We received the product for review and all opinions are our own.
For those who need a solid wine chiller with a few bells and whistles, the Model KCC2-04 Ca’Lefort Wine Station fits the bill.
Ca’Lefort sent me the wine chiller during the busy Christmas season to review. In less than a week after ironing out the shipping, I had the chiller delivered to my door.
It came exceptionally well packaged. The main box is sturdy cardboard and shipped in another box for safety. Inside, the chiller was well packed. This included the two Ca’Lefort wine glasses, which were pristine upon arrival.
I found this chiller easy to set up once I located all the necessary items. The main unit was pre-assembled; I just needed to connect the plug. Then, I attached the add-ons, like the glass holder and the accessory storage and charging base. The charging station was an easy click into place with clear spots for all the accessories. The glass holder slid right in and locked into place effortlessly. With a flip of a switch, it was on.
I have had a single-bottle wine chiller for years now, which works fine, but the new two-bottle offers more of what I need. My previous chiller could only fit standard 750ml bottles. It could manage a thinner Burgundy-style bottle, but it struggled with that. The Ca’Lefort chiller can accommodate full-sized Champagne and sparkling bottles in both slots. This was a game-changer for me, as I often spend an entire evening working through a bottle of bubbles on my own, and not having to try to shove it in the fridge is a nice change.
This model comes with several nice accessories kept on a charging station. The main accessory is the dual electric wine opener and vacuum pump. I always struggle with electric wine openers, and this was no exception, but my husband made it work without any problem. Now I can learn to use one.
On the other side of the wine opener is a vacuum pump. After reviewing the manual, I put it on and held it in place for 15 seconds. As stated, it beeped and turned off. I sometimes struggle with manual pumps, never quite knowing when to stop, so it was nice to have something stop at just the right time. The unit comes with two stoppers. They only work on standard bottles (openings of 18-19mm), which is normal for most. The pump seals well, and the valve released with no problems. The bonus is the date scale rings. The gold ring moves smoothly and can be set for days 1-31.
In addition to the opener and pump, the system comes with other accessories. It has a foil cutter, which I always need. It also has a pourer/aerator. It worked well with aeration; however, it can come out easily. On my first attempt, I did not push it in as tightly as possible. As I poured, it came out, and the wine spilled everywhere. On a second attempt, I forced the pourer in with more force, and it held (while also being easy to pull out).
The glass holder attaches to the opposite side from all the other accessories. It holds glasses well; I moved the unit around at different angles, and the glasses stayed in place. And as already mentioned, this model comes with two glasses. The unit can hold most sizes of glasses; any issue would be with any that are overly tall.
The instructions make it clear that this keeps wine chilled; it does not chill wine. My previous one did that, but this unit does not. In the manual, they recommend having the wine already chilled. I did test to see how well it would do with chilling with a room temperature red and sparkling. After about an hour, the red was at a suitable temperature, but the sparkling never got particularly cold (even after four hours), so I recommend having the wine pre-chilled.
The chiller has a decent range of temperatures, but it may cause some issues. It goes from 46-64 degrees Fahrenheit (or 8-18 degrees Celsius). It does reach the lower temperatures quickly, within 30 minutes for the lowest temperature. The manual does come with a guide for red, dry white, and sparkling wines, which fit into those ranges. This could cause an issue with some sparkling wines that do better colder, 41-45 degrees, which is colder than this chiller’s minimum temperature.
The unit is well constructed. It is one solid base and not too heavy. It does have a light, but it is not always needed; the glass is transparent and reflective. The buttons for the temperature, along with the light and temperature display, are front and center. The part that surprised me was the additional car-powered plug. This, along with the easy-to-disassemble and reassemble parts, allows for it to be used when camping or in an RV. One word of warning, though: the pads on the feet can come loose, so I recommend checking for those and looking out for them.
All in all, the Ca’Lefort wine chiller is a nice option. Though it is two bottles, it is not too large, even with the accessories. The main issue will be replacements for all the accessories. All I could find was repurchasing the entire opener and pump set, which runs about $60 from their website. The wine holder is heavy and metal, so I do not see a need to replace it anytime soon. The unit can be purchased directly from Ca’Lefort’s site or through authorized retailers.
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