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LG's smart wine fridge can recommend a good cheese pairing

The appliance's AI software can also tell you which bottle you should buy next.

Ry Crist Senior Editor / Reviews - Labs
Originally hailing from Troy, Ohio, Ry Crist is a writer, a text-based adventure connoisseur, a lover of terrible movies and an enthusiastic yet mediocre cook. A CNET editor since 2013, Ry's beats include smart home tech, lighting, appliances, broadband and home networking.
Expertise Smart home technology and wireless connectivity Credentials
  • 10 years product testing experience with the CNET Home team
Ry Crist
2 min read
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LG's new Signature Kitchen Series Wine Column alongside the True Sommelier companion app.

LG / Wine Ring

New at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas: Luxurious, built-in, column-style wine fridges for LG's high-end Signature Kitchen Suite brand that use app-enabled smarts to track your tastes and recommend which bottle you should buy next.

The app in question is called True Sommelier, and it comes from Wine Ring, makers of a "preference intelligence engine" that lets wine aficionados log their likes and dislikes after each testing. Paired with the fancy wine fridges, the app will help you manage your collection, complete with food and wine recommendations based on what you already have on hand.

In addition, LG hopes to integrate features from its SmartThinQ cloud platform into the True Sommelier app as well, including remote temperature management and when-to-drink vintage indicators.

Beyond the app-enabled wine smarts, the new wine columns boast new "Wine Cave" technology that promises to minimize things that can affect taste, like vibration and temperature fluctuation inside of the fridge.

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Don't confuse LG's new Signature Kitchen Series Wine Column smart fridges with the LG Signature Wine Cellar fridges from last year.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

This isn't LG's first foray into the category. Last year, at the IFA tech showcase in Berlin, the company introduced new free-standing "Wine Cellar" fridges that promise to hold up to 65 bottles, complete with customizable temperature zones, voice controls for the lights and doors, and a bottom drawer that lifts up automatically when you open it to spare you the indignity of needing to bend over too much.

Those freestanding models are sold in Europe under the LG Signature brand, which is a separate luxury offshoot from LG's Signature Kitchen Suite brand.

"Signature Kitchen Suite is strictly a luxury kitchen appliance brand bringing the best built-in appliances with leading-edge technology to today's progressive home chefs who are passionate about all things culinary and technological innovation," explains an LG spokesperson. "LG Signature is another premium line under the LG umbrella that extends across home electronics and home appliance categories with a focus on performance, style and a unique modern design.

Yep, the world of high-end appliances gets a bit confusing sometimes.

LG doesn't have pricing locked down for its new Wine Columns just yet, but like the rest of the Signature lineup, it's a safe bet that they'll be really, really expensive. You can find more information about them, including dealer availability, on the Signature Kitchen Suite website.