The Magic Chef HMWC44DZ is a 44-bottle, dual-zone cooler with a stainless steel door and shelves that installs built-in or freestanding. Reviewed tested it in its refrigerator lab and names it one of its two favorite wine coolers, calling it a sturdy wine fridge with reliable shelving and good storage capacity. It ran 1°F to 4°F warm in Reviewed's temperature tests, its shelves do not adjust, and testers heard a small hum.
Full review
One of Reviewed's two favorites
Reviewed's wine fridge guide is lab-based. Each cooler runs for more than 24 hours before testing, temperature sensors inside wine bottles then log three days of data, and testers also judge ease of use, build quality and bottle capacity. Out of that process Reviewed says its favorite wine coolers are the Magic Chef 44-Bottle Dual-Zone and a Frigidaire. Its one-line summary of the Magic Chef: a sturdy wine fridge with reliable shelving and good storage capacity.
Capacity and shelving
For its price, Reviewed was impressed with the number of bottles the Magic Chef can hold. Filled with a mix of bottle shapes and sizes, the bottles did not feel jammed inside, though it took some maneuvering to make the different sizes fit. The shelving is not adjustable, which Reviewed judged fine for this layout, and its testers never doubted that the stainless-steel shelves would support the bottles. Magic Chef splits the capacity as 16 bottles in the top compartment and 28 in the bottom.
Build, controls and noise
Reviewed describes a more industrial aesthetic and a sturdy fridge that will look at home built in under a bar, island or kitchen counter; it can also be used freestanding. Opening the stainless steel door over and over with its horizontal handle was easy. The control panel is inside the unit and took a few minutes to understand. Unlike some of the more silent models Reviewed tested, this one produced a small hum from inside the cavity.
Temperature test
In Reviewed's temperature tests the Magic Chef ran a little warm. With the two zones set to 60°F and 55°F, the wine registered average temperatures of 61°F to 62°F and 58°F to 59°F. Magic Chef lists the temperature range as 41°F to 61°F.
Strengths
- +Named one of Reviewed's two favorite wine coolers after lab testing
- +Sturdy: Reviewed never doubted the stainless-steel shelves would support the bottles
- +Reviewed was impressed with the number of bottles it holds for its price
- +Two sealed zones: 16 bottles in the top compartment and 28 in the bottom, per Magic Chef
- +Built-in or freestanding installation
Watch-outs
- −Ran a little warm in Reviewed's tests: zones set to 60°F and 55°F held wine at 61°F to 62°F and 58°F to 59°F
- −No adjustable shelving, and fitting different size bottles took some maneuvering, per Reviewed
- −Reviewed noted a small hum that the more silent models it tested did not have
- −Control panel is inside the unit and took Reviewed a few minutes to understand
How it compares
Reviewed tested this Magic Chef and the NewAir AWR-460DB in the same lab. It called the Magic Chef sturdy and a favorite and faulted the NewAir's outer shell; the Magic Chef also held closer to its settings (1°F to 4°F warm against about 5°F). The NewAir answers with pull-out wood shelves and two more bottles of capacity (46 against 44). The Cuisinart Private Reserve holds eight bottles, and the Wine Enthusiast Classic 80 is a single-zone cabinet.
Rating sources
“Our favorite wine coolers are the Magic Chef 44-Bottle Dual-Zone Wine Cooler and the Frigidaire FGWC5233TS 52-Bottle Wine Cooler.”
Our 4.4 score is the average of the 1 scored review above; 1 more reviewed it without printing a score and is not in the average. 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.
