A Wine-Collector’s Sanctorum

Located in a quiet lane downtown, La Cave Riche has a glowing sign and thick, solid gray concrete door reminiscent of an elegant, tender and inconspicuous entrance to a sanctorum that arouses curiosity to explore. Once a basement deserted for 26 years, this 40-year-old building, through ingenious design, manifests a new countenance injected with life. In the hub of the urban area where scarce land makes a wine vault too expensive to purchase, it is a secret sanctum exclusive to aficionados whose treasured collection of vintage wine has nowhere else to go.

The foyer to the vault, the hallway connected to the flow, the entryway and the stairway present a façade of a similar grayish black tone, with steadfast, hard stone creating a fortress-like space both natural and solid. The railing recessed to the wall, the lighting configuration concealed on the wall, the dark-toned decorative panels on the wall, the grilles, and the wine-collection showcases add a touch of mellowness to the space. Together with the long sofa, the large long table and bar furniture, it makes for a laid-back, cozy, and pleasant space that settles the mind to get ready to savor wonderful nectar.

With deep insight into wine collectors’ particular habits and expectations, the spatial design thoughtfully facilitates more user-friendly, convenient wine storage and utilization. Separate rooms are reserved for larger wine storage for collectors to use more flexibly. Entire chests, shelving for bottles, and solid weight-withstanding drawers allow collectors to take out any chest with great ease, and the unboxed bottles can be stored conveniently. The few single-bottle of vintage wines are placed in cabinets with upper-lower doors and are affixed with bottle-security devices to prevent collision and damage caused by earthquakes. The cabinets are so spacious that it is safe and convenient to get the wine, whatever the number of bottles is. Special materials are used for dividers in the vault to ensure ventilation and privacy, and various wine storage details are thoughtfully considered. Professional planning and design make it possible to create a wine vault that meets wine collectors’ different needs.