Gaggenau’s expansion of the Vario Expressive series is a masterclass in blending technology with architectural elegance. Here’s a breakdown of what makes this launch so compelling:
🧊 Modular Luxury Meets Design Philosophy – Eleven new models span refrigerators, freezers, fridge-freezer combos, and wine cabinets. – Each unit is modular, allowing for standalone installation or seamless side-by-side integration. – This flexibility supports contemporary kitchen architecture, where appliances are part of the design narrative—not just functional add-ons.
🚪 Seamless Integration & Visual Harmony – Handleless doors and flush surfaces eliminate visual clutter. – Interiors are carefully structured, emphasizing symmetry and flow. – The appliances are designed to resemble high-end furniture, elevating them to architectural elements.
🎨 Material Palette & Interior Aesthetics – A restrained mix of dark brushed stainless steel, anthracite aluminum, and glass creates a calm, cohesive look. – The palette supports a harmonious atmosphere, ideal for minimalist or modern interiors.
🍷 Specialized Functionality – The inclusion of wine cabinets signals attention to lifestyle and luxury. – These units likely feature precision climate control and elegant display options, aligning with Gaggenau’s reputation for performance and refinement
At this year’s IFA, the Frio Group made a powerful statement with its portfolio of brands—La Sommelière, Avintage, Climadiff, Provintech, Avintage sur mesure, and Frigelux—showcasing a wave of innovations that push the boundaries of refrigeration and smart technology. Among the highlights: the debut of specialized cheese and vegetable cellars, and a major leap forward in AI integration within the Vinotag app, reinforcing Frio’s edge in a competitive global market.
🌍 A Global Vision Backed by Results
With decades of presence at IFA, Frio Group continues to evolve, blending tradition with cutting-edge innovation. Already a household name in France, the company is rapidly expanding its international footprint. “We’ve reached breakeven this year, with exports now accounting for 50% of our turnover,” shared President Didier Grychta. “We’re seeing strong momentum in the U.S., South America, and South Korea.”
The first half of 2025 saw a 15-point growth surge, driven by standout performances both domestically and abroad. In France, La Sommelière is gaining traction in the freestanding segment, while Climadiff and Avintage are making waves in the built-in category—especially with the Platinum range, which is resonating with kitchen designers. Frigelux’s new built-in refrigerator line is also proving to be a hit.
🧀 Avintage Expands Its Horizons
Located in Hall 6.1, Frio’s expansive booth spotlighted fresh innovations across all its brands, with Avintage leading the charge. Responding to market demand, the brand introduced new formats in its Platinum range, including 75 cm tall units and a 98 cm niche—perfectly aligned with standard oven and microwave dimensions.
But the real breakthrough? Avintage is venturing beyond wine. The brand now offers dedicated cellars for cheese and vegetables—two categories often underserved by traditional refrigeration. “Wine isn’t the only product that requires careful preservation,” noted Marketing Director Pierre-Jean Landelle. “Cheese and vegetables have unique needs that standard fridges simply don’t meet.”
President Grychta added, “The wine-cheese pairing was a natural evolution. Our cheese cellar mimics a maturing environment, keeping products at tasting temperature. The vegetable cellar, which doesn’t exist on the market today, offers a genuine solution for consumers.” These new cellars feature customizable temperature and humidity settings, with the vegetable model reaching over 90% humidity. Launch is slated for early 2026.
🤖 Vinotag Gets Smarter with AI
Frio Group is also transforming the digital experience with its Vinotag app. Originally designed to help users catalogue their wine collections, the app now features conversational AI for a more personalized experience.
“Say I’m having Indian food tonight—I can ask the app to recommend the best bottle from my cellar,” explained Landelle during a demo. “It can also tell me which bottle to drink first based on peak aging, or suggest additions to my collection based on what I already own.”
This AI-driven functionality turns Vinotag into a smart sommelier, offering tailored insights and recommendations that adapt to each user’s preferences and inventory. It’s a leap forward in digital wine management, making the app more intuitive and versatile than ever.
AEG wine cabinets ensure perfect preservation—stable temperature, high humidity, UV-free, vibration-free, and quality airflow. 🍾 The AEG Dual-Zone Pro offers two independent compartments for red, white, and sparkling wines in one sleek cabinet. Perfect Shelving optimizes spacing for all bottle types, from Champagne to Riesling. A refined solution for wine lovers.
TCL®, one of the world’s best-selling television brands and leading technology companies, announced the launch of its new wine and beverage coolers today. TCL’s Retro-Inspired Beverage Cooler can chill 94 cans and brightens up any home entertainment space with its eye-catching colorful cabinet. The high performing beverage cooler is sleek, with minimalist touch controls and low-profile handles. TCL’s single zone beverage cooler also features Tri-Color LED interior illumination in red, white, and blue to personalize lighting preferences and freestanding installation so the refreshment center can be displayed anywhere. Modern elements were not spared on the new tech-inspired design. Its unique flexible arc cabinet has a handle that’s hidden but can be accessed easily when reaching for drinks, while the shelf bars and leveling legs allow for added stability.
The TCL Display Case Wine Cooler allows hosts to chill 18 bottles of wine and display their favorites at the same time, with a lower shelf that tilts forward to show the labels. Contemporary and timeless, the stainless steel door and adjustable shelving is as functional as it is fun. Its freestanding design allows consumers to place the wine cooler anywhere in the home for maximum versatility.
Both new models integrate must-have features for beverage enthusiasts, such as double paned UV glass on doors, personalized interior tri-color LED lighting and temperature controls that meet the needs of any category of beverage– whether they choose champagne bubbles or fizzy soda pop.
The new models join TCL’s Dual Zone Wine and Beverage Cooler which launched last year and is now expanding its availability
Miele has unveiled its latest collection of freestanding wine units, which it says are ideal for entertaining as we move towards the festive period.
The new products incorporate Miele’s ActiveHumidity software, which regulates the humidity level inside the unit and can be adjusted by both the user interface and via the Miele app.
Other features include a mechanical door lock which requires a key, LED dimmable lighting, and improved energy efficiency. New technology is also incorporated to keep the units’ rear panel dry, which prevents the formation of condensation and
Asko has created a smart alternative to a traditional wine cellar, which the company has described as a “personal sommelier”.
Asko designed four different variations of the Wine Climate Cabinet – the freestanding Wine Climate Cabinet, the Wine Ageing Cabinet, the Asko Compact Undercounter iteration and the one-zone Undercounter Wine Climate Cabinet.The vibration-free cabinets are controlled by smart technology, which optimises the light conditions, UV light protection and humidity monitoring of the wine they store.
A varying number of bottles can be stored within the black-hued cabinets – the largest holds 261 bottles, while the smallest fits a snug 38 bottles.
Europe’s first range of self-ventilating wine coolers. With the ventilation built into the appliance, this frees your design from unsightly door gaps & an unpleasant plinth vent grille. Creating a cleaner, more seamless design. Available in an array of sizes to match other integrated appliances: 455mm, 595mm, 885mm, 1240mm and 1780mm high.
Liebherr Presents WPbli5231-20, the perfect solution for wine enthusiasts Liebherr-Hausgeräte, a renowned manufacturer of refrigeration and freezing solutions, is proud to unveil its latest addition to the GrandCru line: WPbli5231-20, a new wine storage cabinet These state-of-the-art appliances offer wine enthusiasts the opportunity to store and enjoy their favourite wines at home while ensuring optimal preservation conditions.
With a focus on stability, humidity control, UV protection, odour prevention, and shock resistance, Liebherr’s GrandCru wine cellars guarantee that every bottle retains its unique and authentic taste, just as it would in a traditional wine cellar.
Creating the Perfect Environment for Wine Liebherr’s new wine storage cabinets are designed to meet the most demanding requirements of wine storage, providing an environment that rivals that of a professional wine cellar. Regardless of the wine type, flawless storage is essential for its maturation and the evolution of its taste.
The cabinets are available in two versions: GrandCru and GrandCru Selection, both featuring an elegant black exterior that serves as a design highlight.
Exceptional Design and Functionality Internally, the wine storage cabinets boast a combination of height-adjustable wooden shelves and graphite-grey metal or stainless steel back panels, creating a visually appealing and high-quality environment while ensuring constant ventilation.
The GrandCru Selection models not only offer optimal storage conditions but also showcase precious bottles in an appropriate and visually pleasing manner.
Total Protection for Flawless Taste All GrandCru wine cabinets provide the ideal environment for storing noble wines, whether for short or long periods. The cabinets utilise low-vibration compressors and a cooling system that effectively dampens vibrations, ensuring quiet and stable storage conditions.
For models with glass doors, Liebherr employs special triple-coated anti-UV glass to shield the wines from harmful light rays. To maintain a consistent internal temperature, TempProtect Plus utilizes two sensors to continuously measure and control the temperature. The electronic control system guarantees precise temperature maintenance between +5°C and +20°C, which can be easily configured using the user-friendly touchscreen interface.addition to vibration, light, and temperature control, air humidity is a critical factor in wine storage. It ensures that the cork remains intact, preserving the wine’s seal and quality over time. Liebherr’s HumiditySelect feature allows users to set air humidity to two different levels, enabling the cabinets to dehumidify or humidify as needed.
The GrandCru Selection models are equipped with HumidityControl, providing even more precise humidity settings within a range of 50% to 80% RH, with continuous humidity display. The device will notify users if the humidity falls below 50% RH. Additionally, activated carbon filters in the wine storage cabinets require replacement every six months to ensure that undesirable odors do not affect the wine.
A Design That Stands Out Inside and Out Liebherr wine storage cabinets offer ample capacity to accommodate a growing wine collection. The interior is meticulously designed, allowing bottles to be stored neck by neck on the height-adjustable wooden shelves.
The GrandCru Selection models take wine storage one step closer to a professional wine cellar, with the full-door model featuring a recess of 75 cm and a height of 200 cm, capable of storing up to 324 bottles. The Selection models come equipped with a mechanical lock and SmartDeviceBox for convenient control via the Liebherr app, which can also be retrofitted to GrandCru models.
For an enhanced viewing experience, GrandCru units are equipped with an energy-saving LED lamp in the ceiling, providing efficient illumination and allowing for easy navigation through the collection. The GrandCru Selection models with glass doors feature a vertically positioned LED LightColumn, which can be adjusted to create an attractive display of the stored wines. Moreover, Liebherr wine cellars operate quietly, seamlessly blending into any interior setting.
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