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Staring with the (wine) refrigerator door open

The Caso Touch Wine Cellars have temperature controls integrated on the outside of the door. The thermoelectric wine cellars operate quietly and are available in two different sizes.

Brian Krepshaw
Brian is the author of two culinary based books published via his imprint Storkburger Press. A lifelong Californian, he has been consistently exposed to some of the best food in the world. With a deep appreciation for the kitchen, he is always on the lookout for that perfect appliance that combines style and grace with the ever-popular ability to save time.
Brian Krepshaw
The 21-bottle Caso Wine Cellar features two separate compartments for storing wine.
The 21-bottle Caso Wine Cellar features two separate compartments for storing wine. Williams-Sonoma

One of the great mysteries in life is knowing what you want out of the fridge before you open it. This is not a food-specific dilemma: the same conundrum can and does occur when contemplating a wine selection. While it may be easy (or not) to decide upon red or white, deciding upon which red or white is another story entirely. It is something that we as a society have learned to live with. And as with other resignations, we try to make up for it by doing the little things.

Since it is apparent that the practice of open-door refrigerator browsing will never go away (at least until transparent doors or video screen inventory tracking becomes common), it doesn't hurt to change what we can change. The Caso Touch Wine Cellar comes in two different sizes, and allows for the temperature to be controlled without opening the door.

Available in a 12-bottle configuration or one that can store 21 bottles (that also happens to look like a little fridge, complete with freezer), the thermoelectric storage solutions both feature touch controls integrated directly on to the door. (The larger capacity model has controls mounted on both doors.) Capable of cooling bottles down to 20 degrees below the ambient temperature, the quiet appliances may not help you decide which wine to open, but they will at least tell you if it's the right temperature inside--until we get the gadgets that tell us what we want, that will just have to do.