If you're reading this, you're wondering what's the right answer to the age old question - should I buy a 50 or 100 bottle wine cooler.
This is a decision everyone has to make at some point unfortunately and I'm going to do my best to answer it thoroughly for you.
The short answer is this: if you can afford and fit the 100 bottle wine cooler in your house or apartment, you should do it.
But let's dive into the 'why' of this question. And to do that I'm going to start with some assumptions.
- You love (or are beginning to love wine) and you want to start buying, holding and collecting bottles.
- You have space and budget constraints.
- You are worried you're going to fill up your 50 bottle wine cooler too quickly.
NOTE: If you're just interested in keeping some bottles of chardonnay or central coast cabernet cold for when you have friends over, you can stop reading! A 50 bottle or less wine cooler is perfect and I recommend you checking out our selection here.
However, if you're asking yourself this question and have any aspirations at all for wine collection, please read on.
Let's address each of the main consideration points head on: Collecting, Space & Budget Constraints, and Wine Cooler Capacity. As someone who has personally gone through this decision making process, I believe I can guide you on each.
Wine Collecting
Wine collecting for me means building a collection of different varieties and vintages of wine. Depending on your tastes this can take many forms. I've developed my preferences over time and some of them include:
- I love Barolos and Barbarescos (and ultimately nebbiolo is my favorite grape) and, depending on the producer, these need age. If you're going to buy a $100 bottle of Barolo, you should probably do yourself a favor and give it at least 10 years before you drink it.
- Brunellos are also a passion of mine and I'd like to think I have the patience to wait 6-8 years depending on the producer.
- I like to have on hand a number of really special bottles that are age-worthy and can be brought out to celebrate a life milestone. These are usually Super Tuscans, high-end Bordeaux, and some select Napa Cabs.
The point I'm making is - I like variety and with variety comes quantity.
With a 100 bottle wine cooler, you have the option of having roughly 60-75 bottles in your collection, while keeping 35-40 ready to drink wines at anytime.
With a 50 bottle wine cooler, you have to think about chopping those numbers in half.
Space & Budget Constraints
Let's be honest with ourselves - if we didn't have space and budget constraints we'd probably all have wine caves. (Or just buy a vineyard.... a kid can dream!)
But a little thing called reality means that we have to consider these factors.
The truth is that you can fit a 50 bottle wine cooler in just about any apartment. Many of them are designed for built-in for undercounter use. And given their size, you can use them as tables to put a lamp or something else on top.
50 bottle wine coolers are a LOT easier to fit in your apartment.
For example, this Allavino 56 Bottle Wine Cooler would look cool (and be functional!) in any apartment.
100 Bottle Wine Coolers are a bit of a different beast though. They're close to twice as large and they require committing a decent chunk of space in your apartment or house. If you're like me, you think they look beautiful and you love looking at them every day, but your significant other might not feel the same way.
Personally, I'd love to stare at this KingsBottle 100 Bottle Wine Cooler every day regardless of my apartment size, but it's definitely a consideration you need to think about.
Wine Cooler Capacity
When I think about wine cooler capacity, it comes down to a simple answer: more wine is better.
I wish there was more to it than that but there isn't. With a 100 bottle wine cooler, you can:
- build a larger collection of age worthy wines
- store a larger variety of ready to drink wines
- not get stressed out when you see a deal on a great case or half-case of something you might like
- keep a large variety of wines from all over the world in your house
And I get it - it's a bigger commitment. More money, more space in your house or apartment, and you're taking officially diving headfirst into the world of wine collecting.
But you won't regret it.
Closing Thoughts
If you're reading this you've probably already browsed dozens of wine coolers and are worried about the potential regrets you'd experience buying a 50 bottle wine cooler. You probably know that more storage is better and that you'll probably run out of room.
I had to make this same decision and I can tell you that I don't regret at all buying the 100 bottle wine cooler.
That said, if you genuinely don't have the space or the budget for the 100 bottle wine cooler, you'll be just fine with the 50 bottle wine cooler. You won't have all the room you want for a big wine collection, but at least you'll get your collection off the ground which will help you refine your palette and preferences for when you want to splurge on some seriously expensive stuff.
So feel confident buying either and let us know if we can talk through this with you! (Seriously.... we love talking wine and wine collecting.
