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Rancho Bernardo Wine Spectator Featured Glass Front Wine Cellar with Stone, Diamond Bins, Full Reveal Horizontal Display, and Decanting Countertop


In October 2007, the owners of this relatively small wine cellar tragically lost their entire home and wine collection in the wildfires that swept the San Diego area. When the time came in 2009 to rebuild their home, they also wanted to rebuild their treasured wine collection. At the recommendation of a friend, the owners came to Vintage Cellars to discuss constructing a small wine cellar in their new home.

custom wine cellar

We created a stellar custom small wine cellar design for a couple who had lost their home and wine collection in the wildfires in Rancho Bernardo in North County San Diego, California in 2007. We encountered some challenges in this project.

By working closely with Wine Cellar Specialist Jake Austad, the couple was able to design the ideal wine cellar for their home and collection. The first challenge Vintage Cellars faced in building the family’s dream wine cellar was that the cellar was to be on the second floor. Because cellars must consistently maintain optimum temperature and conditions to properly age wine, Vintage Cellars worked with the home builder to properly seal, vapor-barrier, and insulate the cellar floor as well as the walls and ceiling. Another nuance of this particular cellar was the limited space available. By bumping out a wall on the second floor, Vintage Cellars was able to add an additional 80 square feet to fully accommodate the cellar’s relatively small 750 bottle capacity in a comfortable amount of space. As this cellar attests, Vintage Cellars’ years of experience in constructing small wine cellars uniquely allows us to work within a variety of unique spaces.

The room where the client wanted to build the wine cellar was relatively small, and we needed to hide a beam that runs through the left wall. We provided a wine storage solution that solved the construction issues and met our client's requirements.

custom wine cellar

Cellar Features

  • 750 Bottle Capacity
  • Featured in Wine Spectator
  • Built on Second Story
  • Large Format and Liquor Displays
  • Fully Insulated Floor, Ceiling and Walls
  • Wall Bumped Out to Make Space

This glass-enclosed, contemporary yet rustic small wine room features magnum storage, individual bottle redwood wine racking, diamond bins, wine case storage, horizontal displays, as well as a section in the wall for liquor storage. Wine Cellar Builders at Vintage Cellars were able to construct this wine room after bumping out a wall in the client's kitchen for additional storage space. This added 80 square feet more to the tiny room on the second floor.

We framed the small wine closet before installing the racking for the Rancho Bernardo San Diego California wine cellar. We also installed the proper insulation and vapor barrier to protect our client's wine from damage, and to prevent wine cooling system or wine cooling unit breakdowns.

Inside the cellar, one also finds the attention to detail and customizability that Vintage Cellars prides itself upon. The owners’ collection is particularly unique in that they have a special set of 3 liter and magnum bottles that they wished to make a prominent part of their design. By installing adjustable shelving for these large-format bottles in the center of the room, this vision became reality. Another outstanding feature of this custom cellar is its liquor display area dedicated to the friends that recommended Vintage Cellars to them. By incorporating custom features such as these, Vintage Cellars is able to create small wine cellars that fully reflect the personality and vision of its owners.

The owners’ satisfaction with their cellar is a level of customer service that we strive towards on each and every project. Looking back on working with Vintage Cellars, she remarked, "I turned to Jake for design, layout, and equipment in our new wine cellar. Jake is fair, honest, easy to work with, and a wealth of knowledge. He not only knows design but wine as well. I highly recommend and endorse him."

If you’d like to hear more about this elegant San Diego wine cellar and how Vintage Cellars can transform a variety of spaces into a unique and beautiful small wine cellar, contact us today at 1-800-876-8789 to start designing and building the custom wine cellar of your dreams.


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With more than 30 years of building Custom Wine Cellars, we are experts in designing and building Custom Wine Cellars from soup to nuts. We help clients nationwide and would be glad to give you a free design for your custom wine cellar.

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