We were working at Joseph’s place one day just after the dot-com crash when I came across a custom wine rack that he had designed. We knew a lot of pretty wealthy people, many of whom lived in New York apartments where every square inch is precious. I saw an opportunity. We started with shelves, and then a client asked us to design an entire cellar. Two years later, we decided to focus exclusively on Joseph & Curtis
Everything is created in our atelier and then the pre-assembled components are shipped to and installed on-site for our clients around the globe. Understanding each client’s needs is essential: how many bottles of wine does he own, and how many will he own in five years? Is he looking for a useful space for storing and preserving wines, a design element for his home or a place where he can spend time and entertain? Today, 95% of our clients want their cellars to be visible, and more and more of them want to be able to entertain within the space.
Absolutely! Wine cellars are like game rooms for adults, where they collect wine instead of baseball cards. Our clients are more excited about designing a wine cellar than they are about designing a bathroom or kitchen! It’s pure pleasure, and it also adds value.
Yes, our real estate partners all agree. But it goes even further. We know that having a visible wine cellar in bars and restaurants actually boosts wine sales. More and more country clubs are offering private storage areas where members can store their wines, to share and discuss them.
We have seen a diversification of our clientele. Custom wine cellars are now also sought by simple enthusiasts. Fifteen or twenty years ago, our wine cellars were almost exclusively intended for homes worth ten million or more. Now we find ourselves designing cellars for homes worth one-tenth than amount. In terms of style, the trend over the past three or four years has been leaning toward modern designs, with transparent glass, clean lines and LED lighting. Our clients want to see the bottles and their labels.
We had a client with a collection of about 6500 bottles who asked us to create an ultrafunctional space to store 9500 bottles. When we finished the project, his collection had reached 12,800 bottles. We added a section to the cellar, so that it could house 15,000 bottles!
Our clients often ask us for advice about what they should purchase! I tell them to diversify because tastes evolve. I have clients with whom I have been working for two decades who began with powerful, fruity Californian wines, and now they collect French wine. Wherever you begin, you always end up in France!
Cos d’Estournel is one of my favorite wines. The three vintages I love most are the 2001, the 2003 and the 2009.
