space, to re-createaFrenchwineshop in theirhome,
winecellars—aprerequisite inmost luxury residences
andagrowing trendamongsmaller-homebuildersas
well—offer theperfect opportunity to indulge ina lit-
tledesignwhimsy.ATuscan-inspiredcellarunder the
stairsor inacloset?Whynot?ANapaValleywinebis-
tro re-created in thebasement? If youcandream it, it
canbedone.Builderscaution,however, thatnomatter
how fertileyour imagination, acellar is intentionally
built for storingwines thatwill improveandevolve
withage, not fordiningandentertaining.
“It’sdone inmoviesandbooks, but it’snot realis-
tic,”explainsDennisde laMata, president ofChicago-
basedMasterCellars,whichspecializes in residential
wine-cellar construction. Because thesespacesarede-
signed tokeepbottlesat aconstant temperature, gen-
erallyaround55degrees, “themoment youhavesixor
eight people in there toeat, you’re introducingbody
heat that’snot good for thewine.Also, it’sdesigned to
becool in there, [whichmeans that] your food (and
you) get coldprettyquickly,”hesays.
Thankfully, theoptions forproperlystoringyour
wine—either thecollectiblekindor thatwhichyou
plan todrink right away—areasvariednowadaysas
thenumberof varietalsavailableon themarket.While
family-ownedcompaniessuchasMasterCellars; The
WineOutfitters inPortland,Oregon; andCincinnati-
basedWineCellar Innovationsspecialize increating
one-of-a-kind, room-sizecellarsbuiltwithproper cool-
ingandventilation tostore thousandsof bottles for
years, topappliancebrands likeViking,GEMonogram,
Sub-Zero, LeCache,CasoGermany,Avanti,Vino-
theque,Vinotemp International, andothersofferall
sortsofwinestorageandcoolingunits, fromsingle-
bottlechillersandstainlesssteel drawers tocustom
woodcabinetryof everyshapeandsize.
Somecompanies, suchasSub-Zero, evendifferenti-
atebetweenwinecoolingandwinestorage; cooling
unitsaredesignedmerely tochill bottles,whilewine-
storageunitsarebuilt todefendagainst the fourhaz-
ards—heat, humidity, light, andvibration— that can
adversely impact thewine. Sub-Zero’swine-storage
unitsalso incorporatesmart technology, including
built-indevicesprogrammed toset off yourhome’sse-
curitysystem if there isadrasticchange incooling
temperature.Another company, California-basedVi-
notemp International, equipsmanyof itsstoragedevices
with temperaturealarms that ringyour cell phone
duringpower surgessoyoucan takeproper steps to
safeguardvaluablevintages. Thesamesupplieralso
offersanewbiometric lock that isfingerprint-activated
tokeepyourwineout of the reachof children.
➤
FALL 2010
celebratedliving.com
82
HOME
Stellar Cellars
Wine Cellar Innovations, (800) 229-9813, winecellarinnovations.com
Master Cellars, (312) 733-1818, mastercellarsbuilders.com
