Wine fridges are an effective way to store your favorite wine. Storage with the ideal temperature makes a good bottle of wine. But, although all wines have the same optimal storage temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit, they do have different serving temperatures.
This is where a dual zone wine fridge comes in. But, how significant is it for keeping your wines? How do they work? These are why we made this article. We’ll discuss how it works, compare it to a single one, the pros and cons, and some tips when looking for a unit.
What Is a Dual Zone Wine Cooler Fridge?
A dual-zone refrigerator is an appliance with two temperature zones, which have separate temperature controls. A temperature zone is a temperature-controlled area inside the cooler. Since it’s a dual-zone, this means that the unit has two temperature zones where you can keep your wines.
How Does It Work?
The fridge is composed of two compartments separated by a divider to ensure that the temperatures are regulated in each zone. It also features a technology that distributes cold air in these compartments. Depending on the type of cooler, it may also have a form of coolant.
The cooler then generates vapor from the coolant and distributes the cold air through evaporator coils. Although, newer models might use electric currents instead of coolants instead.
Since there are two compartments, two separate electric currents within heating units are used. These currents create two separate temperature zones, which have their own separate controls.
The control panels can either be located inside the cooler or integrated into the door. With these, you’ll be able to control the temperature of each zone or compartment. Some fridges may even have alarm features that notify you when the temperature changes from the set temperature.
Single Zone vs Dual Zone
As you may already know, a single-zone wine fridge has only one temperature zone. Storage-wise, a single zone can be used for different kinds of wine. But in terms of serving, single zones can only keep one type of wine or a few varieties that can be stored at the same serving temperature.
This means that if you have both reds and whites, you can only use the cooler mainly for storage. For instance, if you want to serve red wine, you’d have to take it out of the fridge a little earlier before you serve it. This is so it can reach its ideal temperature.
Take note that red wines are best served only a little cooler than room temperature, which can be about 58 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The rule of thumb is the lighter the wine is, the colder it should be served and drank.
Dual zones, on the other hand, can keep multiple varieties of wine since it has two temperature zones. If you have reds and whites, you can place them in separate compartments and set the temperatures to each of their ideal serving temperatures. This way, you can serve and enjoy them at any time.
Additionally, keep in mind that you can always make dual-zone coolers have a single temperature zone. But, you can’t have two temperature zones with single-zone coolers.
Pros of Dual Zone Wine Refrigerators
Great for Storing Multiple Types of Wine
The number one benefit of a dual-zone refrigerator is it’s perfect for storing different types of wine. If you’re an avid wine collector who loves to collect a wide variety of wines, a dual-zone cooler is perfect for you.
As mentioned, you can store both red and white wines at different temperatures to keep them both in optimal serving conditions.
More Versatile than Single Zone
Aside from storing wines, you can also use the dual zone to keep other kinds of beverages like beer and soda. This makes the fridge a good option for people who love to drink or regularly drink a wide variety of beverages. You can keep the wines in one compartment and the beers and sodas in the other.
Makes Organizing and Storage Easy
Since you’ll have two compartments, you can dedicate each to one type of wine. This would make everything easy to organize and remember. You won’t have to rummage through the cooler to look for your whites among the reds and vice versa.
Good for Storing, Aging, and Serving Wine
With the two compartments of a dual-zone, you can use one for storing wine you’re drinking or will drink soon, and the other one for storing the ones you want to age for a long time. Since there are two temperature zones, you can regulate the humidity and airflow essential for the proper aging of wine.
You can use one compartment to provide the ideal storage temperature for aging wine. Then, you can use the other one to provide the ideal serving temperature for the wine. This way, you can move wines from the storage compartment to the serving compartment, from which they can be readily served.
They Usually Have Larger Capacities
Dual-zone units can be compact like single-zone ones, but they usually come in larger capacities. They have more storage capacities for your wines. This makes them ideal for people who have collections and lots of wine to store.
Cheaper than Wine Cellars
If you have lots of wine you want to store but can’t afford wine cellars, a dual-zone cooler would be a great alternative. These coolers also come in different types: freestanding and built-in ones.
You can buy a built-in dual-zone cooler if you want to incorporate it into your furniture, or a freestanding unit if you want a standalone. If you’re interested, the Allavino brand has some of the best dual-zone units that you can use as a built-in or freestanding cooler.
Cons of Dual Zone Wine Refrigerators
More Expensive than Single Zone Coolers
Since dual-zone units will have more features, they can be more expensive than single-zone units. At the same time, running dual-zone units can consume more energy, which may result in higher power consumption and bills.
Having Two Compartments May Be Non-Ideal
If you are only storing limited types or one type of wine, the second compartment becomes redundant and irrelevant. You won’t need an additional zone so you can organize your wines. Although you can just set the zones at the same temperature, it may still come inefficient considering it would be better to have the cold airflow throughout the unit and not in each compartment.
What to Look for in a Dual Zone Wine Fridge
There are certain factors or features you need to consider when choosing the best dual-zone wine fridge. These include:
Temperature Range
This is extremely important to ensure that your favorite drinks are optimally preserved. When looking through your options, make sure that the ranges for both zones suit your needs. They should be able to provide both storage and serving temperatures for your wines.
Capacity
Consider the number of bottles you’ll potentially store. This means that aside from the current number of bottles you have, give allowance or add some extra numbers to accommodate more future bottles you’ll need to store.
Different models have different storage capacities. Make sure to check if your selected fridge has enough space for your wine collection.
Noise
You have to make sure that the refrigerator doesn’t produce lots of loud noise. Loud noises indicate high vibrations. Vibrations can affect the quality, flavor, and taste of your wines. With too much movement caused by vibrations, chemical reactions will occur in the wines which can result in off-flavors and poor aging.
UV Protection
Every detail matters so we recommend checking if the glass door of the wine fridge can protect your wine collection from UV rays from the sunlight. UV damage can degrade and deteriorate your wines. That’s why having UV-resistant glass for your fridge would be the best option.
Installation Options
Lastly, you need to consider how and where you want to place your dual-zone wine cooler. Depending on your preferences and the availability of space at your home, you can get a freestanding or a built-in unit.
Always remember that there should be enough space around the fridge where the hot air can escape from the vent safely. Proper air circulation is important so the appliance can keep the inside cool. Freestanding units have rear or side vents while built-in ones have front vents.
If it helps you decide, built-in types of wine fridges can also be used as freestanding fridges. If you’re unsure of what to get, you can go for built-in ones so you have more installation options.
Final Thoughts
If you’re considering getting your wine collection proper storage, get yourself a dual zone wine fridge. Although there are some cons to a dual-zone unit, the benefits you can get outweigh them. It would be worth it since they can provide optimal temperatures for your favorite wines. Hopefully, we’ve provided enough information to support this.
If you’re ready to start looking for options, we encourage you to check out our top-rated dual-zone wine fridge collection. Look through our wide selection of products and see which one best matches your needs.
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