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.

That CD Electrolux FD model that akchicago linked to --- I think that is the one for which holiday weekend discounts or rebates took the price at or below $2k a few months ago. On akachicago's suggestion to look at Samsung CD fridges: Consumer Reports gives Samsung fridges high marks for quietness, temperature performance, etc. Samsung's fridges seem to have average reliablity in the membership surveys. Note that the LED interior lighting is not to everybody's taste. Good idea to get a look at it. (LEDs are theoretically more energy efficient than other appliance bulbs, but the actual improvement in efficiency of the fridge is going to be negligible unless you have teenagers who hold the doors open for use as kitchen lighting.) AFAIK, the biggest benefit to LED lighting is that the "bulbs" do not get hot. No chance of a broken door switch leaving the light on and heating up your fridge or freezer compartment. (I forget whether it was LG or Samsung, but two or three years ago one of them had a spate a problems with defective swtiches and a lot of very irate owners of SxS fridges. A few of the units reportedly overheated and caused fires. A lot of irate postings about that problem, as you might imagine.) I do not know anybody with a Samsung SxS model, let alone a CD version, but several friends do have CD Samsung FD models and have been very pleased with them. Pretty much everybody who buys a Samsung fridge likes it unless and until they happen to need service. Samsung's warranty service and support practices have been uneven and have sometimes generated a lot of ire. Check them out on www.consumerafairs.com. Check for regional patterns, too, because service and support might be better in NYC than, say, my neighborhood in rural Montana. One of the attraction of the Samsung fridges is having dual evaporators and separate fans. Not quite the same as dual compressors but theoretically the dual-set-up lessens the chances of freeze-ups in the venting system and theoretically makes for better temperature regulation. I say "theoretically" only because I haven't seen any testing or data that shows that they are noticably "real-world" better than the current good WP/KA and Frigidaire/Electrolux models. AFAIK, all of the SxS Samsung CD models have through-the-door ice and water dispensers (TTDDs) which may be an issue given your preferences. This is definitely a YMMV thing, however. As I have said before, TTDDs are so important to some of my friends that, for them, fridge storage is merely a nice accessory to the TTDD. As for akchicago's points favoring FD over SxS, I pretty much agree that FD models have more usuable space and give more flexibility in the use of space. Of course, if those were the sole criteria, we'd be buying top-freezer models. :-) A couple of places that I sorta differ. First, while I can see gary dodge's point -- cited by akchicago --- about some of us older folks maybe having trouble pulling on a bottom-freezer drawer and therefore preferring a SxS model, that point strikes me as a six of one and half dozen of the other kind of thing. I says this as a certified chronic old fart. Us oldsters are as apt to have bending problems as problems pulling on a freezer drawer. My personal preference is for FDs in order to have the crispers and deli-drawers up closer to waist level because those are the things I will use the most frequently. Also, my perception from fridge shopping last fall was that bottom freezer models (including FD fridges) seemed to have a bit more crisper space than the drawers in SxS models. WIth the freezer drawer in my KA FD fridge having a couple of sliding compartments inside the drawer, I haven't had any trouble finding and retrieving frozen goods. Although the capacity is slightly less than the freezer compartment of the top-freezer fridge it replaced, I actually find it easier to sort through and find things. OTOH, freezer capacity in FD models will be reduced -- at least compared to a top freezer model --- by the space needed for the compressor and other sealed cooling system components at the bottom rear of the fridge. In top freezer and SxS fridges, that space reduces the space for the bottom mounted crisper drawers. If you go by specs, the specs for SxS freezer compartments may seem a little bit larger than the specified capacities of FD models. But, when you talke usable freezer capacity, I think FDs are a better buy. (Mind, we are talking about 36" wide units here. It hink it is a completely different story when you get to 48" built-in SxS models and the "twin tower" combos.) For me, the problem with freezers in 36" wide SxS fridges is that they have a series of narrow, small compartments. I call it the "card catalog" effect. Handy for folks who like that arrangement but, for me, however, the full width freezer drawer in an FD model results in more spacious, flexible and useable capacity. All the more so because I don't use the ice maker. This post was edited by JWVideo on Sun, Jun 16, 13 at 16:03

Yes, but if that "one" flooded your living room and dining room, both of which had expensive carpet installed 6 months earlier ... it would become a defining moment for you too, lascatx. The dish drawers have been flawless, but they do have a moisture alarm on the floor beneath them. The reason the flood happened? During the night a brain fart happened (in the dishwasher) and water kept filling and flooding out the dishwasher because there was no ability to electronically drain the water. So when DH went to the kitchen to make coffee the next morning, slosh! slosh! We were not happy campers, especially since that dishwasher was about a year old.

>>"JWVideo, do you think Kitchenaid is a better product/buy because of their longer warranty of the sealed system?"No. I asked that same question a couple of months ago when I first started looking for a bigger fridge. (A bigger fridge is the only reason I am looking into a new fridge.) I was unable to find any reliable list of specific components used in Amana, Whirlpool, Maytag, Whirlpool Gold and KA fridges. I resorted to secondary sources: two long-term employees of two reputable local vendors and our very knowledgeable local appliance repair company. All three told me that Whirlpool had recently standardized sealed system components for all five lines. The differences between the lines are mainly in the internal components (i.e., the quality and design of drawers), features and some cosmetics. For example, the 21.7 cu. ft. Kitchenaid KBFS22EWWH and Whirlpool GX2FHDXVQ are the same chassis and sealed system components. As best I can tell, the differences between the WP and KA versions are these: (a) the KA model has an interior water dispenser while the WP does not have a water dispenser of any kind; (b) the KA has slightly heavier-duty bins and drawers for the crispers etc. and the freezer compartment; and, (c) if you look at the stainless steel version, the KA has a nicer finish on the doors and grey-metallic sides while the WP/G has black-painted sides and a not-so shiny finish on the doors. To me, it seemed as though price difference between the KA and the WP models was for the water dispenser and an extended warranty on the KA sealed system components. In researching extended warranties, many struck me as old-fashioned 14-carat bamboozles because many companies' warranty service seems so bad. In my area, I would never buy an extended warranty from Sears because the local branch of their service company has such a terrible reputation and their extended warranties are twice as expensive as others. (Why pay more for less?) Some local folks have given me positive reviews of about service from the local Lowe's. (All of them, incidentally, being folks who bought another brand of fridge and now own Samsung FD units. Samsung has a reputation for hostile warranty service personnel and a difficulty in obtaining replacement parts.) If I could get an extended warranty from WP that would allow me to have service from the appliance repair company in the next town, I might consider one. Unfortunately, when I contacted WP customer service, I was told they would not answer any questions unless I had actually purchased an appliance. Several friends have told me that WP is using the same group of inept low-bid service companies who handle Sears' warranty service. (Call and make an appointment that will be two to four weeks away. This is for somebody comes out to verify that you have a warranty problem. They may or may not show up. Then make you wait another two to three weeks to get an appointment from somebody who does not know how to fix your fridge, etc. etc.) There may be other extended warranty services or plans. I've seen several posts here where folks report being happy with SqaureTrade warranty insurance. I'll be checking into that, but, at this point, I'm with your husband on this one.