Since Cold Craft works in many unique buildings out employees get to access places that few people get to see.  Some of these places people would rather not experience such as behind the glass of the District Attorney’s high tech security system because you can’t help but wonder if there will be drama cropping up at any time or perhaps changing out the refrigeration units at the morgue when autopsies are being conducted.

Fortunately or perhaps unfortunately, I missed those jobs but there was job that sticks in my mind and it is a job that I measure other wine cellars by.  This is a luxury home in Saratoga, CA and luckily for me in this home, I was there for an HVAC adjustment and to check the wine cellar, so I basically was in all of the rooms in the house.

When you enter the home it had clean lines and a lot of open space.  It reminded me of a museum with life-size colorful totem poles in the entry along with an extra-large artist pottery bowl that the kids tended to use for a depository for their backpacks after school.  The upstairs had more elements that reminded me of a museum with artwork hanging in the open hallways that overlooked the downstairs and each framed piece had its own light which showed off the work nicely.  The space was appealing but this is not the image that sticks in my mind.

I went downstairs with a technician to check the wine cellar. I started down the Brazilian cherry stairs with the steel and wood hand rails with modern elements of metal and steel cable.  My mood was transformed with each step towards this recreation area at the bottom of the steps.   Once I stepped onto the travertine tiles I noticed that there was wine behind a wall of glass with old (very old) wine.  I recall them being from the 1700’s and 1800’s as well as better wines from this century.  They were organized and displayed by year and type of grape, each more impressive than the next.

As I turned the corner I saw a great area where the pool table and leather chairs accented the stone walls.  Wow, yes the house was nice but this is something I can dream about (and I have). Turning back I saw the tasting area for the wine cellar (pictured).   The wines displayed on the left are similar to the display that I described earlier in this blog.  To the right of the tasting bar through the pocket door is the downstairs ½ bath conveniently located.  The bar itself is very nice and it appears to be etched copper at the base of the bar with chrome accents. The wine racks for the other wine is visible above the back wall of the tasting bar.

This room is very tastefully done and the wine room takes up a good portion of the 10,000 sq ft home.  This is a wine lover’s wine cellar that’s for sure.  I’m looking forward to another job we are in the process of installing geothermal and a wine cellar near the home theater in San Mateo County that consists of 5 separate buildings or the 7 story home in the same area.