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Wine Cellar--- Present

post #1 of 15
3/21/08 at 4:32pm
Thread Starter 
It's my parents' 30th wedding anniversary this June. I wanted to get them something nice, as for the first time in my life I have a decent income and can contribute to the celebration.

I wanted to get them a refrigerated wine cellar, like this:

http://www.onthefly.com/product/pek-...no-vault/15950

And then spending some money to get them some nice wines. I wanted to spend <$500 total.
What do you think?
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post #2 of 15
3/21/08 at 4:40pm
It's a nice idea but 14 bottles is pretty small. I know you don't have a huge budget, but do you have any siblings who could pay in? Pool the money, get them a bigger verision, and say it's from all of you?

Otherwise, I would spend the whole $500 on a bigger version, and let them buy the wine. The hard truth is, wine that is actually worth aging has gotten crazy expensive, and $200 won't get you much.
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post #3 of 15
3/21/08 at 4:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Manton View Post
It's a nice idea but 14 bottles is pretty small. I know you don't have a huge budget, but do you have any siblings who could pay in? Pool the money, get them a bigger verision, and say it's from all of you?
That's a good idea. My sister is a single parent with a fulltime job and also still in college, so money is a bit tight, but I'm sure with a few months she could scrape together $1-200 to pool in. My brother is mentally handicapped and doesn't get a paycheck, but his name will definitely be included in the gift.

Quote:
Otherwise, I would spend the whole $500 on a bigger version, and let them buy the wine. The hard truth is, wine that is actually worth aging has gotten crazy expensive, and $200 won't get you much.

That's true. I think I will spend more on the actual cellar, and maybe get them tickets to a nice wine-tasting or something instead of buying the wine myself.
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post #4 of 15
3/21/08 at 4:48pm
What is the cellar going to be for? If it's long term storage, think lots of capacity, no bells & whistles. Keep costs down. The stainless thing with the faucet is useless for that.

If they don't generally buy wine in quantity for aging but just want some around even when the kitchen is in full swing, what you have is perfect. Load in a few house reds and whites, and you're all set.
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post #5 of 15
3/21/08 at 5:20pm
I would advise buying wine rather than the fridge. If they're wine people they can end up being picky about the fridge (e.g., is the motor right, etc. etc.) but they'll feel obligated to use it rgeardless of their druthers.

A real nice bottle of wine will be memorable, and that memory will be associated with your thoughtfulness. When I receive wine as a gift I put the wine in my cellar along with the card (bottle rests on it).

If you know what they like to drink, you can probably just rely on a high quality wine shop for suggestions (e.g., Bordeaux that has some real age to it ).

Also speaking as a parent, don't worry about spending a lot of money.
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post #6 of 15
3/21/08 at 5:25pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by horton View Post
I would advise buying wine rather than the fridge. If they're wine people they can end up being picky about the fridge (e.g., is the motor right, etc. etc.) but they'll feel obligated to use it rgeardless of their druthers.

A real nice bottle of wine will be memorable, and that memory will be associated with your thoughtfulness. When I receive wine as a gift I put the wine in my cellar along with the card (bottle rests on it).

If you know what they like to drink, you can probably just rely on a high quality wine shop for suggestions (e.g., Bordeaux that has some real age to it ).

Also speaking as a parent, don't worry about spending a lot of money.

Good points. I don't really feel obligated to spend a lot of money. It's just the first time in my life I've been able to. And after supporting me for 21 years already, and undoubtedly many more to come, I just want to do something for them to show these two people that they're my heroes and I love them (yes, corny but true.)

They aren't bigtime wine drinkers. They each drink maybe a glass every night, and then 2-3 glasses on weekends. I mean, don't get me wrong, they both enjoy wine, but they're also both extremely turned off by the thought of a bottle costing more than $50. They also don't age wines... the wine they buy is generally kept <1 year total. My mother knows what kind of wine she likes, and picks it up everytime she goes to Trader Joe's. My dad's wine is a different story-- for him it's an adventure, and he always wants to keep expanding his vino knowledge and never buy a "repeat" bottle.
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post #7 of 15
3/21/08 at 5:29pm
Nice gift kwik. No matter what everyone else says about you, I think you're okay.

From your description, a cooler is a great gift for them. There are several good makes you can look at, such as Avanti, Vinotemp, and Eurocave (not sure about them, might just do high end). You should not have to spend more than $200 and look for one of the electro-thermal ones, no compressor. We have a small (1 dozen) Avanti for storing wine that is a no compressor model. However, we are now giving it away...head over to the just bought wine thread
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post #8 of 15
3/21/08 at 5:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Piobaire View Post
Nice gift kwik. No matter what everyone else says about you, I think you're okay.

From your description, a cooler is a great gift for them. There are several good makes you can look at, such as Avanti, Vinotemp, and Eurocave (not sure about them, might just do high end). You should not have to spend more than $200 and look for one of the electro-thermal ones, no compressor. We have a small (1 dozen) Avanti for storing wine that is a no compressor model. However, we are now giving it away...head over to the just bought wine thread

Giving it away, you say? I'll PM with my address.
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post #9 of 15
3/21/08 at 5:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kwilkinson View Post
Giving it away, you say? I'll PM with my address.

Nah, you don't want it. We bought in on sale at Target for $90 a few years ago!
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post #10 of 15
3/21/08 at 11:04pm
kwilk, There is a big disparity in the prices of these things, for reasons I don't really understand (even at the consumer level). I have a U-Line in the bar, and another down the cellar, but these days the major appliance makers make fairly inexpensive versions -- and for all but the hardcore, I expect they are fine, unless I'm missing something significant (Piobaire?). What about this one? http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...2GB&lpage=none $300 can get, easily 3-5 decent bottles, but I'd probably get one $100-dollar bottle and a whole variety of other 'adventures.' Most of the wines I buy tend to hover around the $20 and the $100 marks. By the way, nice, nice, gift. ~ Huntsman
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post #11 of 15
3/22/08 at 1:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kwilkinson View Post
I think I will spend more on the actual cellar, and maybe get them tickets to a nice wine-tasting or something instead of buying the wine myself.

excellant idea
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post #12 of 15
3/22/08 at 2:26am
K,

this is a really nice idea - good for you.

I don't know that much about the subject, but we looked at wine fridges from best buy a while back, I think that there were larger units available for $200 or so. as this one doesn't seem to be really high end (seems that way from some of the comments from those in the know) you might do just as well with a best buy one that is slightly bigger.

one thing that I can suggest - most people seem to like to get wines from places that they haven't usually tried wines from - if they focus on california and french, try some chilian, south african, australian, german, etc.

good luck, and, again, good idea.
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post #13 of 15
3/22/08 at 8:38am
the price disparity is often because of the motors (less vibration the better) and the controls (e.g., humidity). With wine, the storage temperature is important, but as or more is the fact that the temperature doesn't change too rapidly, that it's not exposed to light, and that it's not disturbed too much (this can be a big issue with coolers as motors might kick on and off -- think of cheaper refridgerators as an extreme example)

for your Dad, consider a mixed case e.g. with Spanish and Portugese and some of the less common Italians (tons of these). there are a lot of interesting wines to explore there. again, a good merchant should be able to help there,

Also, don't forget to toast them with some of the kinds words for them you expressed here. I honestly think that will mean more to them than the wine or cooler (for which they'll also be thankful, of course).
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post #14 of 15
3/22/08 at 2:25pm
At this time, there is a ton of good quality, low priced wines from both Australia and South America. With the dollar/euro position right now, it is harder to get good values from European wine at this time. Just a thought Kwik to maximize your dollars.
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post #15 of 15
3/22/08 at 5:48pm
Of course, 2005 was so good in France and Germany that pretty marginal wines are coming up aces. Prices are relatively high b/c of the dollar, but so is quality.

So, Rhones (Chateauneuf du Pape, the various Cotes du Rhone villages), 3rd-tier Bordeaux, smaller Burgundy villages are pumping a lot of very fine stuff out in the $15-30 bracket.
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