32" Wide Vite Series 305 Bottle Single Zone Stainless Steel Left Hinge Wine Refrigerator Reviews

09/27/2019

When we didn't know anything about wine, we were excited our new home had a "wine cellar". Turned out that a wine cellar is actually a temperature controlled space and would never have a fireplace built into one of its' walls. A local wine cellar specialist told us redoing the cellar would involve gutting the space and run $40k-50k. Next option please!

We've had the 32" Vite 305 for about two years. We got the white glove service but, because the cabinetry modifications for our space were not complete when it arrived, we had it placed in a spare bedroom until we were ready for it. I ended up moving it across the hall into our mudroom by myself and I can tell you it is a solid, heavy beast!

Because it is not in a trafficked living area, I don't really notice the noise. There is a guest room across from the mudroom where we installed it and I always worry that the noise will be a problem but, none of our guests have reported it being an issue.

My wife is the wine enthusiast. She is a cab lover and many of her bottles are non-standard so, she prefers to stick with a single layer of bottles on each shelf. This gives the refrigerator a capacity of about 165 bottles. She has run out of capacity so we started looking for options. Turns out, you can order the parts from Beverage Factory, to add extra shelves . After doing a little quick calculating, I determined I could close the gap between all the shelves by one space and have enough room for two more shelves. That is 30 more bottles for about $90 including shipping.

It won't take my wife too long to use up that additional space so, I think we will be ordering a second unit very soon along with additional shelves.

07/06/2019

The "white glove" delivery was perfect! I had cut a piece of plywood to set the unit on to protect the flooring and the delivery guys set it perfectly.

The shelving can be adjusted, but the instructions are poor. The secret is that the front shelf hook needs to be released by moving up while the back shelf hook needs to be released by sliding the shelf towards the door. A tap with a soft mallet really helps remove the shelf.

To re-position, it's best to use a flat head screwdriver to make a divot in the slots where the shelf will go. Use the screwdriver to slightly expand the shelf hooks so that it more easily slips into the slots at the new position.

My only issue is that with the temp set at 55 degrees, the bottom shelves are cooled to 55, but the top shelves are 10 degrees warmer. Plan accordingly!

03/05/2019

I installed the Allavino Vite 305 wine refrigerator in my home office. It’s a fine looking unit finished in black with smoked glass door. This unit IS actually a wine refrigerator as opposed to a cabinet with an installed AC unit that vents out the back or top. It contains a full condenser coil on the entire rear of unit and an evaporator coil internally. The Compressor is located on the bottom rear of unit, about the same size as the one on my GE Fridge. With that said, the first time I plugged in and turned on, it was able to pull down the temperature quickly. In a small office space the compressor is a bit noisy on initial turn on and then quiets down to background. There is also an internal fan in the top which cycles fairly frequently and is not silent as well. I did have some issues with the condenser coil buzzing / rattling during the cycle that had to be corrected. I used those white foam shipping pieces from the wood drawers and cut small strips to wedge between the tubing and rear panel, eventually making it silent. The shelving is nice wood on ball bearing sliders that move easily with the bottle weight. Unfortunately the distance between shelves will only allow the most standard size Bordeaux bottles stacked double and even then, there is some rubbing. It’s great that the shelves can be adjusted but I wish the increments were smaller [less than 1-1/4"] to accommodate for this. So there is some trial and error on fitting bottles onto shelves, and adjusting to maximize space is the order of the day. I did fit a tall 3L Brunello on a rack and a couple of 1.5L on the bottom which is limited in depth. The door appears to have a good seal and robust hinges. I did measure the power usage of the unit as a sample over a week and extrapolated the data. This unit is consuming an average of 253 Kw / year in a room ambient temperature of 73.2F with the cooling set at 56F. The measure temperature on bottom of unit is 56.5F. The power requirement will increase in summer when room temps will get to 77F on average. Also note that the unit is quite tall so at 6'1" the top shelf is slightly above my eye level requiring a step stool to see the labels. With all that said, the unit gets 5 stars for storage capacity, cooling capability, energy consumption, slide out adjustable wood shelves, fan circulation and cool blue LED lighting. It was also half the price of the other unit I was considering but with 77% more capacity! Done Deal

02/24/2019

Vite Series 305 Bottle Single-Zone Wine Refrigerator - Black Door with Left Hinge: I purchased this unit to replace a Vintage Keeper 220 that was on its 3rd AC unit and finally spit apart at the base from moisture / condensation. This unit fits that space very well. It is noticeably taller and heavier than the old unit. I ended up fabricating a base plate for this unit to avoid floor damage on the Hardwood. I also shimmed and leveled the base plate to make the unit leveling easier. The Good: The unit runs fairly quiet after the compressor initially kicks on. It pulls the temperature down quickly. The design of shelving was geared towards maximizing bottle storage. The shelve adjust-ability is necessary unless you just collect normal thickness Bordeaux glass bottles. It has a nice modern look to it and the door feels more solid than my last cabinet. The shelves are solid and the tracks are ball bearing and sort of lock / snap back into their closed position albeit stiffly. The Bad: The feet on the unit are not easy at all to get access to due to the way the base frame is designed. It was easier for me to lever the front of the unit up and block it, then move the front feet while unloaded and set the unit down again. Once level i encountered problem two; the condenser coil that covers the entire rear of the unit was rattling against the rear panel when the compressor was running. It was extremely annoying. So save the little white foam squares from the shelve centers from shipping. These placed in several spots between the coil and the frame provides an excellent damping for that rattle. Also definitely use some form of strapping on the rear wall to lock this tall heavy unit down. Also there IS a plastic coating on the left and right panels from manufacturing that should be removed to reveal the actual nice black finish of the unit. The Wine Fridge: This unit is actually a fridge with its condenser coil covering the entire rear panel so the recommended 3" air space should be adhered too. There is a small charcoal filter and vent hole that was designed to circulate some fresh air through the unit. Overall i am pleased with the unit. I spoke with customer service on some questions I had before installation and they were extremely helpful.

07/27/2018

This is one of the better companies I have ever dealt with. The support staff is off the charts! The only quibble I have is with the standard information sheet that is sent out regarding delivery procedures. We had a white clove installation, but the standard information sheet said our unit would be delivered curb side only. This should be corrected to alleviate any client stress. This company gets my highest recommendation.

02/14/2018

The wine cooler is quiet, attractive, sturdy and the racks roll smoothly. The 305 bottle capacity is based on standard Bordeaux size bottles, as clearly stated, so capacity goes down with champagne or burgundy shaped bottles. To partially accommodate those odd sizes, the racks can be moved up or down. Overall. for those who have a mix of bottles, probably 200 is a more realistic capacity. Still, it is well priced on a bottle/dollar basis and I'd buy it again. Caveat: this is a free standing unit and can't be used as a built in.
Delivery got a bit messed up a the end, but Beverage Factory support was excellent through that tribulation.

10/12/2017

The product is nearly as described. Depending on the type of wine bottle the capacity is not 305. The unit is quiet clean and works well I am very satisfied. The delivery service had to be reminded it was white glove delivery.

09/11/2017

The unit is exactly what we expected. Large capacity for typical Cabernet-size bottles, 28 bottles/shelf. Capacity is only 12-14 bottles/shelf of wider champagne, etc. size bottles. Holds temperature +/- 2 degrees F, which is fine. Noise level is low, about the same as a refrigerator. Wooden shelves slide in/out halfway easily. White Glove service was great. First unit was scratched and Beverage Factory/delivery guys had no problem with taking it back. Second unit was fine, as ordered, and delivery guys put it exactly where we wanted it, even though the unit is 300+ lbs and there were some tight corners to work around.

11/07/2016

Transitioned from a 400+ bottle refrigerator down to this one (needed to downsize). I have it in my garage and it takes up just the right amount of room and is solid and quiet. It has no problem maintaining an average 55 degrees for the 286 bottles i have in there. I don't get up to 305 bottles, as I have some large format and odd bottle sizes. Because of this, I am only using 9 of the shelves, but they are sturdy and slide easy, even with 28 bottles per shelf. I will mention that moving the shelfs to new adjustment slot is not the easiest, but I used a flathead screwdriver to push the insulation in a little bit in the slots I wanted and got all the shelves where I needed.
Great product it your looking for something this size.

11/03/2016

I have many irregular bottles was looking for a Cellar with more internal storage. I had to remove racks from my previous wine unit and wanted to avoid that situation again. This Allavino has impressive spacing between the racks. The pull out wine racks work very smoothly even when fully loaded. The wood rack seems to be very durable and should last many years without sagging. The storage temperatures have been very consistent with around a 10 degree difference from the top to the bottom.

11/03/2016

This cellar is large so I recommend white glove service to deliver it. It is very attractive with a solid design. I only have around 100 bottles in it so far, but there is plenty of room to grow.

10/11/2016

First Wine unit I received was damaged from shipping. A new replacement unit was shipped out right away and arrived in great condition. The replacement process went smooth and easy. The Unit is very big but I like that the noise level is very low. The racks are strong and hold many different style bottles. I recommend.

07/22/2016

This cellar is great! It runs quiet and has incredible internal storage. The wine racks are very solid and can hold a lot of weight even when pulled out. I already have it filled up.

07/08/2016

Although rated for 305 bottles, this is the maximum storage for a Cabernet style bottle. Most collections contain various sized wine bottles, and mine is no exception. This storage unit does a good job of providing the flexibility to handle these size differences. The storage capacity is reduced, but this is understood by most people who are storing wines.

06/09/2016

I have many irregular bottles was looking for a Cellar with more internal storage. I had to remove racks from my previous wine unit and wanted to avoid that situation again. This Allavino has impressive spacing between the racks. The pull out wine racks work very smoothly even when fully loaded. The wood rack seems to be very durable and should last many years without sagging. The storage temperatures have been very consistent with around a 10 degree difference from the top to the bottom.

04/25/2016

The Wine fridge is quiet, nice Blue LED light on / off option, door locks. I liked it so much that I bought a 2nd 1!

The shipping and delivery company was really good and easy to work with.

The shipping company sends an automated , when do you want it delivered time and date and you select it from there. I recommend calling them to confirm that everyone is on the same page before taking off work or whatever.

Overall, a great Wine Fridge and great service, I would buy more from these guys!

12/04/2014

Put the product in my garage. Love the wood shelves. Packaged well, arrived with no damage and delivered in 5 days. Magnums fit perfect on bottom shelf and most of my bottles fit fine on other shelves. Might make some adjustments to shelf height. Being able to do so is why I chose this unit.
Lock broke in first use however Beverage Factory set up a repair quickly and currently waiting for appointment call.
I would buy again and might someday buy a matching unit when I need more storage for my love of red wine.