Custom Cellar and Rack Design Portfolio

Palace Pier

This wine wall was designed to serve as a backdrop to a private dining room with dramatic views of Lake Ontario. The wine collection was developed over thirty years with wine cellar cabinets added as storage capacity was needed. Each cabinet is controlled by a dedicated climate control system and is adjusted to suit the specific environmental needs of the wine dedicated for its respective cellar.

Doors were specially constructed to perform in chilled and humidified environments, with materials and detailing used to match existing cabinetry in the existing dining room. A custom bar was made of Canadian granite to anchor the support station serving the dining room.

CN Tower

The showcase wine cellar for 360 degrees, the world-renowned revolving restaurant towering 1,100 feet above cosmopolitan Toronto, demanded a design that was as unique as the restaurant's breathtaking view.

The owners envisioned an extraordinary wine cellar that could become a Grand Award Winner - a distinction awarded annually by The Wine Spectator magazine to fine restaurants around the world. Plans called for a custom-designed redwood cellar that could comfortably store their planned collection of 8,000 bottles of fine wine.

Our design team used a combination of individual racking, bin racking, and case storage to offer flexible storage systems. Tilt display modules along the cellar windows were added to display bottle labels toward patrons in the adjacent dining room. Provisions were also made for a tasting area and storage of fine stemware and accessories provided to the restaurant by The Wine Establishment. The cellar space is divided from the dining area by a wall of glass, custom designed and detailed in cherry trim, and complemented by a display cabinet describing the vintages stored within the cellar.

Royal Bank Executive Dining Room Wine Cellar

This modest sized wine cellar was constructed to exclusively serve the corporate dining room at the Royal Bank of Canada Headquarters. The wine cellar holds portions of the bank directors personal collection, as well as a variety of vintages purchased by the restaurant, giving the space an intimate and familiar ambience for those who see and use it regularly.

A wall in the dining room is decorated with remnants of wood wine cases serving as a quasi-trophy display for the fine wines that have been shared. This cellar is a reflection of the evolving character of wine collectors that use it, and the lack of formality demonstrates the hands-on nature of the space.

Bayview Village LCBO

The Wine Establishment was asked to consult on this exquisite retail space for the flagship store for the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. All of the wine display millwork was constructed and stained and lacquered Canadian Maple. Custom climate control wine cellar cabinets were also constructed with redwood interiors, and detailed to integrate seamlessly with the surrounding display systems.

Special care was taken to address feature display lighting, ambient cabinet lighting, noiseless climate control systems, and ergonomic considerations such as sight lines and barrier-free design.

The wine cellar doors were detailed and constructed to resists warping and also feature double-glazed tempered sealed glass panels, complete with ultra-violet filter and low-emmicivity energy coatings. Concealed magnetic weather-stripping around the perimeter of the doors provide a continuous integral seal for each wine cellar.

The wine racking storage and display systems were designed to accept a variety of bottle sizes and wine varieties. The climate control system offers a broad range of temperature and humidity control, and is connected to a security alarm in the event of any system failure.

The Wine Establishment Showroom

The layout of The Wine Establishment showroom forces the flow of patrons in such a way as to provide an "event" at the terminus of each pathway. The open plan concept is in keeping with the spirit and character of the original turn-of-the-century architecture of the building, offering ever-changing and dramatic day lighting through the windows. A series of different wine cellars have been constructed, complete with multiplex lighting systems to create different moods for a variety of uses and occupancies. A large sample of customized wine racking and display systems are offered around a meeting space for the discussion and appreciation of wine environments.