Behind the cellar - The Amorosia Cellar

Let’s set the scene - can you tell us a bit about the original cellar and what kicked off this project?

There was a cellar and bar in the basement space, but it was in serious need of an upgrade. It felt dated, somewhat poorly planned in terms of storage, dark and in need of a refresh. We wanted this space to be fun and attractive to match the aesthetics of the rest of the house, as well as be an inviting space for entertaining and enjoyment of our wine collection.

Where did you find your cellar inspiration?

We are lucky to have so many amazing wine cellar installations around Scottsdale and Arizona, with many having been installed by Heritage Vine Custom Wine Cellars. One that we are particular fans of has to be the installation at Jamie’s Bottle Shop - the oak wood racking is just stunning, and the aesthetic and format of the space is exactly what we wanted for our own cellar - accessible, functional and beautiful. We also did a lot of scrolling through Pinterest to look at different materials, shelving styles and colour schemes to gather ideas for the key components.

What was your vision for your new cellar?

We loved traditional features of the classic wine cellar - the look of the oak racking, the smell of the wood, the cosy feel of the enclosed space - but we wanted to bring it into the modern age with the glass panel doors, the considered lighting scheme and the latest climate control technology. We wanted it to be easily accessible from the bar space, as well as the collection to be viewable from the external bar - the perfect combination of form and function.

The black granite counter top is particularly unique - what was the design choice around this?

We love the black features in our home - from feature walls to finishes - and we wanted to tie this colour theme into the bar and cellar to match the aesthetic of the rest of the house. As a content creator, a striking counter space to film on was also important to me, and the bar is now somewhat of a defining feature of the space and our content. We felt the granite really elevated the space and added a stunning, unique visual element to the framing of the cellar in the background.

Were there any challenges when it came to this new cellar installation?

The first hurdle was removing the old cellar and cooling system, clearing this out to start from scratch. There were then the limitations to the space. We didn't want to expand the frame of the old cellar, but had a large wine collection to store and display. Heritage Vine did an amazing job of mixing the racking styles to ensure the cellar avoided overcrowding and still managed to highlight our special bottles to the best advantage. A mix of vertical, angled and shelf racking has overcome the storage issues whilst creating visually striking areas to showcase bottles.

What is your favourite feature of the new cellar?

There are a few! The shelving and angled bottle displays - they just feel so elevated and create stunning focal points within the cellar to display our special bottles. We also had dimmable lighting installed in the space - allowing for a moody, cosy vibe when required, with brighter lighting for when we are entertaining or filming our instagram content.

Why did you choose Heritage Vine for your new cellar?

We had seen your work on instagram and pinterest whilst we were looking for inspiration and loved your designs. After seeing some amazing examples of your cellars in commercial spaces around Scottsdale, particularly the install at Jamie’s bottle shop - we knew we wanted a consultation with Heritage Vine. The craftsmanship, quality of materials and attention to detail were outstanding, and the cellar design and install process was seamless - the Heritage Vine team just had so much knowledge and came up with some beautiful features that really enhanced the cellar. They interpreted the concept perfectly and we couldn’t be happier with the end result - we can’t believe it's our cellar!