Luxury Living for Well-Bred Wine

We were fortunate to hear about a guy in St. Louis, Marc Lazar, as we awaited the birth last summer of HinsdaleCellars.com. A member of our Advisory Board advised us (that’s what they’re supposed to do, no?) that Lazar’s Cellar Advisors, specializing in collection management, was attracting positive attention from high-end consumers.

Lazar (at left) has written eloquently under our Vintelligence banner ever since, and he also opened our eyes to the landmark debut of CellarSensor technology, which we reported on a few weeks ago as we introduced our site’s readers to innovator Chris Womack.

This week, there is more news from Cellar Advisors to share. Cellar – Private Wine Storage, the sister company to Cellar Advisors, recently opened a new facility in St. Louis designed to house private collections in an environment specifically tailored to the long-term care of fine wines.

“For several years, we have been getting requests from clients for a secure and well-appointed wine storage facility,” Lazar said.  “With our facility, we provide a superior storage solution that can accommodate collections of almost any size.” 

The Cellar Storage facility features approximately 4,000 square feet of entirely below-grade storage cellars.  An additional 4,000 square-feet of main floor area provides more storage, administrative facilities, a kitchen and comfortable tasting room with seating for up to 20 people. Lazar points out that he is geographically close to a number of population centers where connoisseurs dwell, including Chicago. From the Chicago area, for example, collectors can ship wine in just one day using the highly economical UPS Ground option. 

Design features unique to Cellar Storage include: Custom-designed redundant commercial refrigeration equipment and special insulation systems calibrated to keep the facility at 55 degrees at all times; zoned humidity sensors and equipment to keep humidity at an optimal 60 to 75 percent to keep corks moist but prevent mildew and mold; vibration mitigation measures, including custom stair construction and isolated, insulated elevator design; backup generator and redundant mechanical systems designed to maintain optimal cellar conditions even in the event of power outages; wireless internet available throughout the building so clients may work on inventory, tasting notes or wine research from lockers or tasting room; and, layered security doors and redundant alarm sensors.

Lazar’s will be among the first facilities in the country to offer CellarTracker-based inventory management, accessible anywhere in the world through a web interface, and the first facility in the country to employ CellarSensor for real-time environmental monitoring and temperature history logging, including on the Cellar Storage website.

We encourage collectors of any level to visit www.cellarstorage.com.  Or call Mark at 314-667-5328. He might be tough to track down on Thursday, however. That’s his grand opening day for the new facility.