Advice on refrigerated wine storage unit

[hotwine]

Welcome to the board, CW.<P>The only free-standing wine storage unit that I know of that is designed to be placed in an environment with uncontrolled temperature is the EuroCave 260 1-Temp. Its heavy-duty compressor can withstand the high duty cycles required to function effectively in a space where the ambient temperature can far exceed the norm for an air-conditioned room. I bought one a few years ago and put it in my garage, and it works just fine. To my knowledge, all other makes and models of wine fridges are designed to accommodate a temperature differential (between the unit's temp and that of the room in which it's placed) of no more than 20 degrees F. If you're trying to hold a temp of 57F in a unit that's sitting in a 90F garage, most units on the market would be likely to burn out.<P>As to capacity: If the fixed shelves in the EC 260 1-Temp are replaced with sliding redwood shelves, the capacity is reduced from the advertized 260 (Bordeaux-sized) bottles to about 160. And the 260 1-Temp is the only model available with the enhanced compressor, at least to the best of my knowledge.