Wine Collections in a Wooden Wine Barrel
At Bella Vita Wine Cellars, our wine cellars expert team has been providing exceptional wine cellar construction and design for wine enthusiasts, collectors, and businesses. We are an established contractor in this industry for over 25 years across California.
Why Choose Bella Vita Wine Cellars?
We believe that a wine cellar is a place not only for wine storage, but a reflection of the owner’s personality, taste, and style. Hence, we work closely with our clients to create a custom wine cellar that meets their specific needs and preferences.
Our team of experts includes experienced designers and contractors who are passionate about wine cellar solutions. We incorporate both metal and wooden elements in creating custom wine racks that will add value to your business or home decor and enhance your wine collection.
Ted Beltran – Head, Bella Vita Wine Cellars
We use the highest quality materials and the latest technology to build custom wine cellars that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also durable and long-lasting. We understand that each wine cellar is unique and requires careful attention to detail.
Meet Ted Beltran – Bella Vita Wine Cellars Team Lead
Ted Beltran, the lead designer for Bella Vita Wine Cellars has been passionate about racking design associated with his wine appreciation. He is a wine cellar design expert with over 25 years of service.
Get to know more about his passion for wine cellar designs and some of the impressive designs gallery which he and his team accomplished in this industry.
More About Our Wine Cellar Designers
How They Work – Impressive Wine Cellar Project Highlights
Speaker 2 (00:05:19):
Yeah, let’s talk about, the business for a minute. How long have you been doing wine cellars?
Speaker 3 (00:05:30):
“They just know they want a wine cellar, so you just need to listen to what they want” – Ted on designing wine cellars
It’s 25 years. You know, it’s been, I might have had a year or two off in there, but 25 years I’ve been doing the wine cellar. I started off as a project manager working for a company that needed that someone in the field that knows what was going on. So that’s where I started and got my hands wet with seeing the job and the product. It was new to everybody. The manufacturer was new where I was working with. And so, I got to be pretty hands-on in the design and fixing of racking and how it should go together and how it should fit. And that was something that I liked about my passion.
Speaker 3 (00:06:25):
It has always been design. I thought maybe I was gonna be an architect one day, but I never pursued that. So, this was another way for me to do that. After working through all the quirks of the racking I got into the sales design and sales and that’s what I really like, because this process is much longer than most sales. You get to meet your customer, you get to really know them, find out what they like, and, you sometimes become friends. Yeah. That was something I really enjoyed doing. And then just design and you really have to listen to your customer. Since many people don’t know what they want.
Speaker 3 (00:07:21):
They just know they want a wine cellar, so you just need to listen to what they want. And then the modern, traditional, capacity or just storage which I like to do. I enjoy designing wood wine racking. I also like the other design options that we can do. And that’s how where I got in, that’s really what I became probably after three years of project management, I did sort of doing that ever since. And here I am today,
Aesthetically Installed Traditional Wine Cellars
Speaker 2 (00:07:55):
Let’s go a little bit more depth into that design process because sounds like that’s what you’re really passionate about. So, through the lens of a customer, somebody that gets in touch with you says, I want a wine cellar. Now what? And they might not know options, they might not have drilled down the style they want. How do you take them through that process?
Speaker 3 (00:08:17):
Well, the biggest thing I can do for them is just to listen. You know, listen to people that will tell you so much information, but you ask the question to them. I like to let them know what’s involved in the process, but before I even get there, we’ll sit, we’ll talk. I ask them what kind of bottles they what do they have or how many bottles do they currently have. When I’m in their home, I look around, and I see what style of home they have, whether it’s traditional or modern so I can see what would work. And even when they say, I want a wine cellar here, the whole time I’m in the house, I’m looking for another option as well. That might work better for them. And that’s happened so many times too.
Speaker 2 (00:09:10):
Well, I’m sure somebody might not know to keep it out of direct sunlight, keep it where you’ve got good insulation away from bad conditions.
“I enjoy designing wood wine racking. I also like the other design options that we can do.”
Speaker 3 (00:09:17):
Exactly like they thought they wanted it underneath the stairs. So sometimes underneath the stairs work really nice, but there’s sometimes you don’t get the value of the money they’re spending because they don’t get the number of bottles that they want. I see maybe they have a niche in the house that had some furniture in it or something. I said, have you ever thought about doing this? And, then I’ll show them a picture of a cellar that’s that style. A lot of times they really like that look. So, I ask if – are they, collectors? Are they just people that turn bottles over?
Speaker 2 (00:09:59):
Yeah. Do they want wine to keep it for 20 years or are they gonna just keep it till they drink it?
Speaker 3 (00:10:04):
You know? Correct. Right. And that’s typically most cases overall the people are just turning bottles. They like what a wine collector does, adds value to their home and so forth. It’s made of wood or metal that usually is modern or traditional. But I try and even show combination of both. Since I really like doing wood racks, but I can incorporate metal racks with it and it looks really cool.
Speaker 2 (00:10:37):
Yeah. So I’ve seen some pretty amazing combos like that.
Speaker 3 (00:10:40):
Like I said, they ultimately know they want one, they just don’t know what that means or what. And then I kind of go through the process of what will happen. We
do the demo in that area. I see the biggest challenge is usually the electrical that’s required. But I always tell them it’s doable, and we can
Beautifully Built Glass Wine Room in the Dining Area
always make it happen. I like to set the right expectation. When they say yes, people start freaking out if you start putting
holes in their ceilings, you know, trying to get power over there. But I let them know something like this project look exactly the same as it does now. We just have to get power and stuff. And that is how you gain their trust and they trust you. And once you get that things usually go pretty well.
Speaker 2 (00:11:36):
Well, I imagine it helps that you can speak with such authority. Having a couple of decades of experience doing exactly this kind of work. Yes. Have you seen what kind of changes have you seen in, in styles over the years? What are the trends and you know, are there any favorites that you’ve picked up along the way? Or what kind of current trends are you seeing in in design?
Speaker 3 (00:11:59):
I would say over the last five years it’s been the modern glass since it is very beautiful to show off the wine racking and bottles. But it’s not a friend to a wine cellar necessarily. It’s as nice as it is, but there’s no insulation value. So the wine cooling system, it could be the smallest room, a lot of wine walls is what’s been, been going on. So those are typically the smallest cooling units. But because of that glass they have to do what’s called a heat load in that room based on the glass and the insulation on everywhere else. And the unit usually has to be you, it always has to be upgraded to a unit that kicks out more BTUs.
Speaker 3 (00:12:58):
And so that’s what has happened for glass and modern wine cellars. Glass is never a perfect seal. You know, as nice as it looks, you try and close all those gaps with seals. But it’s still not exactly the perfect seal. Like as if it was a room that was completely sealed off. And so, I always write to set those expectations. Yes, it’s beautiful, but then even the wine temperature, ideally, it’s 55, 57 degrees with glass. I always started at 60, 60 to 61 range. Because there’s a possibility that there could be condensation if, I haven’t had that happen. But it’s always a potential to have happen if it gets too hot and that heat meets the cold, how it condensates under the glass.
Speaker 2 (00:13:58):
That’s more than just ugly, that’s dangerous to a wine room. Right?
Speaker 3 (00:14:02):
Contemporary Wine Display by Bella Vita Wine Cellars
Yeah. So that’s why I we started at 60 and if it stays fine, they have no issues. It’s kind of a long process. Then in six months if you say there’s no problem, let’s go down to 59. Just go down to one degree at a time until you get it to like, I would say 57. Yeah. If it is fine, then you’re to go. But at least they know from the beginning that that’s what has to happen. And, ensuring your wine at that temperature’s no issue. It’s just having that constant temperature set that’ll protect your wine.
Speaker 2 (00:14:35):
So, take it easy. Don’t go for the full swings. Don’t crank it as cold as go right off the bat. Just take your time and pay attention.
Speaker 3 (00:14:44):
Yes sir. Yep.
Speaker 2 (00:14:46):
Great. Are there, do you like specialty in wine cellars? Do you prefer cellars of a certain size or are you good for anything from putting a rack up on a wall to a full commercial operation? What is your approach that way?
Speaker 3 (00:15:01):
I’ve done hotels, I’ve done big wine bars but my favorites are homes. And in the homes, I like a room or even, or a wine wall. It allows you to be a little bit more creative within, in the design. Under stairs are cool. I’ve done some nice ones, but some of them are just so tight and they’re not my favorite with the stairs, but sometimes they’re a great location in the house, so it works out great. But yeah, wine wall seems to be the trend. I like doing them and I like incorporating and most times people think it has to be the metal wine racks with the bottles floating, but, we do incorporate that because it’s a nice look, but I can even add wood racks to those to give it some depth too. And a little bit of traditional, it looks nice too, a Hawaiian rack because nowadays usually raw wood, it’s always stained to a color that works in the house. And then we incorporate the metal racks with many different colors as well, so.
Speaker 2 (00:16:23):
And do you ever get into the cable racking or acrylic pegs, things like that, that are a little more ultra-modern?
Modern Wine Display for a Residential Space
Speaker 3 (00:16:29):
Yeah, I’ve done that, those are some modern things that you can upgrade to. I’ve done a lot of cable but I do not have that option now. And but on the newer side, we also have light panels that basically it’s an acrylic board that’s translucent and we put LED lighting on the backside, so it lights up the whole board. It’s kind of subtle. You can light up and then there’s the pegs will screw into this board and it’s a really nice look. It’s very way more modern and it’s a nice look, especially when you’re entertaining and stuff has that little glow in the background with the wine bottles. So that’s a newer trend too.
Speaker 2 (00:17:23):
Yeah. So, it seems like there’s now an important consideration for a lot of customers is that there’s a real eyeball factor. It’s more than keep your wine protected and secure. It’s that in a lot of cases they want a conversation piece. They want something that’s form and function.
Speaker 3 (00:17:40):
Sure. It’s always a focal point in cellar that we that unless it’s strictly about storage we always or I always include that a focal point. Then that is usually at the entrance, whether if it’s a room, you have a beautiful wine silver door that might be glass or wrought iron on it, and then you see kind of a filtered view to the back behind it. You’ll see something there. Then as soon as you open the door, it’s right there to look at. Now with glass, it is when you have the whole wall of glass, then it’s kind of, the whole thing is a focal point. But with metal racking, it’s either floating bottles horizontally or cork forward some glass shelves. So, there’s some nice looks that you can do because that’s important. It’s definitely important when it’s all exposed to give it a little bit of a wow factor.
Speaker 2 (00:18:40):
That’s awesome. That’s cool. Just gimme some great info. Is there anything else you want potential customers to know about you or anything that you’d like maybe with someone’s gonna contact you, information they should have ready? Or just anything else you want your customers to know?
Speaker 3 (00:19:06):
Elegant Glass Wine Cellars Under the Stairs
Honestly, it’s just a wanting a wine cellar is because I know that unless they’ve done just a whole bunch of research people know that they want a wine cellar. Then it’s up to me to kind of educate them a little bit of what that means. And but a lot of times, like I said, if you just listen to them talk, you can get a lot of answers to what they’re trying to achieve. It’s just the stuff that’s behind the walls, per se that they don’t know about. And I think they should know, and I do tell them. I just let them talk. I don’t want to overwhelm them with all the processes necessarily upfront. You know, that’s why I, pretty much insist on visiting the home, even though they send me a picture, which is helpful.
Speaker 3 (00:20:04):
There are other things I need to know, like access for cooling and power, you know areas for that and where that can go. And so those are the things that they really may not know to show them or tell me, but that’s why I like to go to the house and then I’ll let them know, yeah, this is all sounds great, or, no, this is, it’s gonna be a little challenging, but this is what’ll have to happen for us to get to give you what you need.
Speaker 2 (00:20:33):
So if somebody comes to you and says, I want a wine cellar, maybe I’ve seen these pictures that I like, or I like this element help me fill in the rest. Yes. And then you can come and say, all right, here’s the other considerations.
Speaker 3 (00:20:45):
Exactly. It’s like, and lately I’ve been getting inspiration pictures, so that that is a good point. That would be something if a customer had something that they’ve seen they found as an inspiration, I don’t want to copy it exactly. I like to have my own twist on it, but I will try to incorporate those type of things into the look if that’s something they really want. And then I’ll always try to add my own twist to it as well. But I think that overall, they like having something that’s more unique to their own versus something that they saw and they want to copy.
Speaker 2 (00:21:24):
Sure. Okay. We, so we talked about your passion for design, or do you also enjoy wine? Are you a wine drinker?
Contact Bella Vita Wine Cellars
Speaker 3 (00:21:32):
So, I am a little bit, I wouldn’t say I’m a big wine drinker. I really enjoy, I’ve learned so much about the wine. That’s something that my customers usually can educate me on. So, I’ve learned a lot about wine. I’ve gotten to taste some really nice bottles of wine and that’s something I enjoy. Unfortunately, I’m diabetic, so I don’t drink a whole lot of wine. Sure. But I do like it. It’s very enjoyable.
Speaker 2 (00:22:07):
That’s awesome. So, it sounds like you got into the wine cellars through the design angle, not through the wine connoisseur angle.
Speaker 3 (00:22:16):
Right.
Speaker 2 (00:22:16):
But it all works together.
Speaker 3 (00:22:18):
Exactly.