Who doesn’t enjoy a fine bottle of wine? Our one client definitely enjoys having a fine bottle of wine or better yet 1,395 bottles. Ok, ok, he may not have that many bottles quite yet, but now that we have completed his new wine cellar (which can accommodate 1,395 bottles) I am sure his collection will eventually reach that number. We didn’t want to merely store his wine collection, but to have it all on display.
We designed a clean, sleek room with niches in the walls to truly emphasize the wine and not the space itself. Transparency was an important design concept in this wine cellar. Insulated glass double doors with narrow stiles provide entry into the room, while allowing you to see the entire collection at once. One entire wall, 11 + feet, is floor to ceiling insulated glass that really allows you to see how vast the entire collection is. Behind the glass are several free standing wine racks, with openings between every third rack, referencing the niches on the opposing wall. Peering through the glass wall, freestanding racks, and the strategic openings provide a very nice layered appearance, while maximizing the space.
Once again we wanted to put the emphasis on the wine itself, so we decided to utilize Vintage View’s Platinum Series wine racks. They are very minimal, streamlined metal racks that allow you to maximize your space, while storing the bottles on their side with the label facing you. No more need to pull out every bottle in search of the one you want as you typically would with a bulky, rustic looking, wood rack design. LED lights are mounted above all the racks to futher emphasize the ever important wine below. The LEDs also do not produce heat, like most lights would, which could damage the wine.
Behind the walls is spray foam insulation which will keep the room at a constant temperature, as well as act as a vapor barrier. The room also has its very own ducted cooling unit and humidifier. Typically these units are within the wine cellar themselves, which can be loud and quite frankly an eyesore. We strategically placed our cooling and humidifying unit in an adjoining storage closet with the air ducted into the wine cellar. The humidifier used can fill the room with up to 80% humidity to ensure the corks never dry out, spoiling your wine (most units can only go as high as 60%, when its recommended wine is stored at 55 to 75%).
This is truly a wine cellar that a wine connoisseur could feel safe storing and displaying his collection in. It is not just aesthetically beautiful, but also well constructed and highly efficient. Please enjoy a few photos of the completed project below. Additional photos, as well as renderings and progress photos will be added to the photo album on the right hand side in the upcoming days.
