bottle stainless steel wine cellar.
Here are a few things that steered me toward this model:
* energy efficiency - this Cuisinart model has very low power consumption
* it has an electric touch pad for accurate temperature control
* it has a rack removal option to accommodate 1500ml bottles in lieu of 750ml bottles
* it comes with a remarkable 3 year warranty
The unit lists for $299, and while less expensive cellars can be found, I still chose this one because of the Cuisinart name and the aesthetic appeal of this model. It fits nicely on a countertop and is incredibly quiet. You'd never even know it was there if it weren't for the blue LED temperature control display.
The down side is that for the money, the 8-bottle capacity is a bit limited. However, it is designed for those with limited space, so it is to be expected that it would not hold as many bottles as a larger wine cellar.
The Cuisinart CWC-1600 lists for $365 and has double the bottle capacity, and if I had it to do over again, I might have purchased this larger model instead with such a small increase in the price from the CWC-800.
The problem is that I read a lot of reviews by people with the CWC-1600 and there were many complaints about the wine not being chilled and multiple reports about the power running but no cooling whatsoever.
My wife and I are pleased with the CWC-800 and have no problems with the unit failing to cool our wines to our chosen temperature. Maybe we are just lucky and got a good unit, or maybe the design in the CWC-1600 just needs a more powerful cooling system for the upgraded size.
Some individuals expect to get a mini refrigerator, but a cellar is different than a refrigerator so it is not the same type of product. The touch pad allows the unit temp to be set between 39 and 68 degrees F, and we've had no problem with the temperature.
There are more expensive units that hold more bottles, but we are happy with this one. The size is adequate for a two person household and the occasional dinner guests we entertain.
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