we stopped by wine enthusiast the other day and looked at several wine cellars. It was good that we stopped by as it’s hard to get a sense online of the different shelving systems, lighting, and look of each unit. We’re wondering if there’s a difference in the longevity, amount of noise (the unit will sit in our NYC kitchen), and shelf operation. we’ve noticed some of the shelves, perhaps the ones on ball bearings, are more pleasant, any recommendations on shelving appreciated.
the salesperson made the point that the though the wine enthusiast model has a lower life expectancy (7-10 years), it’s half the price of the eurocave.
the units we’re considering are:
wine enthusiast latitude L with luxury spacing ($2249)
One thing to keep in mind is that those have different venting system. Some are front vented so you place them flush against the wall and some are rear vented, so you need to leave some room between the unit and the wall so it can properly vent and not overheat
I have had the Artevino for 4 years and I love it. Having said that, one of the things I like about it is that not all of the shelves move, so I can stack my long-term agers on the bottom half and am less able to access them after I’ve had a few bottles with friends and start thinking about opening random stuff! If you’re looking for more ease of access/viewing with more shelves that pull out, I can see the Latitude being attractive. Also, when I bought the Artevino it was a flat $2,000, so it looks like pricing has gone up substantially.
In researching the Artevino, it seems like the price is all over the place, with the best buying opportunity occurring on Black Friday. Still, I think we’ve seen the last of a $2k price tag, but $2300-$2500 might be in the cards.
I bought my last one last year in October for $2600 plus a $425 Costco gift card so net $2175. It started was a similar deal (Spend More and Save discount) and then they further sweetened the deal with the gift card. If you decide to go that path and don’t need it immediately, I would be patient and monitor it over the next couple of months.
I don’t recall seeing one in a store and I think they are Costco exclusive. I bought unseen just based on reviews on their website and here (more importantly).
Always reach out to Wine Enthusiast, they most often give a special deal on the wine fridges, by phone.
Also, I LOVE my Wine Enthusiast wine vault - so efficient, so quiet, non-traditional cooling (refrigerator style) works amazing, though it MIGHT keep the humidity a bit higher than traditional ‘cooling unit’ styles
ordered the part that i think might fix it, just arrived so we’ll see. (well, first they sent the right part but with the wrong programming…so finally got the correct one after 2 months)
@Ben_M_a_n_d_l_e_r
I just took delivery of my Artevino III this week from Costco. On your unit, does the door gasket also not seat properly due to the way the door lock is installed? See pictures. If your unit is the same, I’d be interested in your thoughts as to whether this affects the performance or overall seal that the door achieves when closed.
Yup mine has the same little bulge more or less. It’s not been an issue at all because the sealing goes into the door behind those screws, so there’s no real place where air is getting in or out, at least not in any significant way.
Appreciate the reply! Gives me some peace of mind. Costco also indicated that these units can be returned anytime, and are not subject to the 90 day return policy so that’s about as good a guarantee on a wine fridge anywhere.
DO NOT BUY from Wine Enthusiast!! Although their fridges are pretty good, their support is non-existant!! I have bought several from them & a Latitude 26 has malfunctioned after 2 years & I can not reach support. They never answer the phone & will not respond to voice messages or emails. AGAIN, DO NOT BUY!!!
As this is the most recently necro’d wine fridge thread i’ll put this here…
Sticking to Costco models for the moment, the Eurocave Artevino III is now a whopping $3700.
(guessing this is tariff related? will the price go down now?? )
I think in another thread a poster mentioned Eurocave being worth a premium but not close to 2x.
Well the WE Vinotech 190 is $1900, so we are pretty much there. Thoughts?
Also for 600 bottles, 3 Artevinos would be $11,100 vs $6000 for 2 Wine Enthusiast Giant 300.
A difference of $5100.
I have some time and will watch for these to go on sale, but seems like I may end up with a couple Vinotech 190s even though I really don’t need dual zone.
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