Do I need a wine cooler/fridge?

[jsteingarten]

I keep my wines in closet that never goes about 75 degrees and drink most of my wine within six months. Recently, I've been thinking about getting a wine cooler or fridge, but I can only afford something for $300 or under. With that budget, is it even worth getting one? I've been reading such mixed reviews about the cheaper models and for that amount of money, it seems like I could only buy a fridge that will store 30 bottles max. Your advice is greatly appreciated!

[Lixer]

I got one (well, it was a birthday gift) since I live in Texas and the thermostat is at 80 during the day in the summer (higher when we're not here) so the wine goes off quickly. It's just a 12 bottle one so I can have a bottle of a few varietals on hand to go with most foods at any given time. I keep it at the highest setting, 65, just to keep the wine happy and not chilled. Otherwise it would be running all day.
If my house stayed at 75 and I went through wine at the same rate I do now (one bottle might make it 7-8 months) then I wouldn't bother.

[invinotheresverde]

Take the $300 and buy more wine.

[jsteingarten]

Thanks for your advice everyone! I don't buy expensive wine anyway (<$40 per bottle). I'll spend my $300 on more wine.

[sedimental]

That would be my 2 cents too. You don't *need* one. However, a really cheap one is handy for keeping whites chilled and at the ready, special chocolate is in mine too, so is hard cider, specialty beer, sparkling water, and vitamins that need to be kept cool :)

[Ricardo Malocchio]

No longer than six months and no higher than 75 degrees? You're likely fine, so long as the temperature doesn't go higher and isn't subject to wide swings. The worst that'll happen is that your wines will age a little faster, but only over a very short period.

And the cheap fridges are just that. Most don't even have humidity control (do any of them?). Just as good to keep that special bottle or few in the regular fridge over such a short period.

[zin1953]

I wouldn't . . .

[zinFAN]

How many bottles do you regularly keep on hand in the closet? And what price range? In general, I only keep my whites in a modest Haier wine fridge since they're the most fragile. I tend to drink my reds within a couple months of purchase or send them off-site for storage.