The Brand Story
CellarCool: Keeping Wine at 55 Degrees, From Stockton, California
A wine collection is patient. Bottles laid down today might not be opened for ten or twenty years, and every one of those years they ask for the same thing: a cool, steady room, with no summer spikes and no winter swings. A basement in Burgundy does that on its own. A closet in a South Florida home does not. That gap between what wine needs and what most houses provide is the reason a company like CellarCool exists, and it is a problem solved in Stockton, in California's Central Valley.
Chapter 1 · The family
Built by a wine cooling specialist
CellarCool systems are manufactured by WhisperKOOL, a company that has focused on wine cellar refrigeration for more than three decades. Both operate from the same address on East Alpine Avenue in Stockton, where WhisperKOOL engineers, designs and assembles its systems. CellarCool's own installation manuals state that its cooling units are manufactured, tested and certified in the USA.
CellarCool sits alongside the WhisperKOOL line as a related brand from the same maker. Its through-wall CX series was designed as a direct replacement for similarly sized Breezaire and Wine Mate units, which made it a natural choice for cellar owners replacing an aging cooler without rebuilding the wall around it.
Chapter 2 · How it works
Why a wine cellar is not a small air-conditioned room
A home air conditioner is built to pull a room down to the low 70s and to remove a lot of moisture while it does. A wine cellar wants something very different: a steady temperature in the mid-50s and enough humidity left in the air to keep corks from drying out. CellarCool's CX units ship with a factory setpoint of 55 °F and can be adjusted across the range wine collectors use. They are designed to cool about 30 °F below the temperature of the space they exhaust into, which is why the room on the other side of the wall should stay at or below 85 °F.
The cellar itself matters as much as the cooler. CellarCool's manuals call for a vapor barrier and insulation in the walls and ceiling, because warm, humid air leaking in adds heat load, and a heat load assessment is the first step in choosing the right size of unit.
The Lineup
What CellarCool builds today
CellarCool builds both self-contained and split wine cellar cooling systems. Self-contained units mount through the wall, while split systems separate the quiet evaporator inside the cellar from the condensing unit outside, and can be wall mounted, ceiling mounted or fully ducted so that almost nothing of the system is visible. At HVAC365 the line sits in our wine cellar cooling units category:
- Through-wall self-contained units: such as the 1,453 BTU/h model rated for cellars up to 300 cubic feet, for closets and small rooms.
- Ceiling mount ductless split systems: including a 2,514 BTU/h, 115-volt system for cellars where wall space is reserved for racking.
- Wall mount ductless split systems: such as the 2,492 BTU/h system for cellars up to 500 cubic feet.
- Fully ducted split systems: including a 3,849 BTU/h, 115-volt system, where both the evaporator and condensing unit sit outside the cellar for the quietest result.
For broader context, these sit within our commercial refrigeration range. Split and ducted systems require refrigerant line work and should be installed by a licensed refrigeration or HVAC contractor.
At a Glance
CellarCool by the numbers
- Manufacturer
- WhisperKOOL
- Location
- Stockton, California
- Made in
- USA
- Factory setpoint
- 55 °F (CX series)
- Product focus
- Self-contained and split wine cellar cooling
Questions
Frequently asked questions about CellarCool
Who makes CellarCool wine cellar cooling units?
CellarCool systems are manufactured by WhisperKOOL, a wine cellar cooling specialist based in Stockton, California, and CellarCool says its units are made, tested and certified in the USA.
What temperature does a CellarCool unit hold?
CellarCool CX units ship set to 55 °F, the temperature most collectors use for long-term wine storage, and the setpoint can be adjusted.
What is the difference between a self-contained and a split wine cellar cooling system?
A self-contained unit holds all of its parts in one box that mounts through the cellar wall. A split system puts the evaporator in or near the cellar and the condensing unit elsewhere, which is quieter and hides more of the equipment.
Can a CellarCool unit replace an older Breezaire or Wine Mate cooler?
CellarCool designed its through-wall CX series as a direct replacement for similarly sized Breezaire and Wine Mate units.
