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How we test accuracy of thermostat

We test how closely the wine cooler gets the bottles inside to the temperature set on the display. Five stars means the wine is chilled very closely to the set temperature, which is what you want if you hope to enjoy your wine at its best. But two stars or less means the wine is a few degrees cooler or warmer than what you've set it to be.

How we test cooling power

We test how quickly a wine cooler chills room temperature bottles down to 12°C in single zone coolers. If it's a dual zone cooler we set the additional zone to 7°C and measure how long it takes both zones to get down to the set temperature.

How we test temperature stability - cold rooms

We test how closely the wine cooler maintains the correct temperature when the room temperature drops, just as it does in your kitchen at home. We do this by turning the room temperature down to a chilly 10°C and testing the temperature of the wine inside. Five stars means the wine stays perfectly chilled, which is what you want. But two stars or less means the wine either warms up or over-cools.

How we test temperature stability - hot rooms

We test how closely the wine cooler maintains the correct temperature when the room temperature rises, just as it does in your kitchen at home. We do this by turning the room temperature up to 32°C and testing the temperature of the wine inside. Five stars means the wine stays perfectly chilled, which is what you want. But two stars or less means the wine either warms up or over-cools.

How we test energy efficiency

How energy-efficient the wine cooler is for the number of bottles it can store. Wine coolers are switched on 24/7, so it's important to choose one that won't cost a fortune to run. The best models score four or five stars and use a minimal amount of energy to cool wine. You can spot the real energy guzzlers as they're awarded a poor one or two stars in this test.

How we test ease of use

To see whether a wine cooler is easy to use, we rate aspects such as how sturdy the shelves are and how smoothly they slide in and out, whether the wine cooler is easy to program and how easy it is to remove and replace the air filter and/or the water pot used for humidity control.

How we test humidity control

The recommended humidity range for storing wine is between 50-80%. We take constant readings throughout our test and those wine coolers that maintain a humidity level within the range get five stars. Two stars or less means the humidity level is consistently outside of the recommended range.

How we test quietness

We rate how quiet and unobtrusive the sounds made by each wine cooler are when the compressor's running and when it switches on and off.