NutriChef Compact 12-Bottle Digital Wine Fridge

UPDATE: Just under a year after purchasing, the wine cooler’s condenser started to get loud. I immediately reached out to the company’s customer service, sent them proof of purchase and a video, they reviewed the case and determined it was covered under warranty. About two weeks ago we got a new wine cooler (3rd pic without handle) and it’s working great! I do recommend patience as you work through the process, but all in all, I’m very pleased. Seems like shipping and handling is dicey as the new one also has a dent on the backside, but you can’t see it unless you’re looking.

ORIGINAL: The fridge looks great, and it was very easy to adjust the legs (we thought one was lost but it just fell off in the box) and to attach the handle. The only thing is that it arrived with a scratch right on the top…smh! I considered returning, but we’ll cover it up somehow. We were too excited to put it in its place and start using. It’s also very quiet…just makes a typical soft noise when turning on temp control.

This wine cooler held the temperature perfectly initially. Tested unit with reliable thermometer and it maintained the temperature within a half-degree with no perceptible noise level. In later tests, it is maintaining a temp about 1 to 2 degrees lower than set. Light works well and I like the lock feature for the control buttons so that no accidental pushes result unwarranted results. The width is smaller than my prior cooler and accommodates the thinner wine bottles well. The larger diameter wine bottles will fit one per rack rather than two side-by-side. There are complaints by others about the handle being difficult to attach, even saying that the seal needs to be removed. The seal does NOT have to be removed, just temporarily held to the side while the screws are inserted. The handle is stainless steel and attractively complements the unit. This wine cooler should best be placed where the handle is not subject to being struck by a passerby’s leg as the attachment is to a plastic wall within the door. My daughter accidently struck the handle with her knee and the handle broke the interior plastic making it impossible to reattach. The customer service was incredible!!! They sent us an entire replacement wine cooler rather than to have me deal with replacing the door or having to ship this heavy unit back to them. Wow. Talk about exceeding my expectations!!! I highly recommend this unit for the thin style bottles, or for lower capacity of larger bottles.

Updated 7/12/2023: I’m nearly 2 months into my purchase and I’m really pleased! We discovered the slightly rattling noise was just an inner mechanism touching the panel and by pushing it slightly, it’s now silent. I truly don’t notice most times when the condenser kicks on. I haven’t noticed an abnormal increase in my power bill by adding this appliance. I’m still not convinced the temperature is accurate. I keep this at 46 degrees but honestly I feel like my white and sparkling wines aren’t quite as cold as that. Anytime I open the door, it will immediately lose the cold air so I try to be quick with my selection.

In my opinion, the light inside is pretty useless. I never use it. Between the weakness of the bulb and the tint of the door, it’s not really easy to see what I have. It’s pretty much only to see how many bottles there are but I can’t really read labels well without opening the door. Overall, I’m very pleased. No regrets so far!

Original Review:
Ok – it’s been running for just under 24 hours under my kitchen counter. Here are my first impressions from your average wino:

– I’m very sensitive to noise and I think this is pretty quiet. It’s not any louder than my standard-size kitchen fridge and it’s way quieter than my washer and dryer (which are nearby). But when it turns on, I do hear a rattling (I think it’s the fan) when it’s actively cooling and it’s definitely louder if I’m up close to the unit. When I’m moving around my house, I really don’t notice it. Plus, it doesn’t run that long so if I’m really paying attention, I only hear noise maybe for 90 seconds or so as it cools and reaches the set temperature.

– I’m very skeptical about the cooling times and temperature. I’ve set it to 50 degrees but the display will jump between 53 and 50 degrees throughout the day. I don’t have a method to test the inside temp yet but I have a couple of theories. One, the display is just inaccurate. Two, the insulation is probably not that great so it’s losing cool air and starts to warm up past the set temperature at which point it will kick on and start to cool back to my set temp. Three, whatever sensor/thermostat gauges the temperature is overly sensitive and overcompensating by setting off the compressor.

– I’m leaning toward theory 2. I haven’t properly timed it but my best estimation is that it seems to kick on every 3-5 minutes. I don’t know if that’s normal for this size fridge but that seems pretty frequent to me. I currently have 3 bottles in it and I haven’t opened it since I placed the bottles inside about 8 hours ago. In my opinion, I feel like it should retain cold air longer (as long as I’m not opening the door a lot) so it’s not running as much. I do wonder if I put more bottles inside, if it will start running longer in order to try to cool all the bottles OR is it better to have a full fridge of bottles because it will retain the set temperature better since all the bottles are chilled? I wish I paid attention in science class.

– The size is perfect for me and accommodates standard white wine bottles (my preference). I have to remove a wine rack completely to fit anything bubbly because the bottle is just too wide. I haven’t tried yet but I also plan to store a handful of beer bottles and think it should accommodate those nicely too.

– I opted for the glass version (no stainless steel handle) and think this looks way more sleek, sophisticated and unobtrusive. It’s easy to clean.

Overall, I’m cautiously optimistic. It’s the perfect size for my needs, affordable, it’s quiet, looks great and is such a treat to have chilled wines at the ready. However, I am skeptical about how often it runs and whether it’s truly at the temperature I set it to. I also want to keep an eye on my energy bill to see if I notice any drastic upticks in cost.

Nous nous sommes procuré ce petit refroidisseur à vin afin de libérer de l’espace dans notre réfrigérateur.
Il est placé dans le garage et nous n’avons plus à nous soucier d’avoir du vin froid en cas de visite inattendue.

Comme nous sommes amateurs de vins mousseux, nous avions comme critère une température plutôt froide (5 ºC) et l’espace étant restreint, la largeur ne devait pas excéder 30 cm.

L’appareil peut contenir 12 bouteilles de vin de format standard (blanc ou rosé) et jusqu’à 8 bouteilles de vin mousseux (cava, prosecco, crémant de Bourgogne etc…) en déplaçant les tablettes amovibles. Les contrôles digitaux sont situés sur la facade extérieure et le look est impeccable.

Après bientôt un mois d’utilisation nous n’avons aucun regret et recommandons sans hésiter.