NewAir Freestanding 98 Bottle Dual Zone Compressor Wine Fridge with Low-Vibration Ultra-Quiet Inverter Compressor, Adjustable Racks and Exterior Digital Thermostat

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1. Frequent Buyer Verified Buyer – 30 April 2024

   We received two defective items… the first had a door that was not “flush” on top. Although the defect did not impact the cooler’s operation, it is very visible. This was not acceptable to us since the item is costly. Because of the original item’s defect, we opened the replacement prior to the delivery persons’ departure. The replacement was worse off than the original. There was an actual piece missing off of the bottom of the cooler. This caused the cooler to stand uneven and rock (dramatically) with a simple touch. It was so bad that the delivery persons started to search the box in the apparent belief that the missing piece must have fallen off in the box while in transit (otherwise, who would have sent something so obviously defective). The piece was no where to be found. We sent the item back. We are still waiting for the company to pick up the original item (which was supposed to be picked up on the same date the faulty replacement was delivered).
   

2. VJM Verified Buyer – 19 May 2024

   We purchased this wine cooler in October 2023, as it was supposed to be ultra quiet. It was quiet for about 5 months then it started having a continuous loud hum in March. We called the company and they said that was normal, even though they tout ultra quiet in their description. As long as it’s still cooling their warranty doesn’t apply. It’s in our dining room and it interferes with watching TV due to the noise. If considering this model be aware it is NOT ultra-quiet.
   

3. Cam Verified Buyer – 23 October 2024

   Love the wine fridge. Not sure how you can fit 166 bottles but it does fit quite a few.
   

4. Sam Verified Buyer – 4 November 2024

   Please note my photos show two units side by side. I bought two. An individual unit has a single door. This purchase is a big deal. I’ll be as detailed as I can be. I got my first wine fridge about 10 years ago. It was a NewAir 18 bottle thermoelectric that I got second hand when it wasn’t right for the restaurant that bought it. It was missing a couple wire shelves. I contacted NewAir and they sold them to me for a really reasonable price. Thermoelectric is great for cooling 20 degrees but not a ton more. Thermoelectric is fantastic for fridges up to about 30 bottles. They are very energy efficient and have no vibrations. I outgrew my 18 bottle fridge. Over the next few years I bought and repaired a few used fridges. My second experience with NewAir was repairing a 32 bottle two-zone fridge someone had built a counter over. Without ventilation it cooked itself and died. NewAir was easy to contact and sold me the parts (I needed nearly every cooling unit and corresponding fan) for cheap. It feels like the company knows they made their money off the original purchase and are just trying to keep me going. This is two fridges they have helped me with. I ended up outgrowing the 32 bottle (and the few other smaller fridges I was using). After an expensive and time-consuming used fridge disaster I was so frustrated I decided to buy new. I shopped around a lot. If you’ve done much shopping, you’ve probably noticed a very enthusiastic wine company that sells fridges in addition to other offerings. It was their customer service (they simply stopped responding to me after one email because the fridge was old). I looked locally, checked national chains, and most of the manufacturer websites for direct purchases. After checking and researching everything I came to the conclusion that there are two main categories of wine fridge manufacturers. There are a ton of generic manufacturers that make larger fridges cheaper but who have no customer support. Many don’t even have contact information. Anywhere. Then, there are companies who specialize in either appliances or specifically wine appliances. These companies actively work long-term to build good reputations. NewAir is one of the latter. I still kept shopping. After failing to find a replacement control board for the beautiful 170 bottle unit I had just thrown out, I knew I wanted room for more than 100 bottles. The deal I got on two 76 bottle units is far better than anything I found for a single fridge that held 140. There are plenty of units from other companies out there that hold plenty more at many times the price. These units were exactly what I wanted. Now, on to the specifics. These fridges get the chill going fast. The controls say they go down to 40 degrees though I’m using them for long-term storage and keep them at 55. When I want to serve a white wine I put it in the kitchen refrigerator in the afternoon to bring it down to service temp. Most of the world’s vineyard’s wine caves are near 55. Over the course of a week the temperature ranges from 55.6-56.3. I keep wireless thermometer/hygrometers in the fridges. This is incredibly stable. The more bottles you have in the fridge, the more stable the temps will be. I have two cases of glass bottled water in the second fridge since I don’t have enough wine for both. The buttons are really easy to use and very straight forward. They are responsive and sensitive. I don’t like buttons that don’t respond. These always respond. My only gripe is that I can’t lock the control panel. I have things on top of the fridges. When I lean over a fridge to grab something, I bump the buttons with my stomach and it beeps at me so I have to double check the temps. I haven’t actually bungled anything but locking buttons would be nice. The light is completely unnecessary since there is no way a fridge light will adequately illuminate something this densely packed. In all fairness, I’ve not seen a fridge yet where the light was anything but an accent light. These fridges have lights on the top and bottom so they actually do a better job than most. The doors open on the left with the hinges on the right. They are not reversable. The handle is inset on the left side so if you can’t get to it, you won’t use the handle. I grab the door from the top and open it without the handle. The handle is present but not a necessity. The door frame has a little wheel roller spring gizmo that holds the door closed so it has a satisfying latch into place feeling. It will not come open on its own which is really cool. This is a two-zone fridge with the requirement that the top compartment (21 bottles) is not warmer than the bottom compartment. I have both zones set to 55. It is worth discussing the shelves. Shelves on gliders are nicer than wire shelves. Wooden shelves on gliders also cost a lot more. There are no fridges at this price point that have them. These wire shelves are robust and made of solid materials. They do now bow or bend and slide easily. They fit standard bottles. I had no problems loading 70 bottles of various shapes. Leviathan has a uniquely large bottle that didn’t fit. I have a few bottles of Asti Spumante and a bottle of Champagne that don’t fit. NewAir anticipated this and has a larger bin area at the bottom that holds two or three rows of stacked bottles. Two rows still nets 76 bottles. Some fridges require triple stacking bottles and taking shelves out to technically hold all they claim they can hold. This fridge holes 76+. If I took out shelves I could stack the bottles higher and more efficiently. Since I’m not buying cases of wine and have 70 different bottles, digging through a stacked pyramid of bottles to find on on the bottom seems to be a terrible idea. The problem with these shelves is they only pull out about 1/3rd of the way. It’s easy to grab the bottle nearest the door but since these stack neck to neck, to get a bottle out of the back, I have to remove a front bottle. It is essential to use an app or spreadsheet to track your inventory because there is no way to open the drawers enough to read labels to see what looks good that night. This is a standard problem with fridges that overlap bottle necks like this. It is not unique to this model. I just don’t love having to pull out front bottles to get to back bottles. If this is my biggest complaint, I can get over it. It still feels like great value. The only reason I list it here is because I’m trying to be thorough. The glass looks great. The stainless steel looks great. I like everything about these. I’m really happy with how this all worked out. As I said, I got these on amazing sale. It’s not that NewAir is perfect. One of their units had low reviews on a couple different forums. Check the reviews for whichever model you want but idealwinecoolers.com caries most of them. I know review guidelines request sticking to the item and not the shipping but the shipping matters here because these are large items and your regular driver isn’t the one delivering them. This experience may be the same as your experience but this is how they handled mine. I got an email saying they had shipped and then the automatic idealwinecoolers.com package tracker just said “Shipped with FedEx/USPS/More” and that the info was provided by the seller. These shipped from the seller’s warehouse, not from idealwinecoolers.com. A week later I got a call from a trucking company confirming when I’d be home. The next day a semi-truck pulled into my cul-de-sac and the driver dropped these off on my front porch exactly where I asked him to. I don’t think teamster rules or insurance would have allowed him to bring it into my home. Just so you know, these are heavy. It took two of us to get them over the step and through the front door. Setup was easy. These are the next fridges for me. There isn’t a practical space in my home to build a proper wine cellar. I have no idea what would happen if I outgrew these. I hope this helps you decide.

   

5. Anna Verified Buyer – 6 November 2024

   Great quality and value.
   

6. Mike Verified Buyer – 3 February 2025

   This fridge does exactly what it’s supposed to do: keep wine at the right temperature. I’ve only had mine for about a week, but so far so good. It holds 90+ bottles comfortably, although you have to store them all head-to-toe which makes reading the labels pretty much impossible. My biggest complaint with the fridge is how noisy it is. The average ambient sound level is only around 35 decibels, but when the compressor cycles on and off (roughly every 3-4 minutes), there is a loud, unmistakable “click” sound. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a fridge make such a pronounced “CLICK” noise more often than this. So, I wouldn’t recommend this fridge if you are noise sensitive and plan to keep it in an area where you’ll spend a lot of your quiet time every day.
   

7. Jeff H. Verified Buyer – 13 March 2025

   Upgraded from our 30 bottle to this big fella. Quiet, easy to move considering the weight and fit perfectly into the spot we had designated for it.

   For any wine person who keeps a lot on hand, I strongly suggest this purchase.
   

8. Anonymous Verified Buyer – 7 April 2025

   DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT. IT IS DESIGNED TO FAIL AS SOON AS THE WARRANTY EXPIRES. ONCE IT FAILS BOTH THE MANUFACTURER AND idealwinecoolers.com SAY THERE’S NOTHING THEY CAN DO BECAUSE THE PART IS NOT REPLACABLE. THEN THEY TRY TO SELL YOU ANOTHER UNIT FOR A PALTRY DISCOUNT. I FEEL SCAMMED.