Good advice on the Perlicks. They are one of the few, and maybe the "Only" that offers variable speed compressors on their wine fridges. Sooooo, what's the big deal about a variable speed commpressor??? Better temp control, (less temp fluctuation for your wines). More efficient. Less "Cycling" (on/off). Need proof??? Remove the accelerator pedal from your car and replace it with an on/off switch and then get in and drive that succer, (if you dare)!!!! The motor is either full on or full off, just like wine coolers or even fridges/freezers with old style compressors. They have to "Overcool", then shut the motor off, wait for contents to get "Too warm" and then come back on full blast---very "Ancient Technology" and Yep I have one, An Elux Wine Fridge, it does OK, but why not do better???? At least I did with my 48 JA built in Fridge! Good luck on your choices!! Gary

Positano, when ours was new, I could here the relay click (it was honestly more like a twang) when it cycled on, but it was quite quiet while on. The service guy guy came and checked it out because I was concerned the twang was some fan parcially stuck. He explained that it was the type of relay they used, and that after a while it would be quieter. He was right; know we don't ever notice the relay, except if I have my nose in the fridge looking for something when it kicks on.

My only experience is with smaller countertop wine coolers, but one I used did manage to keep about a 10°F difference between the topmost and bottommost shelves. Not divided into neat zones though; the middle shelves are simply between the two temperatures, the lower the colder. I've never found the standard temperature rules for red/pink/white wine to necessarily be the best though, with for example, shiraz tasting better when served cooler than cabernet even though they're both red, so the variable temperatures proved useful. Some wine coolers work like most refrigerators - they use a compressor. Others don't use a compressor, which have the side benefits of being silent and making more efficient use of space. Both varieties can be made to cool different compartments to different temperatures if designed carefully. You may want to crosspost this question on the GW wine forum too.

If you go to the cellartracker or wine berserker forums, they are very high on the Eurocave. I initially bought a Eurocave, but the first one they sent out was damaged and returned by the shipper. They sent a replacement that also arrived damaged (it looked like the shipper dropped it on the corner of something and it had a hole poked through the side). Because two damaged units were sent to us, we canceled the order. Also, the cabinet maker was scheduled to complete the install the following week and there wasn't time to wait for another unit to be shipped. Despite the problems with the two damaged units being sent, Wine Enthusiasts customer service was pretty good; although, it took them 3 weeks and multiple phone calls to process the cancellation and return the money to my credit cart. They were however, very friendly, apologetic, and accommodating every time I called. The benefits of the Eurocave seemed like they would be low vibration (vibrations can harm wine), humidity control, 3 sided cooling (more uniform), quiet. I don't know if these claims are true in such a small unit. We instead went with a sub-zero that the local Pacific Sales could ship to us the next day. My wife is happier with the sub-zero because she was able to get the cabinet maker to make a custom cabinet face for the unit so the wine cabinet looks very nice. The subzero seems to be a good unit and does most of the things the Eurocave does. For example, the subzero has two evaporators to control the humidity in each zone. It doesn't however have the display that tells me what the humidity is. That said, for an undercounter unit, a Eurocave or a Subzero is probably overkill. You most likely don't get the real benefits of these units until you get to their larger units. I have heard good things about the u-line, so that one is definitely worth looking at.