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Treat your wine right with these perfect wine fridges
Samsung
Whether you’re a wannabe sommelier, wine collector, or someone who simply enjoys unwinding with a chilled glass of wine, there are a wide range of wine cooler cabinets you can use in your home. The best wine refrigerators allow you to organize your wine bottles exactly how you want them — and keep them chilled at exactly the right temperature.
Pro Tip: Focus on how many bottles you need it to hold at once, where in your home you plan to place the refrigerated wine cabinet, and what extra features (like adjustable interior lighting, pull out shelving, and an open door alarm) you’re most interested in.
Best wine fridges in 2024
Our in-house team of kitchen and home appliance experts has curated this roundup of the six best refrigerated wine cabinets for your home. We included options able to store and keep anywhere from six to 51 wine bottles properly chilled. So, regardless of your needs, budget and existing decor, you can easily find an option that will fit nicely within your home.
Best wine fridge: Costway 51 bottle, dual-zone wine refrigerator
Best Buy
Height: 26 inches | Width: 27 inches | Form factor: Freestanding or built-in | Bottle capacity: 51 | Cooling unit type: Dual-zone compressor | Temperature controls: LED display with touchscreen controls | Temperature range: 40 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit
The top shelves of this wine fridge can be set between 40 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit, while the lower shelves can be set to maintain a constant temperature between 55 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The wine fridge features a stainless steel frame and a two-layer tempered glass door that offers UV protection and heat insulation.
The reversible door can be set up with hinges on the right or left, and can open 180 degrees. To make the contents easy to view and add ambiance to the room, the fridge has customizable LED lighting.
This wine refrigerator also uses an active charcoal filtration system for air purity and odor-free operation. Meanwhile, the compressor runs quietly, at less than 36 decibels. We like that the fridge can be used as a freestanding unit or be built-in to a cabinet or a counter. The adjustable foot pads help the fridge maintain good balance.
Best compact wine fridge: Koolatron 6 bottle wine cooler
Amazon
Height: 14.25 inches | Width: 20 inches | Form factor: Free-standing | Bottle capacity: 6 (with adjustable shelves) | Cooling unit type: Thermoelectric | Temperature controls: Touch controls | Temperature range: 46 to 66 degrees Fahrenheit
This tabletop refrigerated wine cabinet holds up to six bottles. It’s ideal for a small kitchen, RV or condo. It has one door and two adjustable shelves. And it plugs into a standard 120-volt electrical outlet for power.
You get external controls and a digital display that lets you adjust the temperature, plus turn the interior light on or off without opening the door. Soft and energy-efficient LED interior lighting subtly highlights your wine collection without producing excess heat.
The double-paned, mirrored glass door protects your wine from damaging UV rays. The fridge’s thermoelectric technology efficiently cools to between 46 and 66 degrees Fahrenheit, with no vibrations.
Best wine and drink fridge: Insignia dual-zone wine and beverage cooler
Best Buy
Height: 34 inches | Width: 24 inches | Form factor: Freestanding or built-in | Bottle capacity: 42 (or 21 bottles and 64 cans) | Cooling unit type: Dual zone Compressor | Temperature controls: Electronic | Temperature range: 34 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit
We love the Insignia NS-BC2ZSS1 dual zone wine and beverage cooler’s two glass doors and two independent cooling zones that are continuously monitored using a digital thermostat for each compartment. Thanks to interchangeable wire and wood shelving, the wine fridge can hold up to 42 wine bottles, or 21 wine bottles and 64 12-ounce beverage cans.
Built into the fridge is soft interior lighting, so you can see what’s inside. With a stainless-steel finish and glass doors, this appliance is easy to clean and adds a modern look to any space. It can be used as a freestanding unit or built into a cabinet or counter.
Each compartment can be locked separately to keep your wine collection safe. The fridge’s beverage zone has a temperature range between 34 and 64 degrees Fahrenheit, while the wine zone has an adjustable temperature range between 41 and 64 degrees Fahrenheit. If you leave either door open for more than five minutes, an alarm will automatically sound.
Best stainless steel wine fridge: Samsung 51-bottle wine cooler refrigerator
Samsung
Height: 34 1/16 inches | Width: 23 13/16 inches | Form factor: Built-in | Bottle capacity: 51 | Cooling unit type: Compressor, twin cooling system | Temperature controls: Touch controls | Temperature range: 41 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit
For any kitchen that already has stainless steel appliances and room to place a built-in refrigerated wine cabinet into the counter or island, this Samsung model is an elegant and highly functional choice.
You get a 51 bottle capacity and LED lighting, so you can view your wine collection without opening the single glass door. The upper section has its own temperature zone (adjustable between 45 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit) and holds up to 16 bottles. The lower section (adjustable between 50 and 64 degrees Fahrenheit) holds up to 35 additional bottles. The convenient touch controls allow you to select the optimal temperature settings for red, white or sparkling wine.
Inside, the wine cooler offers five sliding shelves, along telescopic rails that prevent the bottles from rattling when a shelf is pulled out for easy access to your chosen bottle. One notable feature is the door alarm that automatically goes off after two minutes if it’s accidentally left open. There’s also a convenient child lock. Plus, the cooler’s single door is reversible.
Best wine fridge for under 24 bottles: Euhomy wine and beverage refrigerator
Amazon
Height: 34.3 inches | Width: 23.4 inches | Form factor: Freestanding or built-in | Bottle capacity: 21 bottles and 88 cans | Cooling unit type: Dual zone compressor | Temperature controls: Touch controls | Temperature range: 35 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit
If your preferred drink selection includes an assortment of bottled wines and canned beverages, this Euhomy wine and beverage fridge makes everything easily accessible, thanks to its two door, dual cooling zone design. The fridge holds up to 21 wine bottles and up to 88 cans within what can be configured as a freestanding or under-counter wine fridge.
On the canned-beverage side (which can be adjusted between 25 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit), you get three adjustable wooden shelves. The wine bottle side provides seven adjustable wooden shelves. Its temperature can be set between 41 and 64 degrees Fahrenheit.
Inside, the blue LED lighting provides a pleasing aesthetic, while allowing you to see what’s in the fridge without having to open either door. The unit is equipped with a powerful compressor that works quietly, at a maximum of 40 decibels. At the same time, a high-speed fan achieves a 360 degree wide-area air supply to create evenly-cooled storage. On this model, the doors are not reversible.
Best wine fridge for under 50 bottles: Frigidaire 45 bottle, two-zone wine cooler
Best Buy
Height: 34 inches | Width: 21.5 inches | Form factor: Freestanding | Bottle capacity: 45 | Cooling unit type: Dual zone compressor | Temperature controls: LED display with touchscreen controls | Temperature range: 46 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit
For a household with a decent, but not huge, wine collection, this Frigidaire refrigerated wine cabinet is a freestanding appliance that can hold up to 45 bottles and make each readily accessible.
The dual zone compressor allows you to maintain two different temperatures within the unit. Each can be set to anywhere between 46 and 64 degrees Fahrenheit. And for ambience and enhanced visibility of the fridge’s contents, you get elegant LED lighting inside the fridge.
The electronic temperature controls are also readily accessible from inside the fridge. The single door is reversible.
Best premium wine fridge: Thermador Professional Series 41 bottle wine refrigerator
Best Buy
Height: 34 3/8 inches | Width: 23 7/8 inches | Form factor: Built-in | Bottle capacity: 41 | Cooling unit type: Dual zone compressor | Temperature controls: Electronic | Temperature range: 40 to 64 degrees Fahrenheit
A serious wine connoisseur and collector should have a professional-grade wine fridge — and that’s exactly what this premium, stainless steel appliance from Thermador provides. The fridge conveniently and elegantly stores up to 41 of your favorite wines using six pull-out shelves.
We love that the display shelving is constructed of Wenge hardwood dowels with aluminum front caps. They help control wine sediment by cradling bottles of every size for stability. They also provide an elegant presentation. Plus, you can set two different temperatures to store all your wines at the optimum temperature, from chardonnay, to pinot, to rosé. The integrated LED lighting allows you to see what’s inside without opening the door.
The fridge’s single door is constructed with UV resistant tempered glass that helps to protect your most prized wines. The door generates an automatic alert if it’s accidentally not closed all the way. This prevents the under-counter refrigerator from losing cold air.
Best wine club in 2024
If you want expert help populating your new wine fridge with wines from the West Coast, Italy, France, South Africa, New Zealand and other countries known for producing fine wines, we recommend checking out CellarsWineClub’s Premium Wine Club. You can choose how many shipments you want, how often you want to receive shipments, and the types of wine (red, white, or both) you prefer to receive. Meanwhile, the Premium Case Club allows you to sample a curated selections of 12 wines at a time, every three months.
For more help choosing the very best appliance for your home — and save money in the process — be sure to read out coverage of the best induction ranges with a cooktop in 2024, the best refrigerators of 2024, the best smart dishwashers of 2024, the best washing machines for 2024, the best electric dryers for 2024, the best front-load washing machines for 2024, the best stackable washers and dryers in 2024 and the best smart coffee makers of 2024.
Americans are expected to spend more money heating their homes this winter than on holiday gifts, according to new research.
The elevated cost of staying warm indoors amid cold outdoor temperatures comes after an unusually hot summer, that led to households spending bigger shares of their budgets on cooling costs, compared with previous years, according to a report from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA).
On average, spending on home heating this winter is projected to increase by 8.7% to $941, up from $866 last winter. The increased costs are attributed in part to both expected colder temperatures in the Northeast and Midwest states.
The new average expenditure on heating costs outpaces the $902 the average household is expected to spend on Christmas presents this year, according to a forecast from the National Retail Federation.
What’s driving up home heating costs?
There are different ways to keep residences warm. Families that use electricity to heat their homes are expected to face the largest increase in costs — more than 14% — which will bring the total up to $1,189 from $1,040 from mid-November through mid-March, which NEADA considers to be the winter period.
Driving up prices is the rising cost of updating and maintaining the electric grid. Plus, colder weather is expected to lead to increased consumption.
“It’s colder, and the cost of electricity is up as the grid is rebuilt. So we’re seeing both higher prices and greater usage,” NEADA Executive Director Mark Wolfe told CBS MoneyWatch.
Natural gas, propane and heating oil cost differences
Natural gas and propane users are also expected to be hit with bigger bills this winter. Heating costs for natural gas are up just over 3%, for an average cost of $634 for the winter period, compared with $615 for 2023-2024. Costs are expected to rise only modestly in line with wholesale prices.
Propane costs are up 4.4%, with families expected to spend an average of $1,231 heating homes, up from $1,179 last season.
Heating oil costs, by contrast, have declined 2.7%, which means average spending this winter will be $1,518, down from $1,560 last winter.
Early start to the season
November was colder than usual, with temperatures dropping prematurely after a “very expensive summer” of heat waves straining cooling resources, said Wolfe.
Blame climate change for the big swings in temperature, he added.
“Weather conditions can be very unpredictable even though over time, winters are getting warmer and summers are getting hotter. It’s not a straight line, and for consumers, it’s quite upsetting because higher utility bills are coming right before Christmas,” Wolfe said.
Steps to take now
There are steps consumers can take to help keep a lid on home heating costs.
Wolfe urges people to have their thermostats serviced now, before the coldest temperatures of the season roll in. That way, families won’t be on the hook for an emergency repair if their thermostat breaks in the middle of a cold front. A tune-up will also help heating systems run more efficiently, he said.
Always close the furnace flue, or else it will lead heat outside the house, advises Wolfe. Lastly, manually turn down the heat at night, if you can, to save up to 10% on your energy bill.
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There’s still time to become a mega-millionaire for Christmas, but lady luck will have to be on your side.
No one matched Mega Millions‘ all six winning numbers last Tuesday, and the jackpot now stands at $862 million ahead of Friday night’s drawing.
The jackpot has been rolling since it was last won at $810 million in Texas on Sept. 10.
If there is a sole winner, they have a choice between an annuity, with an initial payment and then 29 annual payments, or a one-time lump sum payment. Most winners choose a cash payout.
For Friday night’s drawing, that would be an estimated $392.1 million before taxes.
If won at that level, it would be the largest prize ever won in December and the seventh largest in Mega Millions history.
According to Mega Millions, 13 jackpots have been won during December since the game began in 2002. Three were won in the days after Christmas, while the other 10 were won before Christmas. There has never been a jackpot win on Christmas Day, although over the years drawings have been conducted on Christmas six times – in 2007, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2020.
Mega Millions drawings are held on Tuesday and Friday, tickets cost $2. The odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 303 million.
