Robert Bass, Kessick Wine Storage Systems, designed a wine room that flows seamlessly with the home’s contemporary style. The project won the Wine Cellar category in the 2023 Top Shelf Design Awards. Winners were announced on April 13 at a reception sponsored by CCF Industries during the Closets Conference & Expo, held in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Here’s how Bass describes the project:

Project Title: Elevation White Oak

Project Details: This Texas hill country home's residence has a specific requirement for their new-construction home: a centrally located wine room. The idea is to have a place that stores wine in an aesthetically interesting presentation and serves as an entertainment space in the home. The wine room flows seamlessly with the home's contemporary design and is adjacent to the home bar, kitchen, living room, and outdoor space.

Projection Construction: Rift-sawn white oak casework is the anchor that frames the clear acrylic wine cradles, supported by brushed aluminum Elevation hardware. And, of course, accented with LED linear display lighting. In addition to the Texas stone on the focal point of the back wall, the other vertical surfaces are covered in white oak wall panels that mirror the construction detail in other areas of the home.

Materials Used: Casework, soffit structure, and wall panels are constructed of ¾-inch A-grade rift-sawn white oak. The wine racking is 'Elevation Acrylic,' a proprietary wine racking system that stores and displays wine in a floating format with a focus on the wine label. The acrylic wine cradles are all machined in-house. The base units are Estate Series rectangle bins to maximize capacity and support the weight of the wine and storage system. The LED lighting, tracks, and drivers are Loox5 by Hafele.

Equipment Used: Our manufacturing facility in Greenville, SC, consists of a balance of hand-craftsmanship and automation. Equipment used to manufacture this design includes Biesse Rover S CNC machines, Homag EdgeTeq S, DrillTeq D, SandTeq W, Altendorf F45 HG, and Makor K-Two finishing machine. Software includes SketchUp, Microvellum and enRoute, and the ever-important TeamWork project management program.