How to Make a Wine Cellar the Star Attraction in Your Home
For many oenophile homeowners, a wine cellar is high on the list of amenities — and the higher the income, the more desirable a cellar is. In the National Association of Home Builders’ annual report, “What Home Buyers Really Want,” 54% of new-home buyers earning $150,000+ annually said it was a desired amenity.
Wine storage options are numerous — from DIY racks and buying a standalone “wine cave,” to hiring professionals for a sophisticated buildout. And equally various are the options for how your cellar looks.
“There are different reasons people want a cellar,” says Bud Handel, founder of East End Wine Cellars, a custom cellar designer in Jamesport. “Serious collectors will have particular interests and specifications for wines they have or will have, but today, most want a cellar for entertainment and the convenience of having wine there for their guests. [They’re] making it a part of their entertainment plans as much as a swimming pool.” Handel says many $3 to $5 million East End houses will have wine storage.
For clients wanting a classic ground-level cellar, Handel says “we position it so that it’s striking — maybe with an anteroom tasting area, where you can pick out a wine, uncork it, let it breathe and have an experience.” Upstairs, he says it’s common to convert an unused closet or a sauna into storage, but when designed with LED lighting and stylish materials, they become part of the living space.
Curt Dahl, co-founder of Joseph & Curtis Custom Wine Cellars, agrees, saying that tucked-away cellar “is now a niche in the dining room or adjacent to the kitchen and part of the entertainment space.” He and his partner Joseph Kline have built cellars in the tri-state region for 18 years, with 30 percent of their business on the East End.
“Back in the day we did a lot of Tuscan styles — mahogany and brick — but now about 90 percent of what we do is modern,” Dahl said. Design depends on current and future needs. “I bring up all the possible scenarios,” he said. “Is this a design-centric or a capacity-driven project? Are you here two months of the year? [Do] you buy and hold or consume regularly?”
Aesthetics and utility are just the first of many considerations to building a cellar says Marshall Tilden III, Wine Enthusiast’s chief revenue and education officer, who runs the wine storage division. From Westchester County, the company has a team of consultants who can work directly with homeowners or their contractors.
Plan on a two-month preparation and construction window for a modest cellar, Tilden says, which includes installing moisture-wicking infrastructure — vapor barriers, sheet rock and insulation, cooling, rack systems and LED lighting. “Proper room construction is super important,” he said. “The worst thing that that can happen is putting in a cooling unit and it’s keeping the right humidity, but if it’s not built out properly you get moisture in the wall, it starts deteriorating then you have to remove and rebuild everything the right way.”
And, Tilden advises, don’t skimp on the cooling. “If you have the budget for the better cooling units, buy them, because smaller, less expensive units you’ll need to replace every five or so years.”
Tilden says while the cellar should be in concert with the home’s style, in the end, “the wine doesn’t really care about design, as long as it’s in a temperature-controlled place.”
