Sale-boosting Commercial Wine Cellars For Hospitality Businesses

Boosting Sales of Hospitality Businesses with Commercial Wine Cellars is EFFECTIVE!

Impressive and elegant custom wine cellar displays can be a great source of financial revenue for hotels and restaurants. Therefore, commercial wine cellars are in demand in the hospitality industry.

This article delves into the subject and presents examples of how commercial custom wine cellars have helped business owners attract more customers.  It also offers insights into how wine cellar designers, installers, and contractors can win big-ticket commercial business.

Expert Steve Pantalemon shares his experience and knowledge in building and winning commercial wine cellars as a guest author.

Tackling the Advantages of Owning a Commercial Wine Cellar

Adding a commercial wine cellar to a restaurant or hotel can elevate the display and presentation of wine, enhancing the overall experience for customers. With an aesthetically pleasing design that matches the room, patrons can enjoy their food and drink while perceiving the establishment as an expert in wine. This can increase patronage and the ability to sell higher-quality wines, resulting in more profit per customer.

When discussing ways to boost average profit per customer with a hospitality business owner, emphasizing the benefits of commercial wine cellars can capture their attention and potentially win their business.

For example, one of our clients, The Muse Hotel in New York, they were doing poorly in the bar and restaurant arena. They had a lot of trouble bringing people to the bar, and many staying at the hotel left to eat elsewhere. They were even not having drinks at the bar. Instead, they were finding other, more exciting places to go.

IronWine Cellars worked with The Muse Hotel to enhance the bar and restaurant business. Our team submitted a design that significantly improved the restaurant’s layout, making it one of the most visited places in New York to enjoy drinks at the wine bar.

This led to increased restaurant visibility among the hotel guests and a surge in wine and food sales. As a result, the restaurant now generates millions of dollars solely from the modern wine cellars we created.

The Muse Hotel in New York City:

Where to Begin on a Commercial Wine Cellar Plan

If you’re planning to undertake an extensive wine cellar project, it’s advisable to seek the services of an architect or a professional design firm to help you get started. Examples of large projects could be businesses such as The Muse Hotel or the Ritz-Carlton.

On the other hand, if you’re planning a small or typical restaurant, you may only need the expertise of professional wine cellar builders. Most of them are associated with California’s Custom Wine Cellar team to provide free design services, including detailed CAD drawings.

Once the designers or wine cellar specialists are on board, you’ll typically have an initial conversation that serves as a “discovery call.” During this interaction, you’ll identify the scope and limitations of the project. Here are some essential points that could influence the final project plan:

• identifying the budget,
• setting a time frame,
• understanding the union and non-union environment of workers,
• what kind of wine cellar theme are you looking for? (retro, modern, contemporary)

Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Laguna Niguel in Dana Point, California:

The success of your project largely depends on the budget you allocate to it. For instance, the cost of building commercial wine racks varies depending on several factors. Large establishments like Deer Valley Resort could cost around $200,000 to $500,000 for other significant hotels. Smaller restaurants could spend up to $50,000, depending on the availability of the space.

On the other hand, residential wine cellars are less expensive unless you want a large showroom. The materials used to build the wine racks, such as glass, wood, or brick, also significantly impact the project’s overall cost.

A design is vital to create a theme for a custom wine cellar. This can be proposed by the business itself or by designers/specialists. The two parties combine their ideas and produce a final design turned into a 3D drawing or CAD render. The CAD render showcases the area’s layout and presents the design professionally, including furniture placement and color scheme.

Four Seasons Hotel in New York City:

The Insights of Working in a Big Hospitality Industry

The experts at Custom Wine Cellar have a proven track record of working with renowned hotels such as A Voce and Muse Hotel in New York and Fairmont Hotel in Chicago. These hotels have become popular evening hangouts due to their serene ambiance, with the custom wine cellars being a significant attraction.

Earlier, guests preferred to stay in their rooms as the hotel lacked a suitable place for evening meals and drinks. They would often opt to visit nearby restaurants and bars instead. However, creating an appealing atmosphere in the hotel’s bar/restaurant is easier said than done.

Collaborating with significant hotels to create commercial custom wine cellars requires constant communication between the designers and business owners. The discussions involve numerous factors such as materials, glaziers, HVAC systems for temperature and humidity control, and much more.

For A Voce, the custom wine cellar was a glass and metal wine racks in a horizontal style. This type of racking is suitable should you want the wine to age. Further, the horizontal position of the wine bottles allows the corks to remain moist, which prevents unwanted air contact.

A subtle touch of backlighting was added to enhance the overall appearance of the wine cellar. This makes the bottles appear more exquisite and adds elegance to the space. Microfluid lights are the preferred choice for backlighting to achieve the desired silhouette effect. That said, there are various ways to illuminate a wine cellar, including the following:

• Low-heat light sources – since too much heat can affect the quality of the wine, low-heat light bulbs like LEDs are used.
• Ceiling lights – this type of lighting works best with floor-to-ceiling shelves since it allows the angles of wine racks to shine.
• LED display lights – LED lights allow for flexibility as they provide dimmable display lighting. Unlike ceiling lights, these work well with freestanding racks or shelves.
• Accent lights – if you wish to showcase a specific set of wine bottles, they are the way to go since they can come in light strips taped along shelves.
• Chandeliers or hanging lights – regardless of the look you are going for, hanging lights set the mood automatically for extensive wine cellars.

When it comes to building a custom wine cellar, there are various design options available. However, the current trend is leaning towards contemporary design with a modern and sophisticated look. The use of glass is dominant in this style, but we also observe a combination of metal and wood materials.

On the other hand, the Laguna Beach style has a classic impression with prominent wood materials complemented by glass elements. This design creates a relaxing ambiance, especially when paired with yellow wine cellar lighting.

What are the Challenges Of Designing Hospitality Wine Cellars?

Designing a custom wine cellar for commercial purposes may not always be as seamless as imagined. Various challenges can arise, such as inaccurate measurements and discrepancies in colors.

Additionally, shipping and receiving materials can pose scheduling difficulties, especially when no one can receive them, which may result in delays. However, with proper attention to detail and planning, as Custom Wine Cellar experts demonstrated, these issues can be minimized if not eliminated.

One of the most common problems in designing wine cellars is condensation, which occurs when warm air encounters more excellent surfaces, which can lead to fogging. While climate control systems are typically implemented to prevent such issues, they may still occur even with the correct temperature and humidity control.

Condensation can occur inside and outside wine cellars, even when equipped with cooling units. When moisture issues arise, it could indicate a leak in the door seals.

However, if condensation is only happening inside the wine cellar, it may suggest an issue with the wine cellar refrigeration system, as it usually occurs when there is a significant temperature fluctuation. In such cases, it is advisable to seek the services of wine cellar cooling experts.

A Voce Restaurant in New York City:

As a wine cellar builder, what is essential to remember when winning or losing projects or deals?

The Custom Wine Cellar team has some valuable tips for wine cellar builders to win projects as a wine cellar company. To succeed in building a wine cellar, you must know about the right size, materials that can enhance the environment and the cellar itself, and the project’s limitations. When you are confident in your craft, it gets demonstrated to the client, making it more likely for you to win the project.

To win a client, you must keep the project under the budget. Every client has a fixed budget for their project, and you must not exceed the allocation. Instead, it would be best to communicate with the client about what can be done with the available funds.

Your reputation can make a big difference when working with hotel and restaurant owners. Steve, who works at Custom Wine Cellar in California, was recently asked by a client what they should look for in a wine cellar company. He explained that having experience building wine cellars for hotels and restaurants and having a portfolio of designs to showcase your work is essential.

This way, potential clients can get a sense of what your company is capable of and what you’ve accomplished in the past.

Boost Your Business By Having Commercial Wine Cellars With The Help Of Our Custom Wine Cellars Experts!

Our team at Custom Wine Cellar has extensive experience and expertise in creating remarkable wine cellars that preserve your prized wine collection and add a touch of elegance to your hospitality business. We take immense pride in delivering exceptional craftsmanship; customer satisfaction is our top priority.

We provide you with unique and innovative ideas like the featured commercial wine cellars we recently designed for our business clients in California!

We aim to create a commercial custom wine cellar that exudes luxury and elegance while preserving and showcasing the finest selection of wines. Trust our experts at Custom Wine Cellar! Our wine cellar designers and professionals can craft a cellar to impress wine enthusiasts and boost wine sales.

Check out our work in a fine restaurant in California, and let us help you get started today. Contact us at (949) 771-2712 to talk to one of our experts!