Choosing the Right Wine Cabinet

Vinotemp has been designing and assembling wine cabinets in Southern California for over 30 years. You’ll find that quality and experience shining through in every cabinet we sell.

Our factory can easily offer a variety of color options. Because finishes seem to go with fashion, some stains are used more often than others. For economies of scale we have standard colors, as well as semi custom and custom finishes per line. The E-line wine cabinets offer 3 styles of laminates to choose from:

• Latitude West
• Latitude East
• Boardwalk

We have found technical veneers to be popular and offers even more creativity when designing a custom cabinet. This material brings a whole new architectural feel to the cabinets we make. They are laminates that come in steel, woods or even textures such as cement to allow us to be ultra creative and fit any environment. (Please remember that colors may look different on your monitor or other wood types.)

The Reserve series offers:

• Cherry
• Dark Cherry
• Black Walnut
• Dark Walnut
• Natural
• Black
• Rich Brown
• Victorian Mahogany

The Reserve series is mostly white oak, allowing more options for lighter colors while darker woods have more trouble getting the light colored stain or finish. (Please remember that colors may look different on your monitor or other wood types.)

The Sonoma series offers:

• Cherry
• Rustic Cherry
• Vintage Cherry

The Sonoma series has a Cherry wood exterior with the 3 options of stain/paint.
What's lovely about this wood is the grain and reddish tint. (Please remember that colors may look different on your monitor or other wood types.)

The Economy line units offer only
Dark Red Cherry, which is not translucent but covers the Red Oak or other darker wood used.

The stain colors noted are only the stain colors, not the type of wood. It is the color that is applied on top of the wood.

We changed our staining system to Low VOC and water based formula.

The insulation used in building our wine cabinets is the best insulation available, foil-covered polyisocyanurate foam with an R-Value of 7.2. Our wine cabinets have 1.5 inches of insulation, and the total R-Value of our cabinet walls is between 11 and 12 R factor. All the seams are sealed to create an airtight environment inside our wine cabinets. We offer extra insulation when placing it in basements or garages. Remember to use the appropriate cooling unit if placed in a non interior enviroment.

The materials we use in building and finishing Vinotemp wine cabinets are the best in the industry in every category, and our units age well over time. For example, we have had our “Louis” unit mistaken for an “antique.” After more than 20 years in the business, we have distributed over 1,000,000 units to happy customers, many repeat customers and referrals.

The better your wine cabinet is insulated and sealed, the more years of trouble-free operation your cooling system will provide. It is also important to have proper ventilation and to clean out any dust build up on a regular basis.

Vinotemp’s E Series of cabinets is perfect if you’re placing the unit in a basement or garage, while the Reserve line is great for placement in very visible locations of the home. The Sonoma and alder lines makes a beautiful showpiece. Our glass door units include double-paned glass which can artistically display your wine while protecting it, with better insulation and UV protection. For increased insulation Argo filled gas can be provided.

Most Vinotemp wine cabinets are constructed from white oak wood, glass and insulation materials. Standard features include premium wood, hardwood door trims, double-pane tinted glass windows, the quality insulation, and sealed seams throughout the wine cabinet.

Vinotemp is the only company that offers both continuous (or piano) hinges and hidden or refrigerator hinges. Continuous hinges are incredibly effective in sealing the door. The workmanship is more time consuming assembling a continuous hinge. Refrigerator hinges have similar costs and are also available, but the continuous hinge is more reliable. We are able install the hinges seamless or invisible as an option to show no sign of either a piano or refrigerator hinge.

While most units use continuous hinges, Vinotemp uses refrigerator hinges made of steel on our Sonoma Series of cabinets. This is an option on other units if you so choose.

We offer three choices of wine racking for our cabinets: all Redwood, cellar trellis (redwood and powder coated metal), or wood and aluminum racking. None of our racking is glued. Standard wood and aluminum racking comes standard for the Economy Series, Redwood and aluminum for our Reserve Series, and all Redwood for our Sonoma Series. We have been designing these for over 20 years and our Cellar Trellis racks have prevented many bottles from breaking during California earthquakes. The bottles rest on the wood in these cellar trellis cubicles. It should also be noted that upgrading to all-Redwood racking reduces the capacity if bottle capacity is a concern. Any of our cabinets can be customized to the type of racking you desire.

Cubicle racking comes in a variety of sizes. Universal racking with 3 3/4-inch cubicles will hold most sizes of wine bottle; most Vinotemp cabinets come standard with universal racking. For maximum storage capacity, the traditional 3 3/8 size is also available. However, with new vineyards and odd bottle sizes we recommend the larger size (3 3/4) or even 4 inch racking for those with a lot of champagne storage needs. Unlike most of our competitors, Vinotemp racking will be customized specifically for your storage needs. If desired, we could design your cabinet with three different sections each with its own cubicle size. Also, the very top of the cabinet can be useful for miscellaneous bottles, boxed champagne, fine chocolates, cigars or whatever else you can think of.

Our wood racks are constructed from unsealed wood which is preferred inside wine cabinets because wood sealing agents can damage the wine. The first choice in the type of wood that should be used inside a wine cabinet is Redwood. Redwood is rare and now very expensive, so you will see it being used less and less by other companies offering wine cabinets. Our Economy Series racking uses woods that are similar to the qualities of Redwood which is a mildew resistant unfinished soft wood.

Vinotemp uses high quality glass in our cabinet doors. We also offer racking to cover the Wine-Mate cooling system to hide it from view.

Unlike the competition, Vinotemp wine cabinets can be configured to your exact needs. Wine cabinets need clearance space in whatever direction the exhaust is venting. Our rear exhaust wine cabinets require at least six inches of space between the wall and the wine cabinet in order for the cooling system to operate properly. Top-vent cooling systems need 10-12 inches of clearance above the cabinet. Our front-venting wine cabinets can be completely built in with beautifully made wood louvers then the back of the cabinet can be placed right up against the wall. Any Vinotemp cabinet can easily be converted to vent from the rear, top, sides or front to best accommodate the environment you need it for. With Vinotemp, you have the choice!

Vinotemp wine cabinets feature custom Wine-Mate cooling systems that use electronic temperature control and have digital displays, thereby allowing you to precisely set the desired temperature inside your wine cabinet. Wine-Mate cooling systems are forced-air systems (as opposed to cold wall cooling systems). Forced air cooling units generally have lower temperature fluctuations and higher humidity levels than cold wall systems. They also tend to have less maintenance needs.

Designed and assembled in the USA, Wine-Mate was the first UL-approved cooling unit for wine cabinets on the market. UL is the trusted source across the globe for product compliance. A UL symbol gives you reassurance, that the electrical inspectors approved the design of your unit.

Find the best cooling system for your wine cabinet or wine cellar by calculating the heat load using one of our calculators.

HEAT LOAD CALCULATORS

We stand behind our wine cabinets with one of the best warranties in the industry. Each wine cabinet is backed by a five-year warranty on the cooling system and a one-year warranty on parts and the cabinet.

Our standard cooling units plug into standard wall outlets, and draw 3 amps of power (4 amps for the 2500 cooling unit). Extension cords used should be 14-gauge and grounded.

We generally ship our wine cabinets between 3 days to 6 weeks (depending on the unit) from the time we receive your order. Once shipped, it will take 7-10 working days for your cabinet to be delivered. When your wine cabinet arrives in your local market, the local delivery agent will call you at least 24 hours in advance to schedule your delivery. Vinotemp wine cabinets are delivered Preassembled, minimizing the setup effort and expertise necessary on your part. You are only responsible for ensuring that sufficient access exists for the cabinet to reach its final location.