Overall cost of building a custom wine cellar

What is the overall cost of building a wine cellar? First of all, it depends!
There are a number of factors to consider when planning, designing and building a custom wine cellar.

Overall, the cost is dependent on client preferences and choices made relative to project factors.
We like to think about project costs in two buckets: variable and fixed costs.

Fixed Costs
Fixed costs typically relate to the build-out and infrastructure of the cellar including refrigeration rough-in, framing, wall conversion with foam application, and essential electrical work.

Variable Costs

Variable costs include dual pane glass vs. single pane glass, custom racking as opposed to kit racking or retail racking, lighting, flooring, tile, and other design treatments that may be considered.  

In our experience, most people underestimate, rather than overestimate, the cost and time required to design, plan and build a custom wine cellar. This makes sense since these custom projects are distinctive by their very nature. We advise our clients to be very careful of firms that over-promise with lower costs or less time to completion. These types of companies typically underperform, disappoint their clients, and produce a lesser final product- or worse they botch the job and a client ends up with a dysfunctional liability in their home.

One of the most important considerations and common questions for these projects is "how long do they take?"

Can a wine cellar be built in 60-90 days? Sure. Is that typical? No. Typically wine cellars take 3-5 months from beginning to end to complete. Again, it depends entirely upon client goals, and other factors involved.  (Fear not, we will address this topic in our next blog post!)

That all said, here’s an example of different tiers of pricing for a “wine wall” project with an approximate size of 10’ W x 8’ H x 3’ D or a more traditional “wine room” at roughly 12’ x 12’ x 9’ H.

1.  A minimum viable product, with simple retail racking, and essential lighting (think ~3 overhead LED recessed cans) with single pane glass conditions can range from $40k - $50k. 
2. A “mid-level” project with racking, lighting, and glass upgrades, custom wood species (premium redwood, knotty alder, mahogany) w/stain and finish, and upgraded flooring can cost anywhere from $50k - $65k. 
3. A luxury custom wine wall showcase that includes a substantial amount of dual pane glass, premium racking with a higher-end wood species (walnut, white oak, sapele mahogany) w/stain and finish, significant lighting design, custom wall treatments, and features can range from $65k - $75k++.

While there is no easy way to estimate the cost for any given project, working with a specialty firm like ours to establish a working budget and corresponding goals will save you time and money.  Remember that costs, lead time, and construction best practices can be difficult to identify and sometimes misrepresented by firms that are not forthright and transparent in their evaluation and execution of these projects.  Fortunately, California Custom Cellars is here to be your “source of truth” for all things related to custom wine cellar projects!  One of our guiding principles is to underpromise and overdeliver in consideration of these projects.  

Contact us today to receive more information, and consult with one of our lead designers to assist you with everything you need to know in regard to designing and building a turnkey custom wine cellar.

-California Custom Cellars