This week I had the pleasure of  interviewing the person that launched my career as The Master Wine Cellar Builder. His name is Steve Del Duca, owner of American Classics Wine Cellar, a New York based company. Steve and I go back about seven years of working together. We have solved a lot problems that most people would of given up on.  Steve has that drive, as I do, to go down the less traveled road and see what it brings. This is how we met, when Steve took that chance with me. When Steve started to use my services, no one but a handful of people knew that I could actually build wine cellars. I spoke with Steve over a period of about six months, before he decided to give me a try. (Honestly, I believe I just wore the man down).  Then all he gave me was the troubles other people had left behind. I did clean them all up. And finally my first wine cellar was to be built for him. So now my new career as Wine Cellar Builder and The Wine Cellar RV came about.  He has developed his own style of designing wine cellars for the client. He is, like me in the way, that he will tell you the way it is, as opposed to what you want to hear. So Steve, now that we have a little bit of your background tell me about wine cellars from the wine cellar company end of it 1.)  How long have you been building wine cellars and what got you into this line of work? I have been building wine cellars for over 20 years. There aren’t many of us around that have been doing this for a living that long. I got into designing wine cellars when I was working for a design firm that specialized in creating the most efficient and effective use of space for all types of companies from a wide range of different industries, designing for them open office plans, mail rooms, high density storage systems for file rooms, and warehousing, maximizing their capacity and efficiency where there was none. One day out of the blue I got an opportunity to work for young company that sold everything for the wine lover except the wine. I loved wine, and I love a challenge, so it was a no brainer and I made the switch. I simply took my ability in design and my previous experience along with my meticulous attention to detail and ability for problem solving and simply married the two and the rest is history. 2.)  What goes into the planning of your wine cellars? There are many things that go into the planning of a wine cellar. Here are but a few to give you an idea of what to be asking yourself when planning your first or tenth wine cellar. Budget: Set a budget with a low and the high range you would be willing to spend even if you don’t know what it will cost. Racking, cooling, cellar entrance doors, construction, installation of the racking and cooling etc. Remember your budget is simply a starting point for you to get a perspective on what it will ultimately cost. In the end budget anywhere from 10 to 20% more. Collection:  How many bottles of wine do you currently have? How many bottles would you like to be able to store? What is the number of bottles or percentage of bottles per category that make up your collection? Bottles sizes? 750’s, Champagne, Splits, Magnums, large format bottles, etc. Bottles shapes?  Traditional Bordeaux, Burgundy, California Bordeaux. Cases? Wood and or cardboard. Plan for 10% to 20% more if the space will allow it. Believe me everyone underestimates the capacity they need. Design: Functional and practical, showcase or combination. What design elements would you like to see incorporated into your wine cellar? Curved Corners, Displays, lighting, Diamond bins, Individual bottle, wood case storage etc. Active or passive: (Passive is a cellar that the conditions are created and kept naturally by Mother Nature. On the other hand an active cellar is one that uses the technology that is available today to create and maintain the proper conditions for the aging and storage of your wine.)  If your cellar is naturally a passive one then you may be ahead of the game in cost but to build a passive cellar will cost you almost as much as one with a cooling system but with no guarantees that it will stay that way. Over the last 20 years I have seen many natural wine cellar environments change do to El Nino, Global warming and other major weather anomalies. The only way to insure the conditions is building an active cellar.  Location:  Location is important because it determines the size and shape, but just as importantly it tells us what conditions we need to overcome and what cooling systems would work best.  What are the surrounding areas:  The surrounding areas to the wine room are very important as they will tell us where to vent and which cooling systems we can use, as well as where we might need to beef up the insulation in the cellar. Construction:  Set a time frame, when you want to begin and when you want to be finished. Hire a competent contractor, who has a track record, and  has successfully built several wine cellars, and a professional installer to build the racking. They can do it faster, cheaper and correctly ultimately having your wine cellar look its best.  3.)  How long does the average project take? The length of time will vary depending on the size and the amount of detail and budget.  Once the commitment has been made to build the cellar most projects run approx. 3 to 4 months from start to completion.   Below are some averages:  Based on a cellar (8’w x 10l’ x 8’h) ,  racking capacity of 1500 bottles. However these times could change according to the particulars and demands of each wine cellar. Design: 2 to 3 weeks Production: Racking 6 to 8 wks. Shipping: 10 to 14 days. Construction/ build out: 4 to 6 wks. Installation of Cooling: 1 to 2 days Installation of racking:  1to 5 days. 4.)  What is the cost factor in today's economy?  There are a wide range of factors to consider that will have an impact on the cost of your wine cellar. Are you looking to build a passive cellar or an Active one?  What bottle capacity you are looking for, and the actual size of the cellar, whether you are looking for a practical cellar or a showcase etc. These are all important factors to consider when calculating the cost of a building a wine cellar whether it is in a good economy or a bad one.  But I would have to say the one thing that I believe is most important when considering the cost in today’s economy is …"Caveat emptor"!  I have seen in this business more than any other, that I have been involved with, is “you get what you pay for! “ If there is a difference in prices between racking and or cooling, installation fees or construction cost there is a reason. There are no deals! I can’t tell you how many times a customer who already had their wine cellar built only to find out later they have problems.  I know this to be true because I am asked by many of  them to come in and trouble shoot the problems, problems that should have never occurred if the wine cellar was designed and built correctly.. I have seen many proposals recommending the wrong racking and cooling, inadequate ventilation of the cooling system designing flaws in to the cellar before it is even built, combine this with poor construction and room prep can cause odors, mold, mildew from excess moisture or not enough moisture and a lack of consistency in the overall storage conditions which is so important for the proper aging and maturation of your wines.  This is why it is so important to hire a professional like, John Seitz,The Master Wine Cellar Builder  Some guidelines to follow: 1.)    Set a budget with a high figure and a low figure on what you are willing to spend. If you are serious about this add 10% to 20% to the budget and to the bottle capacity. These are two areas everyone underestimates. (Everyone has a budget.) 2.)    Don’t be afraid to tell your wine cellar builder what your budget is. This will allow them to make the correct choices to select the equipment and materials to build your wine cellar correctly and they way you want it. What other important purchase would you make without providing the professional how much you are willing to spend?  Believe me you’re not going to get a Mercedes for the price of a Toyota. 3.)    If you are comparing companies,’ true professionals will know what it really takes to build your cellar and should come in close to each other in price. Anyone that is so off the mark, you shouldn’t consider them. There is a reason they are so much less and it isn’t because they like you.  5.)  What is the most memorable wine cellar you've built or any other interesting stories? My most memorable wine cellar was one that I did not to far from where I am located. It wasn’t the most elaborate or the biggest that makes it stand out.  The cellar area was quite small in comparison to many other cellars I have designed but the real challenge was in the size and shape of the cellar. Lots of angles and varying ceiling heights, view windows and build outs into the room. I actually had to measure the space more than once to make sure my drawings were accurate. I guess what they say is true measure twice and cut once and in this case it was true. 6.)  What areas do you work in? I have always designed and sold wine cellars all across the country, both large and small; I have never limited myself to a geographical area. I have wine cellars in the most rural areas to major cities. Although when designing a cellar the basic elements (racking, cooling, cellar entry doors etc,) are the same for residential and commercial, the planning and execution of the job done are quite different.  Knowing those differences and what to expect and do determine the success of the job. That’s the key locally or on the other side of the country.  Anyone can request a wine cellar design layout but not everyone can get the job done and do it right at long distances. 7.)  Do you do both residential and commercial? Yes. Where ever there is a need for a wine cellar. The needs for the residential and commercial are quite different. This is where I have applied my past working experiences. Residential cellar needs are simpler, however, commercial cellars are a lot more challenging (restaurants, retail wine merchants, etc.). There are lots more issues to consider than just supplying wine racking for storing wine. The size and space are more critical, there generally is a lot less of it. Take a restaurant for instance, space is generally at a premium and unless the wine cellar is incorporated in the design of the dining room, the wine cellar is usually stuck in the back behind the scenes and there isn’t a lot of space devoted to it. Tight budgets, space restrictions, access to the wine cellar by staff  stocking and retrieving wine, how far from the dining room do the wait staff  have to travel , how many of the restaurants staff  will be accessing the wine during peak dining hours, how many times will the door be opened and closed during this time? Will there be enough room for more than one staff member to access the wine collection at any one given time? Where and how will the house wines/less expensive and the more expensive library wines be stored? All this and more need to be considered and planned for in order to have smooth operating commercial cellar. 8.)  Anything else that you would like to add? Passive cellars are a lost art (not less expensive) but a lost art. Homes today are designed and constructed much differently than homes of yester year. Areas of your home beyond the living areas  are now used for hobbies such as, game rooms, gyms, music rooms, arts and crafts etc. not root cellars for storing your perishables.  Because of this the only way to ensure that your wine is stored properly is to build an Active wine cellar. As I said earlier an Active  cellar is one that is constructed using the technology which is available today to make sure the conditions (i.e. building  materials and cooling equipment) are correct and consistent for the proper aging and storage of your wines. You would be astounded if I told you what I have found constructed or installed incorrectly and not to code in other peoples wine cellars. The key to my success in designing and building wine cellars can be found in my mission statement:  “Second best is luxury my customers can’t afford.”  And lastly everyone forgets about the installation of the racking. I can honestly say that as much as 50% of the racking that I have seen installed by a non professional wine cellar builders has been install incorrectly and/or poorly. You wouldn’t think about hiring a plumber to do the electrical work in your home, then why would you consider hiring someone other than an authorized wine cellar installer? It is important that you hire a qualified wine cellar professional otherwise you can cause damage to your home and valuable wines. I strongly recommend hiring a professional /factory installer one who knows the racking system and how it is goes together. To many times I have gone into someone else’s cellar only to see the wine racks, the most visible components in the wine cellar, installed badly or incorrectly leaving it structurally unsound and making  the cellar look terrible.  Professionals carry spare pieces of wood and components in case of shipping damages and last minute changes in room dimensions that have not been communicated to the factory. These types of last minute modifications to the wine racks can be easily done without skipping a beat. More complex changes they can call directly into the mill and order and have new components shipped out if needed. 9.)  How important is the Vapor barrier? The vapor barrier is the least understood but is one of the most important elements needed in the construction of an active wine cellar. Without one you are looking for disaster. A cellar with no vapor barrier or one that is improperly installed will make cooling unit work hard shortening the life of the condenser,  keeping the cooling system from being able to lower the temperature to 55F , produce excess moisture and create mold in the cellar. But first let’s talk about what the vapor barriers is supposed to do. As we all know the relative humidity changes most every day and can change at any time. As the weather and the geographical areas change so will the relative humidity. As the relative humidity rises and falls outside the wine cellar it will do the same inside the cellar. We also know that just as important as it is to reach our target temperature of 53 to 55F and a relative humidity between 60 and 70% is consistency. This means the smaller the swings in cellar conditions the better protected your wine collection is. First the vapor barrier is used to hermetically seal the wine cellar making it air tight (Vapor barrier needs to be rated 0 perm/permeability, meaning no breathing quality) creating a micro environment that will have little or no effect on the changes in relative humidity outside the wine cellar and keeping the correct humidity and temperature. Poured concrete, concrete block, stone and earth walls are all porous and will allow changes to enter the wine cellar which can produce very dry or excess moisture, mold, and a rise in temperature also shortening the life of your cooling system. The first thing the cooling system does is to pull the moisture out of the air inside the wine cellar and materials use to construct it. If the vapor barrier is installed correctly the cooling system will eventually level off reaching our target of 60% to 70% humidity and then stop removing moisture. However if the wine cellar is not sealed, partially sealed, or poorly sealed there will be air leaks giving our cooling system and inexhaustible air source to deal with. When this happens the cooling system continues to try and remove the moisture in the air creating excess moisture in the wine cellar producing problems related to high moisture.   If this is the case the cooling system will constantly be running because it will be devoted to removing moisture leaving not enough power for cooling thus having trouble lowering the temperature to 55F and shortening the overall life of the cooling system. Something as small as not having a door sweep, and open drain the floor, unsealed light switches and electrical outlets can have this effect. A Tip to help build your wine cellar correctly:  The people I use take digital pictures of each stage of the construction to document that construction has been completed and done correctly, to document damages, to be clear on what components need to be replace by the manufacturer if needed.  This will be important to have for documentation if surprises happen later on down the road. Many times I am unable to be on site so all my racking and cooling people carry lap tops and cell phone with cameras in the field to stay in  constant communication should there be any changes/revisions in floor plans, damages during shipping or simply documenting the install. This is very important information to have because this is the first thing the manufacturers will request should a problem arise. They need to eliminate all other possibilities first before focusing on the product being defective The only way to make sure that you are going to achieve conditions is to strictly follow the construction guidelines and not deviate from them on every job. I certainly want to thank Steve for taking the time to do this interview with me. So now you have the perspective of a wine cellar company. Any questions for Steve Del Duca, please email us and we will forward them to him. As always, may all your wines be great! John Seitz Master Wine Cellar Builder jseitz@celebritywinereview.tv