Cuisinart's Private Reserve is an eight-bottle, single-zone cooler small enough for a countertop. Bon Appétit picked it as the best countertop wine fridge after using it over a period of weeks: it is extremely quiet, has adjustable shelves and gets the job done for someone who keeps only a few wines around. The complaints are that the screen shows the target temperature and not the actual one, and that eight bottles is not many.
Full review
Bon Appétit's countertop pick
Bon Appétit's wine fridge guide rests on hands-on use: the tester considered assembly, noise, shelving and display design, loaded each fridge with wine to see whether it could hold what it claims, and used each one over weeks. The Cuisinart Private Reserve is the guide's best countertop wine fridge. The verdict is plain: for someone who keeps only a few wines around and wants someplace climate-controlled to put them, this cooler gets the job done.
Size, noise and controls
The cooler weighs less than 30 pounds and measures 10.5 by 17.5 by 17.25 inches, which Bon Appétit notes is a smaller footprint than many microwaves. Its shelves are adjustable and the single zone can be set from 39°F to 68°F. Bon Appétit describes it as extremely quiet.
Cuisinart's listing describes a thermoelectric cooling system, three contoured chrome racks designed to hold 750ml or 1500ml bottles, touchscreen controls and soft interior lighting.
What Bon Appétit would leave
Two things. The screen displays the target temperature, not the actual temperature, which Bon Appétit says can be misleading. And eight bottles is not very many, especially for people who have guests over a lot or can imagine themselves getting more into wine.
Price and warranty
Bon Appétit says the relatively gentle price point makes the cooler feel like less of a commitment than most wine refrigerators. The limited three-year warranty covers defects but not household wear and tear.
Strengths
- +Measures 10.5 by 17.5 by 17.25 inches, a smaller footprint than many microwaves per Bon Appétit
- +Adjustable shelves and a single zone that sets from 39°F to 68°F, per Bon Appétit
- +Limited three-year warranty
- +Relatively gentle price point, per Bon Appétit
Watch-outs
- −Screen displays the target temperature, not the actual temperature, which Bon Appétit says can be misleading
- −Eight bottles is not very many, per Bon Appétit
- −Warranty covers defects but not household wear and tear, per Bon Appétit
How it compares
The smallest cooler on the page: eight bottles against 44 for the Magic Chef HMWC44DZ, 46 for the NewAir AWR-460DB and a stated 80 for the Wine Enthusiast Classic 80. It is a single-zone unit like the Classic 80, where the NewAir and Magic Chef have two zones. Bon Appétit tested it in the same guide as the Classic 80.
Rating sources
Our 4.0 score is the average of these published ratings. Ratings marked * were derived from the reviewer’s written analysis or video transcript — the publisher didn’t print an explicit numeric score, so we inferred one from their own words. Click through to verify. More about methodology.
