Electronic Wine Bottle Chiller

The Scenario

You've had a long day at work, with the kids, cleaning the house, doing yard work or all of the above. Waves of heat are rising from the ground only to be met by the scorching rays of the sun. Even the sun slowly inches its way below the horizon, you find no relief from the unrelenting heat. Then, you remember that crisp and refreshing bottle of white wine sitting in your house, waiting for you.

With anticipation and delight, you rush into the kitchen to pour yourself a glass when you quickly realize that there is no refreshment to be had this evening. Your refreshing bottle of white wine, your deliverance from the heat, your means of melting the stress from the day away, your oasis in the desert, has been sitting out on the counter and is as warm as the day is long.

You quickly weigh your options. Put it in the freezer? No, that takes too much time and patience and those ships sailed long ago. Put it in a bucket of ice water? Nah, still too long. Pour it in a glass with a couple of ice cubes? That's just not right. Then you realize… that electronic wine bottle chiller that you thought you had no use for, sure would come in handy right about now.

About Electronic Wine Bottle Chillers

Often described as sleek, streamlined and stylish, electronic wine bottle chillers are feats of technological genius. The single bottle chillers are designed to chill your wine by either spraying the wine bottle with jets of ice water once it is placed in the machine or through a cooling electronic current called thermoelectric cooling. Some single bottle chillers come pre-programmed with the proper wine serving temperatures for different varietals of both white and red wine. Meaning, you will never again serve your Chardonnay too cold or your Cabernet Sauvignon too warm. As an added bonus, you can chill bottles of sparkling wine, cans of beer, soda and even warm your baby's bottle if you so choose.

How They Work

• Floor models. These are designed to hold multiple bottles of wine and really need little explanation. They basically work like any standard mini refrigerator and have temperature controls and readouts on the front so you can control the temperature of the wine within the chiller. Depending on the make, model and how much you are willing to spend, there are also floor model chillers available that use thermoelectric cooling to chill its contents.
• Countertop models. These are smaller versions of the floor models and chill your wine by thermoelectric cooling.
• Tabletop or single bottle models. These models work in one of two ways: for some, you add ice and water and then insert your bottle of wine. Once you turn the machine on, the wine is continuously sprayed with jets of ice water. The second type is through thermoelectric cooling.

Thermoelectric Cooling Explained

Thermoelectric cooling is also known as the Peltier effect. In a nutshell, an electronic current is passed through intersecting wires. These wires are made of different types of metals. Electrical currents give off heat, so depending on the flow of the current the heat conducted by the electrical current is either absorbed or released. Most tabletop chillers that utilize the Peltier effect both heat and cool.

Where to Get Your Hands on One

• Target. Counter top chillers range in price between $100-130 and the Cooper Cooler single bottle models range in price between $80-90. Cooper Cooler models require water and two trays of ice and spray the wine bottle with jets of ice water to cool it down.
• Amazon. Find various makes and models ranging in price from $60-150. If you want to save a little money, you can find used chillers for a little less.
• Sharper Image. The Sharper Image is hands down the go-to place for gadgets. Their wine chiller uses the thermoelectric cooling method, comes with ten pre-set temperatures and has a reasonable price tag of $59.95.
• Brookstone. The Sommelier's Wine Chiller comes pre-loaded with proper serving temperatures of twenty-six different varietals of red wine, white wine and Champagne. It uses the thermoelectric cooling method to chill your bottles of wine and features a backlit LED display as well as an alarm that sounds when the wine has reached its' desired temperature. Retail price for the Sommelier's Wine Chiller is $100.
• MSN Shopping. The shopping channel on MSN allows you to compare wine chillers with prices that range from between $60-200.

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