Perlick has a stainless steel interior sub has plastic, perlick has a 900 btu compessor sub has 435 btu, perlick is very quiet sub is not

Thanks guadalupe - do you know the difference between the Perlick "Signature Series" and the "C-series"?

Any feedback on target prices?

From my recent order-SubZero Wine fridge

Model # 424G/S/TH $3,099.00

The "C-Series" Perlicks are cheaper because they use a "regular" 700btu compressor rather than the Variable Speed Compressor in the Signature Series. The Variable Speed Compressor is quieter, more energy efficient, and more powerful -it "generates 995 - 1985 Btu" according to Perlick. It also creates a more stable temperature environment with smaller temperature swings, which is especially important for wine storage.

FWIW, I'll derail this train of thought. In big old wine producing countries like France they don't need to refrigerate wines. They make sure not to leave wine in the sun. They don't store wines in a refrigerated compartment. They don't think about this much, either way. It's not a topic. They are able to keep wine for years in any regular old house air environment. Yes, basements are often used to store wines, but this is not a requirement.

2ndly, fwiw, when I go any large hardware store I see wine coolers built similarly to the $200 4 cu.ft. fridge appliances. For reasons inexplicable to me, I notice that there is no discussion anywhere of these inexpensive fridges, or their wine cooler cousins. 3rdly, fwiw, these low cost appliances are quiet, keep cool, and appear to function well under any criteria.

So, tentatively I conclude that wine coolers are very optional, and the two options discussed above are very very optional. Spend your money.

@davidro1 - thank you for the 'derailing' thoughts. I love to hear different perspectives. May I suggest, though, that you leave out a key point - in France or Napa, they dig wine caves and utilize natural sub-subterranean coolness for long term storage of wine... something that my city planning commission frowns upon. Instead I must pursue a cheaper and more convenient alternative to digging my own cave... refrigeration. :)

You are definitely right that simply putting wine aside in racking in an area away from dark sunlight would be an acceptable (and much cheaper!) way to store wine that will be drunk within a short period of time (1-2 years). If someone enjoys that aesthetic or is on a budget, it is a perfectly viable alternative. Though it would be nice to have a chiller available for whites if you forget to put them into the fridge ahead of time.

Of course, I can present rational justifications to selecting a much more expensive device --- such as allowing my outstanding 2005 Bordeaux to age safely until it's drinkable (about 2025). But this is a facade - it is not need, but desire.

After all, a $500 stove will boil water just as well as a Wolf range and it will cook almost anything that a normal person would prepare. But that's not -really- why anyone spends money on these things.

Wolf, Sub-Zero, Perlick, Miele - these things are about beauty and precision. The joy in feeling a perfectly machined valve turn, the crisp suction and solid weight of the door as it opens. The smooth slide of the racking on perfectly fit ball-bearing gliders. The way it integrates perfectly into custom cabinets. It's about the pride of ownership of such a magnificent machine...

...and, not least, Fashion.

If I may, why are you not considering U-Line? The brand offers full integration, and high quality, which is why I ask

davidro- it's much more complicated than keeping wine out of sun. Some homes built in the 19th century lend themselves to a wine cellar where there also must be consistent temp and 0 vibration. Most do not. Wine refrigs are a far better alternative than less than ideal "natural" storage for most, particularly if anyone is investing significantly in wine which, to drink anything of consequence today, is part of the drill. Wine, like so many things, has been commoditized. It's become an investment that must be handled properly.

"perlick is very quiet sub is not"

Can you expand on that a bit? How quiet are Perlick's undercounter appliances? We are looking for an undercounter freezer, and for an undercounter wine cellar. Elsewhere we used Miele dishwashers and Miele full-height refrigerators and freezers, because they are very quiet. But they don't make undercounter versions. Quiet is important to us, particularly for refrigeration and freezing, because they cycle (at least if a dishwasher is loud, you can control when it runs).

My SZ refrigerator is louder than my Uline wine cooler that sits next to it. I chose high-end appliances (SZ, Miele Diamond dishwasher and speed oven, Blue Star range) for all my other appliances, but thought that spending 3k on a wine cooler was silly. The Uline has been great.

sub zero isnt integrated. No for a fact. the 2 brands I found that were integrated and panel ready are Perlick and Uline. Not Sub Zero

Sub Zero's wine storage units can be integrated leslie. They just don't look as good as Perlick's or Uline's because they'd till use an old style knife hinge. I also think Liebherr 's unit can be integrated with a kit. Could be wrong about that though.

I wouldn't call perlick's integrated by that standard either. Both Subzero and Perlick use the old school pin style hinge. Marvel and U-Line now use articulating arm hinges which would be considered "integrated." Liebherr no longer offers a panel ready undercounter to my knowledge. Not enough sales for them

Pretty sure perlick went to a concealed euro hinge too.

My ca. Apr 2012 Signature units have [door] pins. The doors are paneled and units are integrated.

Note that it is important to looks and door opening clearance that the refrigeration units and adjacent cabinets all be installed with their sides accurately perpendicular to their common plane of cabinet frontage [no racking allowed]. This is easier to implement if all alignment is performed before the counter top is installed.

Edited 10/24 for a modicum of clarity.

definitely did not. We have 2 models on our floor that are 3 weeks old. both feature pin hinges. The specs show the same. Its possible on the commercial side they did, but definitely not on the residential side.

I dont see a lot of them as they're not popular in my sphere.

so, I've probably confused theirs with marvel

If you plan to age the wine temperature control, humidity and the overall vibration of the unit are all key to preserving your wines...someone mentioned that French people don’t use wine fridges...which is not at all true unless you have an underground cellar with a naturally constant temperature/humidity. If people are open to European brands I would recommend EuroCave or other brands that are focused on wine preservation...my two cents.

Just realized I commented 6 years too late 😬

Better late than never ... (usually).