Dellonda Baridi DH118 Review: a no-nonsense 57-bottle wine cooler that just does its job

I’ve been using the Dellonda Baridi 60cm Dual Zone Wine Cooler (model DH118) for a few weeks now, built into a standard 60cm cabinet space where an old oven used to sit. I’m not a sommelier, I just like having a decent stock of wine and beer at the right temperature without stuffing my normal fridge. So this is more of a “real life” take than some glossy design-mag review.

First thing: this unit is clearly designed to be a practical built-in appliance, not a showpiece. It’s 60cm wide, about 88.5cm high, and it basically slid into the old oven gap with minimal swearing. So if you’re thinking of replacing a built-in oven or an old chiller, the size is pretty standard and that already makes life easier. No weird custom carpentry needed, which I appreciated.

In daily use, the main thing I’ve noticed is that it’s quiet and consistent. At 38 dB, it’s not silent, but in a normal kitchen with a dishwasher and normal fridge around, you just forget it’s there. The compressor hums now and then, but nothing that bothered us during dinner or when sitting nearby. For a built-in unit, that’s pretty solid.

If you’re wondering whether it’s some luxury gadget or a sensible purchase: for me it sits in the “practical upgrade” category. It’s not cheap, but it’s also not pretending to be a piece of art. It chills wine, it fits standard cabinetry, it looks decent in black, and so far it’s been reliable. That’s basically the mindset you should have before buying it.

On value, the Dellonda DH118 sits in that middle ground: not bargain-basement, not premium designer brand. For a 60cm built-in dual zone wine cooler with around 57-bottle capacity, the price is fairly competitive. You’re paying for proper compressor cooling, dual zones, wood shelves, and a standard built-in size, without the extra markup of big “luxury” names. If you compare it to high-end brands, you usually pay a lot more for similar specs plus some design upgrades and branding.

What you don’t get here: smart features, fancy touch glass doors, advanced vibration control, or extended warranties. If you’re the kind of person who wants Wi-Fi control from your phone or a super deluxe look, this probably won’t scratch that itch. But if your priority is “store a decent amount of wine at the right temperature in a built-in space”, it offers good value. It feels more like a practical kitchen appliance than a lifestyle object, which is fine by me.

Compared to cheaper freestanding coolers, you’re paying extra for the built-in format, dual zones, and the nicer look. If you don’t care about integration and just want cold bottles in a garage or utility room, a cheaper freestanding unit might make more sense. But if you want something that lines up with your cabinets and replaces a built-in oven or cupboard, this strikes a fair balance between cost and features.

Overall, I’d say value for money is solid. It’s not a steal, but you’re getting a reliable, quiet, dual zone built-in unit that does its job without fuss. For someone fitting out a kitchen or upgrading from a smaller single-zone cooler, it makes sense. For super casual drinkers who open one bottle a week, it’s probably overkill. For anyone who keeps a small collection and actually pays attention to serving temperature, the price feels justified.

Design-wise, the DH118 is pretty low-key, which I liked. The black cabinet with the glass door and stainless steel handle looks modern enough to fit most kitchens without screaming “look at my wine collection”. The internal LED light is a nice touch – it’s not too bright, more of a soft glow that lets you see what’s inside without lighting up half the room at night.

The unit is meant to be built-in, and visually it works well for that. The 60cm width matches standard kitchen cabinets and built-in ovens, so once it’s in place, it lines up nicely with other units. The door is right-hinged and not reversible, which is worth noting. If your layout really needs a left-hinged door, this could be a problem. In my case, right-hinge worked fine, but I can see how that could be annoying in some kitchens.

Inside, the layout is straightforward: beech wood shelves, two temperature zones (upper and lower), and a simple control panel. No fancy color screens, just basic buttons and a temperature display. Personally, I prefer that – fewer things to break. The only slight downside is that the control panel doesn’t look premium; it looks like a standard appliance panel, which is okay for the price but nothing special.

In terms of overall look and feel, I’d say it’s clean and practical. It’s not going to be the showpiece of a designer kitchen, but it doesn’t look cheap either. Compared to some more expensive brands, you can see where they’ve saved money (no fancy trims, no touch glass door, no weird mood lighting), but for a normal home kitchen, it blends in nicely and feels appropriate for the price bracket.

The build quality is pretty solid for the price, but you can tell it’s a functional appliance, not a luxury item. The outer body is standard metal in black, the door is glass with a stainless steel handle, and the shelves are beech wood. The shelves are actually one of the nicer touches – they look and feel better than basic wire racks, and bottles sit more securely on them. They slide reasonably well, though they’re not on fancy telescopic runners or anything like that.

The unit is heavy – around 28.8 kg – which you really notice when trying to manoeuvre it into a cabinet space. If you’re installing it yourself, just be aware that getting it into position can be a bit of a workout, especially if you’re trying not to scratch your cabinets or floor. Once it’s in place though, that weight makes it feel stable and not flimsy. No rattling panels or anything like that when the compressor kicks in.

Fit and finish are good but not premium. The door closes with a decent seal, the handle feels sturdy, and the glass door doesn’t flex. Inside, the plastic parts are basic but fine. You can tell it’s made in China like most appliances in this category, but it doesn’t feel cheap in a worrying way. More like “sensible cost-cutting” rather than “corner-cutting that will break in a year”.

One minor thing: the hinge area seems to be a potential weak point if the courier throws the box around. One Amazon review mentioned a slightly bent hinge from transit, and I’m not surprised – it’s the most exposed part if the box takes a hit. Mine arrived fine, but if you get one delivered, I’d inspect that area before fully installing, just in case. Overall though, materials and build match the price bracket well, and I didn’t have any red flags after a few weeks of daily use.

I obviously haven’t had this cooler for years, so I can’t pretend to know how it will age long-term, but I can share what stands out after a few weeks and what I’ve seen from similar units. Out of the box, the construction feels sturdy enough that I’m not worried about it falling apart quickly. The door seal is firm, the hinges feel strong, and the handle doesn’t wobble even when the door is fully loaded with bottles.

The compressor cycling is normal and doesn’t sound strained, which is usually a good sign. Some cheap coolers have a rough, clunky compressor noise from day one – this one doesn’t. The automatic defrost also suggests less hassle with manual maintenance, and less chance of people messing things up by scraping ice or doing DIY fixes. The fact that it’s a straightforward compressor system (not thermoelectric) is also a plus for durability in my opinion, especially at this size.

The weak point for durability is more about shipping and handling than the product itself. One Amazon review mentioned a hinge being bent in transit and the brand sending a replacement quickly. That tells me two things: 1) the hinges can be damaged if the courier is rough, and 2) the support seems responsive, which is at least reassuring. I’d still recommend unboxing and checking the door alignment before fully sliding it into a built-in space, just to avoid headaches later.

The 1-year guarantee is okay but not generous. Some brands offer 2 or even 3 years on compressors. So if you’re very risk-averse, you might want to factor that in. Personally, I’d have liked at least a 2-year warranty for peace of mind. Still, based on the build and how it feels in use, I don’t get the sense it’s about to fall apart. I’d rate durability prospects as decent, but not “bulletproof”, with the usual caveat that proper installation and ventilation matter a lot for longevity.

In terms of cooling performance, the DH118 does what it’s supposed to do. The dual zones each go from 5°C to 22°C, and they actually hit and hold those temperatures pretty reliably. I set the top zone to around 7–8°C for whites and the bottom zone around 12–13°C for reds. After a few hours, the internal thermometer I used matched the display within about 1°C, which is acceptable for a home wine fridge.

The dual zone feature is genuinely useful if you drink both red and white regularly. In practice, I ended up using the top for ready-to-drink whites and sparkling, and the bottom for reds and some beers. Having separate control means you don’t have to compromise and keep everything at one middle-ground temperature. The controls are simple: up/down buttons for each zone, and you can see the set temperature clearly. No app or remote control, but honestly, once you set it, you barely touch it.

Noise-wise, at a rated 38 dB, it’s fairly quiet. You can hear the compressor come on if the room is silent, but it’s more of a low hum than anything annoying. In a normal kitchen or open-plan living space, it blends into background noise. If you’re extremely sensitive to sound and planning to put this in a tiny, very quiet room, you’ll still hear it, but for most people it’s going to be fine. Compared to a normal fridge, I’d say it’s slightly quieter or around the same level.

On bottle capacity, the advertised 57 bottles is the usual optimistic spec. If you only use standard Bordeaux bottles and stack them neatly, you can get close. Once you start adding chunky Champagne bottles, odd-shaped reds, or beer bottles, the real capacity drops. In real life, I’d say something like 40–45 bottles plus a few beers is more realistic if you don’t want to play Tetris every time. Still plenty of space for a home user, but don’t expect to easily fit 57 random-shaped bottles without some juggling.

On paper, the Dellonda Baridi DH118 is a 57-bottle, dual zone, built-in wine cooler with beech wood shelves and a black finish. In practice, that means you’re getting a 60cm-wide undercounter wine fridge that looks like a normal built-in appliance, not one of those skinny 30cm wine columns. Dimensions are 60 x 56.3 x 88.5 cm (W x D x H), so it’s clearly aimed at the “replace a built-in oven or undercounter cabinet” crowd.

The headline features are pretty simple: dual temperature zones (each between 5–22°C), compressor cooling, automatic defrost, internal LED lighting, and a right-hinged glass door with a stainless steel handle. It’s rated at 148 kWh/year, which is reasonable for a compressor-based wine cooler of this size. The brand says it fits up to 57 bottles, but like every wine fridge spec, that’s based on standard Bordeaux bottles packed quite tightly.

Out of the box, it’s basically: the fridge, the beech wood shelves already in place, power cable, and basic instructions. No smart features, no app, no Wi-Fi, no pointless gimmicks. It’s corded electric, standard 230V. The listing info is a bit confusing about the plug ("no plug" in one line, reviews say it comes with a 13A plug); mine had a standard UK plug on it, so I just plugged it in and it worked. If you’re outside the UK, double-check that detail.

If you’re expecting a lot of accessories or customization, there isn’t much. You get the shelves and that’s about it. But honestly, for a built-in wine cooler, that’s fine. What matters is that it cools properly, doesn’t sound like a tractor, and fits into the kitchen without drama. On that front, the DH118 keeps things straightforward and functional, which I actually prefer.

Day to day, the effectiveness of this cooler comes down to three things: how stable the temperature is, how easy it is to access bottles, and whether it actually improves how you store and drink wine. On all three, it does a good, practical job without being perfect. Once the zones are set, the temperature doesn’t swing wildly. If you load it up with a lot of room-temperature bottles at once, it does take a while to pull everything down to the target, but that’s normal for this type of appliance.

Access-wise, the beech wood shelves are decent, but not full-extension on rails. You have to pull them out carefully if you want bottles at the back, especially in the lower zone. It’s not annoying enough to be a dealbreaker, but if you’re constantly rearranging bottles, you’ll feel it. For me, once I had a rough system (top: ready-to-drink whites / bottom: reds + spare whites), I didn’t move things around that much, so it became a non-issue.

In terms of actual impact on wine drinking, it’s quite simple: we stopped stuffing wine into random fridge shelves or leaving reds in too-warm cupboards. Whites are now at a consistent chilled temperature, reds are not too cold or too warm, and we don’t have to think about it. That’s the main benefit. It doesn’t magically make wine taste better, but it removes the annoying part of planning ahead and pre-chilling bottles in the main fridge.

One more practical point: the automatic defrost is invisible in daily use. I never saw frost buildup or water pooling anywhere. It just quietly does its thing. Power consumption-wise, I haven’t seen a massive jump on the electricity bill, which matches the 148 kWh/year spec – it’s not ultra-efficient, but it’s reasonable for a compressor wine cooler this size. Overall, I’d say it gets the job done reliably, with minor quirks that are pretty standard for this category.