I have two Perlick units, a wine reserve and a refrigerator. the refrigerator also includes one wine shelf that I retrofitted. The shelf depth is 17.5 inches, easily longer than a stoppered wine bottle or Champaign bottle (unless one is into bottles named after ancient kings). The amount one can tilt the wine shelf itself is zero, and one wouldn't want to, as the shelf grid is designed to fit the bottles in an alternating pattern. Individual neck supports could be built to provide some bottle tilt, enough to keep sediment into a smaller pocket at the bottom but not large enough to expose the cork, or for that matter, restrict the spacing between shelves. One would have to bend a stiff wire to hold the bottle neck above the "bottle-shaped" shelf grid providing bottle support. I wouldn't bother. Note that for Cabernets kept somewhat past their likely optimal aging time, even a wetted cork may start to deteriorate and significant care is needed to get most of it out of the neck. Pressure openers may be best in such cases.

No - any of the better-quality under-counter fridges turned out to be, for us, prohibitively expensive relative to their utility (too small - I'd need at least three of them to equate the capacity of a regular fridge), too noisy and fraught with technical issues, according to what I've read here and elsewhere. It's too bad that the True commercial sandwich fridge isn't allowed in the house, as I would LOVE it - I just think it's SO functional and practical (noisy, though). Oh, well. Are you listening, True people? Make a similar one for the domestic market, PLEASE! I am amused that under-counter fridges are already standard for the high-end outdoor kitchen. Ironic that, when it's the man-of-the-house in charge, sensible utility is at the forefront! Viz self-actualised pool-cleaners, et al. I guess - what: manufacturers just don't listen to millions of irritated and exhausted foot-weary housewives? A debate for another day, no doubt. We've re-jigged our kitchen plans to accommodate two mid-size 25" wide fridge-freezers, FP or similar (link below), which are small enough that we can raise up on a plinth slightly (one of our cats has an annoying habit of peeing against the grills, ugh) and still reach the top shelves. They have a linking kit, and it's substantially less expensive than Liebherr and their equivalents. And just think: when one conks out, I'll still have its brother! I've also given up on the idea of a corner toilet. Still would like a wall-mounted one, though - way easier to keep the floor clean! Here is a link that might be useful: Fisher Paykel 13 cf counter-depth fridge-freezer

Thank you montanamaven and lascatz for your info. Went again yesterday so my husband could see the quality of the thermador column. He felt they were expensive but he could see the quality and sales guy said we should get 20 yrs. out of the fridge. He was also going to look up sub-zero freezers that he said had been bought in a large quantity so we may get a better price. I would love to see pictures of your fridge and freezer drawers as I have to travel an hour to see these appliances. We really just want the drawer to have ice in the kitchen and maybe store some frozen veggies or ice cream.

One thing to consider is the proportion of your total wealth that your house represents. Does the bank own the greatest portion? If so, can you cover that easily? Will the cost of a new kitchen set you back if life gets weird and you have to sell immediately? Since you're talking Perlick, you may be in the category of people who aren't worried about the price they get if they have to sell their houses in an emergency. If that's true, go ahead if it makes sense to you. If not, you'll be better off with a recognizably shaped fridge. Some people do use only undercounter refrigeration, but that tends to be in high design, minimalist spaces, where convention is out the window anyway. Perlick is known for being quiet. I have Marvel, which is not quiet. Not bad for a working kitchen, but not quiet. I don't know about the other brands, but you can stand up most bottles of wine, even opened, and big pop bottles, in the bottom drawer. Some brands have much shallower drawers. I actually think you could manage for two people, no entertaining, no buying a week's worth at a time, in four drawers/48", especially if you live where you can keep fruit and root vegetables (onions, potatoes, carrots, etc.) out of the fridge. That depends on the configuration, however. Will at least one drawer be a freezer? Two? I'm not sure that 24" is enough for refrigeration. If you go through enough chilled beverages to need a separate unit in the dining room (other than wine storage, or similar), you probably can't make it on just the 48". Also, keep in mind that you'll have to stack things, and there will be a lot of shifting things around to find them. Plus, heavy goes on the bottom. Example: Recently, I made a large dish of enchiladas. They don't do as well in containers, so I covered the baking dish and put it on the bottom of a drawer. I also bought bought vegetables to make soup, so had celery, leeks and carrots on top of it, which had to be shifted to get the dish out to put together lunch then shifted to put it back. There are some bottles of ale in the bottom drawer. Vegetables live on top of them. Stuff like that. It's fine for my secondary fridge, which is used for transitioning projects, ale, and stuff I need at the stove. It could get really old if that's all there were, however. I love my fridge drawers, but I also love the glass shelves and great lighting in my Miele all fridge that allow me to see and get at everything easily. The people who have done it are happy enough with it, but, again, they tend to be style first kinds of people. It's a no-go for function first.