Antarctic Star 1.7 cu.ft Wine Cooler Review: compact drink fridge that’s good if you know its limits

I’ve been using this Antarctic Star 1.7 cu.ft wine and beverage cooler mainly as a drink fridge, not as some fancy wine cellar. It’s sitting in a spare room off the kitchen, loaded with cans and a few bottles, which I think is how most people will actually use it. I didn’t baby it: I filled it close to capacity, opened it often, and paid attention to noise, temperature, and how annoying the controls are in daily life.

The first thing I noticed: it cools reasonably fast and gets drinks cold enough for normal use, but it’s not a powerhouse. This is more like a decent mini-fridge with a glass door than a serious wine storage setup. If you expect ice-cold bar-level beer in an hour from room temperature, you’ll be a bit disappointed. If you pre-chill drinks in your main fridge and store them here, it’s totally fine.

Noise-wise, it’s not silent. The brand talks about "quiet operation", but you can definitely hear the compressor when it kicks in. It’s more of a soft whooshing or breathing sound, like one of the Amazon reviewers described. In a closed office or bedroom, you’ll notice it; in a kitchen or den, it blends in with other house sounds unless the room is very quiet.

So overall, my starting impression is: this cooler is pretty solid for the price if you keep it indoors in a temperature-controlled room and you’re realistic about what a small compressor fridge can do. It’s not perfect, and there are a couple of design quirks and limitations, but it gets the basic job done for cans and a small wine stash.

In terms of value, I’d place this Antarctic Star cooler in the “good but not outstanding” category. It often sits in the lower to mid price range for small wine/beverage coolers, and for that money you get: digital temp control, a glass door, blue LED lighting, and enough space for a decent stock of drinks. If you compare it to cheap no-name mini-fridges with a simple dial, this feels like a small step up in features without a huge price jump.

Where the value gets a bit fuzzy is around the capacity claims and performance limits. The "16 bottles / 68 cans" spec is technically possible under ideal stacking conditions, but in real-life use with mixed sizes, you’re usually below that. Also, the 40°F minimum temp and the fact that it struggles in hot, uninsulated spaces mean it’s not as flexible as some people might hope. If you buy it expecting a full-on garage fridge or a bar-level beer chiller, you’ll think it’s overpriced. If you buy it as a small indoor drink fridge for a bedroom, office, or living area, it feels much more reasonable.

The strong point for value is actually the customer service. Multiple reviews mention that when something went wrong (scratch on arrival, panel failure), support was quick and fairly generous with replacements. That doesn’t fix every problem, but it does mean your money isn’t just gone if your unit is a dud. At this price, that kind of backup is worth something.

So, in practice, I’d say: good value for a compact indoor beverage cooler, especially if you catch it on sale. It’s not the cheapest option, and it’s not the toughest, but for someone who wants a small, decent-looking drink fridge that keeps cans and a few bottles cold in a normal room, it’s a fair deal. If you need heavy-duty performance or garage use, spend more on a stronger model with better insulation and a solid door.

Design-wise, this cooler looks pretty clean for the price. Mine is the black version, and it’s all black around the frame with a tinted glass door and a simple handle. It doesn’t scream “cheap dorm fridge,” but you can tell it’s not a high-end built-in either. The blue LED light inside is actually useful; it’s not just for show. At night, you can easily see what’s inside without lighting up the whole room, and it gives the drinks a bit of a bar vibe, if you’re into that. You can turn the light on or off with the button, which I appreciated.

The double-pane tempered glass door is one of the better parts of the design. It feels solid when you open and close it, and the seal seems decent. The door doesn’t slam; it has a normal mini-fridge feel. One Amazon reviewer mentioned reversing the door, and that’s possible, but the instructions don’t really walk you through it. You have to carefully pry off the plastic hinge cover, which feels a bit fragile. If you’re not handy, you might be nervous doing this, but it’s doable with patience.

Now for the noise. The brand calls it “quiet,” and technically it’s not loud like an old fridge, but it’s not whisper-quiet either. The sound is a soft whooshing / breathing when the compressor runs. In my case, in a side room, it’s totally acceptable. But I tested it for a couple of days in my open kitchen/living area, and during quiet scenes on TV, I could hear it in the background. Not roaring, just present enough to be slightly annoying if you’re sensitive to noise. So if you plan to put this in a bedroom, home office, or a very quiet living room, be aware that you’ll hear it cycling.

Overall, I’d say the design is decent but not fancy: looks good enough, the blue light is handy, the glass door is practical, and the form factor works well for tight spaces. The main drawback on the design side is the noise level relative to what the marketing suggests and the slightly clumsy door/hinge and control panel ergonomics.

The Antarctic Star cooler is clearly built to hit a price point, and you can feel that in the materials, but it’s not falling apart either. The body is standard painted metal with a plastic interior. The inside doesn’t feel premium, but the surfaces wipe clean easily, which in practice matters more than looks. The shelves are thin metal wire racks. They’re adjustable and do their job, but if you load them fully with cans, there’s a bit of flex. Not enough to bend permanently in my case, just enough that you can tell they’re not heavy-duty.

The door is the best-feeling part. The double-pane tempered glass has some weight to it, and the seal around the edge seems consistent. When you close the door, you get a proper seal; it doesn’t feel wobbly or misaligned. The tint on the glass helps with insulation and also hides some of the clutter inside, which is nice if you’re not organizing your cans by color. The door handle and trim are plastic, but they don’t feel like they’re going to snap off with normal use.

The control panel and buttons are where the budget feel really shows. The touch area doesn’t always respond right away, and you often have to press with a bit of force or hold for a second longer than you’d expect. That’s not a materials issue only, but it adds to the impression of a cheap interface. Also, one reviewer had an electronic panel failure after a few months, which suggests the electronics are not top-tier. To their credit, the brand’s customer service replaced their unit, but it still shows that this is not built like a commercial appliance.

Overall, I’d describe the materials as basic but serviceable. You’re not getting thick insulation, fancy shelving, or a rock-solid metal interior. But for a small home drink fridge at this price range, it feels acceptable. If you’re gentle with it and don’t treat it like a garage workbench, it should hold up reasonably well.

Durability on a unit like this is always a bit of a gamble, and the Amazon reviews reflect that. On one hand, you have plenty of people saying it’s been running fine for months, keeps drinks cold, and they’re happy. On the other hand, there are some reports of issues like electronic panel failures and complaints about capacity not matching the description. In my time with it, I haven’t had a failure yet, but I can see where problems might pop up: the touch panel feels like the weak link, and the compressor runs a lot harder in warm rooms, which over time is not great for longevity.

One verified buyer mentioned that their electronic panel died a few months after purchase, but the company responded in under 30 minutes (on a Saturday) and ended up sending a whole new refrigerator because they didn’t have the spare part. That’s actually a strong point for customer service, even if it doesn’t magically make the hardware more durable. Another user had a unit arrive with a scratch on the front plastic; again, customer service apparently sorted it out quickly. So, if something goes wrong early on, support seems to be on the ball, which matters a lot at this budget level.

As for long-term durability, you have to be realistic. This is a budget freestanding cooler with a glass door. It’s not meant for harsh environments (uninsulated garages, big temperature swings, constant door opening in a busy bar). The manual is pretty clear that it should be used in a normal indoor room. If you respect that and don’t overload it or slam the door constantly, it should last a reasonable amount of time. If you push it outside those conditions, it will probably struggle and maybe fail sooner.

So durability verdict: acceptable for light to moderate home use, questionable if you’re planning to abuse it or put it somewhere very hot or very cold. The safety net here is that the brand’s support, based on multiple reviews, seems helpful and willing to fix issues, which offsets some of the risk but doesn’t fully erase it.

This is where the Antarctic Star cooler has clear strengths and clear limits. Inside a normal, climate-controlled room (around 70–75°F), it cools drinks reliably down to its minimum setting of 40°F according to the display. I checked with a simple fridge thermometer placed in the middle shelf, and I was usually seeing between 40–43°F when it had been closed for a while. For cans of soda, sparkling water, or casual beer, that’s cold enough. For wine, especially reds, you’ll probably set it higher anyway.

However, once you move it into tougher environments, things change fast. One user review summed it up well: in an uninsulated garage that gets hot in summer, the fridge struggled and often sat around 50°F in the afternoon. I had a similar experience when I temporarily placed it in a warmer hallway that hits around 80°F in the afternoon. The compressor runs more often, the noise is constant, and the interior temp creeps up a few degrees. The manual even says it’s not meant for uninsulated or very cold/hot spaces, and that’s accurate. If you want a garage fridge for serious summer heat, this is not the right model.

Another thing: this cooler is manual defrost. That’s pretty standard at this price, but it means you’ll see some condensation and maybe a bit of frost around the back wall over time. Not a big deal, but you should plan to empty it and defrost occasionally if you’re picky about cleanliness and efficiency. The cooling system uses R600a refrigerant, which is common now and generally efficient, but the overall performance is still limited by the small compressor and the glass door, which loses more cold than a solid door.

In daily use, if you load it with room-temperature drinks, it takes a while to pull everything down to 40°F. It’s better to pre-chill drinks in your main fridge if you want them cold quickly, then use this cooler as a storage and serving unit. So in short: performance is decent for indoor use, weak in garages or very hot rooms, and just okay in terms of cooling speed. For the price, I’d call it "good enough" but not impressive.

On paper, this thing is sold as a 16-bottle or 68-can wine and beverage cooler, 1.7 cu.ft, freestanding, with digital temp control and blue LED light. In reality, the capacity numbers are optimistic, like most of these small fridges. You can hit those numbers only if you stack everything in a very specific way and mostly use slim cans or standard Bordeaux-style wine bottles. Any bulky craft beer cans, odd-shaped bottles, or big 750 ml bottles will cut into that quickly.

The unit itself is pretty compact: roughly 16.34" D x 16.93" W x 22.24" H. So it fits nicely under a counter or on a sturdy table, and it doesn’t dominate the room. It comes with 2 adjustable shelves and a front glass door that’s tinted. The shelves are simple metal racks; they slide out but don’t expect premium rails. They’re fine, but when you load them heavily with cans, they flex a little. Nothing dramatic, but you notice it if you’re picky.

As for controls, you get a digital panel on the inside edge with temperature adjustment and a light button. The temperature range is 40°F–61°F. That’s okay for wine and drink storage, but keep in mind: 40°F is the lowest it goes, so you won’t get that super icy beer feeling some people want. Also, several users (and I agree) mention the touch buttons are not very responsive. There’s a lock function that kicks in automatically, and to unlock it you have to hold the unlock and light buttons together for a few seconds with firm pressure. Once you know the trick, it’s fine, but the manual doesn’t explain it clearly.

In practical terms, I’d describe the overall package like this: small footprint, decent flexibility inside, slightly exaggerated capacity claims, and fussy controls. It’s usable, but you’ll probably spend the first 10–15 minutes fiddling with shelves and buttons to make it work the way you like.