Wine cellar designer Thomas E. Warner designed the framework of the cellar,
which holds fifteen thousand bottles from fourteen countries, to feel like the
inside of a cathedral.
wines. We analyze the nuances of young and
old Bordeaux vintages. There is so much to be learned from our
wines.”
As a former wine auctioneer at Sotheby’s (something she still does as a volunteer for high-profile charity auctions),
Colgin has a strong background in wines with fine historical provenance. The
contents of the couple’s cellar dates back to the late-nineteenth century, with a prized bottle of 1887
Bouchard Père & Fils, Nuits-Saint-Georges thatwas purchased at auction.
That’s a bottle to be saved and treasured, but on very special occasions, they’ll selectively pull older vintages to contribute to an annual wine dinner where
each attendee contributes two bottles or one magnum of a specific vintage to
share. Recently, a rare 1945 Vieux Chateau Certan was gently transported to the
party, where it “showed beautifully in comparison with other wines of the same year,” says Colgin, adding, “It was a perfect opportunity to bring out a very carefully cellared bottle and
showcase it for the enjoyment of our friends.”
Colgin and Wender engaged Sausalito-based wine cellar designer Thomas E. Warner,
who has thirty-five years of woodworking experience and designed four cellars
of varying size at the winery and in the couple’s homes in Los Angeles, Malibu, and Napa. Warner travels the globe to work with
architects and interior designers on residential cellars that are each
custom-built to their unique environment. He almost exclusively uses reclaimed
timber in his projects. These racks were fabricated from clear
heart redwood, a soft wood that darkens and takes on a “beautiful musty aroma” after it is exposed to the cellar environment.
The Los Angeles–based interior design firm Hendrix Allardyce specified colors and design details
including lighting, but Warner designed the framework. One of his biggest
challenges was maximizing the confined space and providing adequate racking
that was strong enough to hold literally tons of wine.
“This cellar is like the skeleton of an airplane,” notes Warner. “The components, a series of redwood one by ones and one by twos, are lightweight
and yet are incredibly strong. Every joint was glued and nailed. The racks are
fastened to the walls in a way that you could literally climb them like a
library ladder.”
In fact, says Warner, a “library of wine” is not a bad analogy. “Great wines are like books. They tell you stories about the history of a region,
a culture, or a period of time. You could never get through Ann and Joe’s cellar, because ten bottles into a tour, you’d know all about the history of the south of France!
“When you enter the cellar,” Warner comments, “I want it to feel like you’re in church. Even the Gothic-style fixtures, made of iron and amber milk glass,
are a petite version of what you might see in a cathedral. The lighting glows
and reflects in a very ancient way.”
Although the atmosphere may be ancient in tone, modern technology keeps record
of the huge collection, so Colgin and Wender can easily locate a specific
bottle through a proprietary bar coding system hinged to a computerized bit map
of the cellar and its inventory.
“This is not a browsing cellar,” says Colgin. “The racks were originally organized by region and varietal, but as wine is
consumed, there are random spaces to fill. I am a firm believer that wine
should be moved as little as possible until it is removed from the rack to open
and enjoy.”
Each time they enter their cellar through its studded, two-hundred-year-old,
four-inch-thick Indonesian door, Colgin and Wender never know what bottle will
call to them. But as a couple who relish gathering close friends and colleagues
around the table, the joy of their cellar is expressed in the fun of sharing
the wine. “A great collection is only great when you open the bottles,” laughs Colgin.
With a heart as big as her laugh, Colgin reflects on the pleasure that she and
her husband take in donating large-format bottles to charities across the
country, including the Napa Valley Wine Auction. Recently a million dollars was
raised in bidding on four lots of Colgin Cellars wines.
“I never dreamed we could do something like that in a single hour,” she says. “And that’s what our cellar is all about: bringing people together through the enjoyment of wine.” 
