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FAQs

FAQs

All about the wine fridge

What are the most important criteria in choosing the right wine refrigerator for me?

First, there is the question of individual needs. Using the following 7-point checklist, you can quickly get an idea of which model size and features are likely to be the best fit.

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What wine cooler types and models are most recommended?

SWISSCAVE offers 4 main product lines:

1. Premium Edition Wine Coolers

These are the right models where you (or your clients) see the cooler in daily life (in living rooms, entrance halls, hotels and restaurants): Premium edition wine coolers are specifically subtly and purist built:

  1. filigrane black anodized alu door frame
  2. fully equipped with fully extendable shelves (ball bearings)
  3. all-around bright lighting which can be switched to different colors
  4. comparably low energy consumption (some lower than Classic Edition)
  5. Option of massive Sapele/Mahogany raw wood shelves (great optics, haptics and subtle wooden smell)
  6. Option of actively managed, electronic humdity management (for storing bottles over the longterm end ensuring corks stay dense and the wine therefore safe)

Classic Edition Wine Coolers

These coolers are perfect for wine enthusiasts who put their cooler into the basement - or when restaurant or wine collectors put a battery of coolers into the office or basement for storing hundreds or thousands of bottles. Also for the cost sensitive client who prefers a quality product over the common lower qualitiy retail store products which usually sell at a discount. The classic edition coolers are ca. 25-30% less expensive compared to the premium Edition. To reach this SWISSCAVE put less shelves into the classice edition coolers, build it without the filigrane door frames and without the all-around lighting (only blue top light). Also the glassdoors are slightly less energy efficient. Nevertheless - Classic edition wine coolers have the same solid underlying technology as Premium Edition (inverter compressors for precise temp. management and longevity, super silent and longlife sanyo fans, parker cooling system etc.)

3. Kitchen Edition Wine Coolers

They are specifically built for seamless built-in (kitchen front) and built-under (countertop). We offer models in all widths and heights to hopefully ideally suit the specific and rare-space requirements of the kitchen owner. All of the kitchen units come with all-around lighting in changeable colours (like premium edition) and all with raw sapele wood extendable shelves. In the kitchen one ‘always’ looks at these units. They therefore need to be pretty and they are. Also the models from 82cm height and up have 2 completely independent cooling zones (eg. both zones at 5°C for filling up the entire cooler with champaign and white wine or both zones on 11°C to use it only for storing red wine for a while - and all other combinations). Reason: space is dear and rare in the kitchen - so we make best possible use of it.

4. Cigar Humidors

There are 3 models of Cigar humidors available (82cm, 127cm, 172cm), which store up to 3000 cigars. SWISSCAVE cigar humidors belong to the very few products which offer fully climatised, large humdiors for long term cigar aging (which is similar important as for quality wine). They are equipedwith temperature plus active humidity management and we went the long way to get this right (this is not easy to achieve and many of the products in the market struggle with managing humidity so that cigars stay safe). Also - different to most - SWISSCAVE cigar humidors have thick, massive cedar wood shelves as well as massive cedar wood side walls (not just veneer) in order to have a large surface/mass of humditiy balancing material (acts like a sponge).

Which are the general trends of wine storage and kitchen design that are evolving?

For the premium segment the trend continuously goes towards kitchen built-in and built-under models. Wine and the proper ageing and tempering of wine has become a general lifestyle item in the european kitchen of the demanding clientele.

As for the design we see the same trend as with interior design in general which still follows the notion 'less is more', or in other words, simple, purist, 1 appliance which does just one function - but it does it best-in-class. For the more distinguished clientele the wine cooler is not demanded to be a design element on its own - but to smoothly and perfectly fit into the properly designed living room or kitchen of the client. Therefore SWISSCAVE holds back with fancy ‘nonsense' - the wine cooler cabinet stays in the background, while the objects of desire (bottles) are brightly shined at with the best fitting light colour and warmth (which amplifies the style and interior of the client). The only space where SWISSCAVE makes an additional statement of style, is our purist, naked tropical sapele wooden shelves. Other than that the appearances is low-key, including only the bare minium of needed buttons and control panel descriptions etc.

When we look at the basement/cellar and wine aging, the trend as we can see it, is away from air conditioned basements - towards one ore several, up to a battery of wine coolers, placed in a row. Reason is first and foremost: massively lower cost: 1/4 or less for acquiring, and again lower cost for maintenance, and finally lower cost of energy consumption. At the same time significantly more precise temp. control. The downside is a less individualized solution (eg. no fancy oversized glass fronts etc)… But lets be honest: any carpenter can build out a set of eg. 5 or even 10 wine coolers beautifully framed with panels/blinds and background lighting.

What is the correct wine temperature?

As a rule of thumb, wines that are to be aged and matured are stored in the range of 10-14°C. Proper temperatures for wines to be stored (including sparkling wine) should therefore be around 12°C.

You can find video instructions for inserting the shelves here: Video instructions

How can I remove extendable racks from the wine cooler?

SWISSCAVE wine coolers allow for easy removal or replacement of the extendable wine racks. No tools are required.

Why is my wine cooler so loud?

Compressor-based cooling appliances have many advantages: long life as well as a relatively high energy efficiency when running at full capacity. However, compared to thermo electric cooling devices, for example, . . .

Why is my wine cooler indicating an incorrect temperature?

Wine lovers are always surprised about how cool, not cool, cold, or even warm the wine is that they just pulled out of their wine cooler and served. What is the actual temperature inside the wine cooler and what is the actual temperature of the wine itself?

My wine cooler is not working after I turned it on. What should I do?

1. Make sure the unit is plugged in correctly and that the outlet you are using has power. This can be easily done by plugging another electrical device, such as a table lamp, into the outlet.
2. Make sure power button is turned on (upper right on the control panel).
3. If the temperature displays are illuminated, your unit is getting power. If not, then please contact our Customer Service department.
4. It may take 1 to 2 days to reach the desired/pre-set temperature. The displays may show variances, depending on air currents produced by the compressor and fan. The average temperature, however, will remain stable.

What is the warranty period?

We offer a two-year on-site warranty on our products in most European countries. Floor collections under warranty are offered in countries where they are also listed for new deliveries on our website. For other countries, a bring-in guarantee is provided. An extended warranty of 3 or 4 years can be included through the on-site warranty contract we offer. The compressor is covered by a 5-year component warranty (excl. repair).

Which wine cooler colors are available?

SWISSCAVE wine cabinets are usually supplied in a discreet matte black. The only exception is the WL120F model, which is also available in glossy white and glossy red.

Can SWISSCAVE wine refrigerators be installed? What are the exact dimensions?

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Age wine or drink it young?>

There is hardly any topic that is the subject of so much confusion as how wine should best be aged and stored, whether this is even necessary, and if so, when and for how long. Learn everything about wine aging in our guide wine aging

Which wines can be stored and for how long?

Find out everything you need to know about optimal storage for perfect wine ageing in our wine storage guide

FAQs