All, I bought a Marvel beverage center 6 years ago for our kitchen to replace a no-name cheapo that froze over (ice sheet on back wall). Frustrated to have paid $1,500 for the Marvel only for it to suffer the same fate 5-3/4 years after buying it. See pic of it below sitting, turned off. Unfortunately, Marvel wouldn't honor the 5 year warranty, so I'm stuck with a decision - pay the $750 (yes, $750) to repair it and risk it failing again, or ponying up $2k+ for one that might last longer. I've been researching these the last few days. After talking to two repair companies, several retailers and the technical folks at SubZero, Perlick and True, I've learned quite a bit about these expensive little bastards. There seem to be three price bands $1000 and under (Danby, GE, Avallon, etc.), the mid-tier ($1k - $2.5k) brands like Marvel, Uline, Frigidaire, Sub Zero (high end of the middle, around $2,500) and Perlick and True (top end, around $3,500). My opinion (I'm not an expert, just synthesizing what I've learned) is that the low and mid tier brands have comparable internals. They differ mostly in terms of features (lighting, stainless, shelving, temp control unit, etc.) Some of the low end ones (like Avallon) do a convincing job of looking like high end professional ones. But as one of my appliance repairpeople said, looks can be deceiving. She (Maywood Appliance Repair in Chicago, Chicago Heating and Cooling) said that there's a difference in the internal, sealed system parts (evaporator, condenser and coils, compressor, etc.) . Some use cooling plate technology (rather than forced air) to cool the inside of the unit which is both inefficient and works the compressor and internal components harder (shortening service life). Some are also marketed as undercounter, but in the fine print (or installation instructions) insist on 3" - 5" around the unit (or the back, at least) to allow it to breathe and to dissipate. In short (according to repairwoman), the low end brands are engineered to be throwaway. Unfortunately, that was the experience I had with my mid-tier Marvel. My father in law has had bad luck with U-Line, too, so lump them in that category. The high end brands like Perlick and True are overengineered and seem to be engineered to last between 5 and 12 years (based on warrantys offered). Both can be bought with stainless interior and exterior, larger and upgraded coils and compressor and better, forced air cooling. This helps them cool down faster, work less hard when doing so, and maintain temp longer. The both claim coated coils to reduce the effects of corrosion. The Perlick Signature has a variable speed compressor that (like newer Air Conditioning compressors) is variable speed so it is more efficient, quieter, cools down faster and uses less energy. SubZero's less expensive, but it has a small (215 BTU) compressor, which worries me. But they have a good warranty and excellent customer service, and claim they are engineered to last 20 years (so why don't they offer a 20 yr warranty?) so maybe it's worth saving $1k versus True and Perlick to get one. I think both of my units failed because they worked too hard to keep cool (my house is set at a normal temp, nothing else unusual about it). I'm still struggling paying a massive premium to get a unit properly engineered for my space. I'll let you know what I decide in the next couple of days. Hope this was helpful!

I've got a Sub-Zero under counter wine cooler which I like a lot, but several people that I know have been very pleased with their Marvel coolers. I sometimes wonder why I didn't save some bucks and go that route myself -- but I got stung once before by pinching pennies and didn't want to go there again. I've no compalints about my SZ. I don't know much about VinoTemp, but from past experience, I wouldn't touch U-Line with a barge pole. Unless U-Line has radically turned things around in the past 7 or 8 years -- in my opinion, they're still building junk. Not only is their stuff shoddily built and subject to early and frequent failure, but their customer service is just plain non-existant. You don't want to go there. Just my two cents.

Ideal wine storage temp is a constant 55-58 degrees red or white and 60% humidity. I wouldn't worry so much about dual zone as they don't work well and it is something else to break if you want to drink a white wine throw it in the fridge it will be ready to drink in 20 mins. The main things to understand about wine storage is keep the temp constant, remove it from light and vibration. Eurocave is one of the more popular manufactures on many wine boards such as RobertParker.com. They are known for being the quietest on the market. I wouldn't put Riesling in the top 5 or maybe in the top 10 of wines that people buy. The odd bottle you will probably come across is the Syrah, Pinot Noir and some different Regions in France use the same type of bottles they are fatter at the base and mess up everyones storage. Some things to also consider: How many bottles do you have now, are you getting into collecting wine? Good chance your collection will double so buy double the storage for the wine you have now as a rule of thumb. A year ago I thought 12 bottles was a lot now I have over 150.

I know there are folks here who love Liebherr, but the one DH and I drove an hour to go see did not impress either of us at all. My favorite built-in fridges are SubZero and Thermador. I got Thermador before Subzero introduced their new line and I'm very happy. If you get an icemaker, look at where it is located in that model. Subzero puts the ice bin at the bottom in some of the freezers and I did not like that at all -- we use too much ice here in TX. I would not chose Viking for a $500 rebate. You might look at whether you can buy a package of Subzero and Wolf and qualify for a package discount -- or get your dealer to make a deal on another part of your package. As far as a beverage center, that can mean a different things to different people. Again, you might look at Subzero if you can get a package deal. I went with Perlick for fridge drawers that would be really cold for milk and juice, not just cool for sodas. They also have higher BTUs and quicker recovery of the cold temp which was important for frequently opened drawers. The drawers also make it easy to reach things -- they come to you instead of having to dig into an undercounter cave.