Wine Cellars

[Bruce B]

How about lets show off where we keep the good stuff! This was the very first room we finished in the house and now it's behind a hidden panel in back of the studio. You can see the panel to the right of the light switch in the back of the room.
Capacity ~869 bottles by Apex Wine Cellars in Bellevue, WA

 

[rsbeck]

Nice -- is it yours?

 

[Bruce B]

Yup... the painting was done by the wifey..

 

[rsbeck]

Nice work -- and thanks for starting this thread -- great idea! I trust you have more wine in your cellar now than when you took the pics? Nice to see a fellow collector. I love having a wine cellar in my house. How many bottles does it hold? What kinds of wine do you collect? How long have you been collecting?

 

[Bruce B]

Oh yeah... we do have quite a few more bottles in there. We like mostly whites, the sweet kinds like Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Chenin Blanc, Muscat and late harvest Ice Wines. The cellar holds about 869 bottles and we have around 450-500. Haven't been collecting long... probably less than 10 years.

 

[Ron Party]

Heck, I know to whose home I'm going to visit the next time I come up for air from work! Any music listening would just be icing on the cake.

 

[rsbeck]

Oh yeah... we do have quite a few more bottles in there. We like mostly whites, the sweet kinds like Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Chenin Blanc, Muscat and late harvest Ice Wines. The cellar holds about 869 bottles and we have around 450-500. Haven't been collecting long... probably less than 10 years.

Interesting. I've got some of these varietals in my cellar, too. Most of my Rieslings, Gewurtztraminer and sweet late harvest whites are from an Alsatian Producer, Zind-Humbrecht. I also collect dessert wine from D'Yquem and I have found another producer for Sauternes that costs a little less but is quite competitive, Climens. The 1986 Ciimens is fantastic at about 1/4 the cost of D'Yquem.

Which producers do you favor?

 

[Bruce B]

Actually the Pacific NW up here is stocked with wineries, so we try to stay here and support the local economy. Chateau Ste. Michelle is probably our most favorite with the ice wines from Okanogan valley WA and Canada coming in a close second.

 

[rsbeck]

I hear you. Between California, Oregon and Washington, there is a lot of great wine being produced locally. I'm trying to buy less and less from France and Italy and more from local wineries. However, I am a huge fan of Chateauneuf Du Pape and had to buy some of the 2007 vintage. IMO, we're catching up on the Rhone varietals, especially with Syrah, but it's still hard to get the kind of quality here that you get in the Southern Rhone for such a great price. I do, however, support Tablas Creek out of Paso Robles. As you probably know, it is owned by the Perrin family of Chateau Beaucastel fame in partnership with Robert Haas. Their 2007's have received great reviews. I bought a bunch but I'm laying it down for awhile.

 

[Ron Party]

Mmmmmmmmm. Chateauneuf Du Pape Yuuuummmmmmmm. One of my favorites since the mid-1980s.

 

[rsbeck]

I'm a big fan, too. In my cellar, I have a pretty big section devoted to Chateauneuf Du Pape; Beaucastel, Dom Pegau, Chapoutier, Vieux Telegraph, Janasse, Vieux Donjon, Pierre Usseglio. Lots of different vintages; 1989, 1990, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007. Used to have some 1981 Beaucastel, was sorry to drink my last bottle a few years ago.