I’m a big fan of wine, and I’m just starting to learn about the proper way to serve and store different kinds of wine. I was surprised to find out the optimal temperature for serving my favourite white wine was between 45 – 50 degrees Fahrenheit (7 – 10 degrees Celsius). My fridge is set to a chilly 37 degrees F, so I was storing it incorrectly. I wanted to find out what it would taste like when it was chilled to the perfect temperature, so I was excited to test out the Insignia 29-bottle wine cooler. Here’s what I thought when I popped a few bottles of my favourite wine in it.
Features of the Insignia 29-bottle wine cooler
The Insignia 29-bottle wine cooler (model NS-WC29SS9) is a compact 3.2 cu. ft. wine fridge. It measures 48 cm (18.9″) W x 84.2 cm (33.1″) H x 44 cm (17.3″) D so it’s really the perfect height for a 36-inch kitchen countertop.
- 3.2 cu. ft. capacity and can hold 29 bottles of wine or cans to give you extra space in your fridge
- 5 adjustable chrome-plated shelves let you adjust your space to suit what you’re storing
- LED display and touch controls
- Temperature range from
- 41 – 65 degrees Fahrenheit (5 – 18 degrees Celsius)
- Quick chill setting and auto defrost function to melt away any frost
- Tempered glass door filters out UV rays and white LED interior light showcases your wine collection
- Reversible door design lets you switch from left to right side opening
- Runs quietly at 42dB
Testing the Insignia 29-bottle wine cooler
The Insignia 29-bottle wine cooler is a compact wine fridge with brushed metal accents and a glass door. After plugging it in, my initial impression was that I just loved how it looked. The white light isn’t overly bright and the tempered glass door really showcases your wine. It also filters out UV light, so if your wine cooler is located in a brightly lit kitchen, you don’t have to worry about your bottles getting hit with too much illumination.
I really appreciated the adjustable feet, because the corner I placed it in had a floor that is a bit uneven. I also like how you can remove the door and place it on the right or the left. It gives you more versatility for placement.
LED display lets you set the right temperature
The temperature range in the Insignia 29-bottle wine cooler is the perfect range for all types of wine. My favourite wine is a Riesling/Gewurztraminer, and the best temperature for it is 45 degrees. If you have red wine, the optimal temperature is a bit higher, with 55 degrees being a good number for your wine cooler. It doesn’t have two levels inside like a few wine coolers I’ve seen, so you’ll have to choose which wine you’d like to have stored at the optimal temperature (red and white wine typically require different storage temperatures).
Whichever temperature you choose, you can easily change it using the touch controls, while the LED display makes it easy to see at a glance what the internal temperature is. If you’d like to use the Quick Chill feature, you can hold down both the up and down temperature controls for three seconds and the Insignia 29-bottle wine cooler will quickly chill your wine. I tested it out and it worked very well. I unboxed my white wine, placed it in the wine cooler, and activated Quick Chill. Within 20 minutes, my wine was at the perfect temperature.
Capacity for wine and more
I keep a lot of beverages on hand, and they take up a lot of space in my fridge. With the Insignia 29-bottle wine cooler I was able to free up a lot of cold storage space in my fridge. I placed all of my wine as well as several cans of beer and other drinks in the fridge: 45 degrees is a nice chilly temperature for beer or cocktails, so I had no problem storing them all at the temperature set for my white wine.
It might look small, but 3.2. cu.ft. capacity gives you a lot of space to work with. You can take the shelves out and re-position them if you have bigger bottles of wine or large containers of other drinks. I really like the chrome-accent shelves. They complement your bottles by glowing very nicely when the white LED light is on. It’s also nice that they cradle the wine, too. I’ve seen a lot of wine coolers with flat shelves and I think I’d worry that the bottles would roll if the cooler was ever jostled.
So quiet you can barely hear it running
I thought it might be quite loud in my kitchen with the Insignia 29-bottle wine cooler running in one corner and my main fridge running in the other. I was pleasantly surprised to find out you can barely hear it running at all. It’s only 42dB so you can definitely have it set up in your kitchen, beside your couch, or in a basement bar without upping the noise level. It hums quietly when the compressor kicks in, but other than that I couldn’t even tell it was turned on.
Should you choose the Insignia 29-bottle wine cooler?
I can’t believe I’ve never tried a wine cooler before. Not only does the Insignia 29-bottle wine cooler free up space in my fridge, but my favourite wine tastes even better when served 8 degrees warmer than my fridge was storing it. I love how I can put all of my cans and bottles in the cooler and keep them chilly and ready to serve.
The Insignia 29-bottle wine cooler also adds a nice touch of class to my kitchen. I smile when I walk past it. It really does add a touch of luxury. The white light reflects off the chrome shelves and the bottles and I love the brushed stainless steel accents. While not fingerprint resistant, I haven’t had an issue with smudges or marks. If you do, it’s easy to clean with a soft cloth.
You can find your own Insignia 29-bottle wine cooler at Best Buy right now.
