Keeping it Cool

Over the past year, I've received numerous emails from people that want me to write about the services or goods they offer. It could be about tours to wine regions or it might be about a product especially designed for the wine industry. But as this blog is about wines I've tasted as well as issues in the wine industry, I've decided not to spend time promoting tours or products.

Well, there's almost always an exception to the rule and today is the day. I recently acquired a wine cooler that is as nicely designed and as functional as I've seen. It's made by a company called Air and Water and it's a beautiful unit designed to hold 21 bottles of wine. While there's nothing particularly earth shattering about that, it's the way this cooler was designed and how it works that makes this worth talking about.

The unit is black with two compartments; it stands 32 inches tall and is 13" wide and has a depth of 20". Both compartments are behind glass doors; the upper holds six bottles, while the lower holds 15. Each compartment can be set to a specific temperature and it's done with great ease by the touch of a finger, as there is an LED readout in deep blue that lets you know the exact temperature (in F or C, for that matter). All you do is touch the down arrows to lower the temperature and hit the up arrows to raise the temperature. I've used wine coolers such as this model before, but few have the feature of setting an exact temperature.

There's also a touch control for a small light to go on in each compartment to allow you to see what wine you have on each shelf. That's a nice feature, especially if you have this set up in a small corner in your kitchen or dining room, where there might not be that much light. It has silent operation and it's vibration free and all you really need to make this work is an outlet for a three-pronged plug (along with your wine, of course!). Also the racks are chrome-plated, which add a nice look to the unit.

I've had this for about two weeks now and can report that it works beautifully I'm very happy with it.

The cost is around $220 and for a long-term investment for storing a few choice bottles you plan on serving soon, it's worth the price tag. The particular model is New Air AW-210ED and more information can be found here.

(If you look at the site, you can also read about other wine coolers from this manufacturer that come in various sizes, from 12 to 32 bottles.)