As we continue to refine our palate over the course of this quarter, we are no doubt aspiring to someday boast a collection of wine from the different regions on which we'll be presenting for our mid-term papers. But let's be honest: in-house, temperature-controlled wine cellars are hard to come by for most, let alone us graduate students.
Someone recently mentioned the concept of wine locker facilities: self-storage facilities where one can store cases of wine until ready to retrieve them for particular occasions. For our classmates with interest in real estate, it seems to me as though this is an excellent concept for properties in areas where the demographics are closely aligned with the profile of the typical wine consumer / collector but where it's unlikely that homes can accommodate wine cellars (i.e. no need for such a facility in East Hampton). This type of property blends retail and industrial concepts, and of course generates recurring, lease-like revenue streams. One might even bundle this with concierge services, i.e. a wine locker valet, an in-specialist who can advise you on which of your wines to pair with a particular occasion's food, etc.
I came across one such facility near us in San Carlos: K&L Wine Merchant. They have a tiered pricing system based on the number of cases that you store with them. Don't get too excited though: apparently there's a waiting list!
Source:
https://www.klwines.com/Company/WineLockers
Another interesting feature of a storage facility like K&L Wine Merchants is that many of these services offer to "clean" your storage unit free of change and purchase bottles that they find interesting (if you're willing to part with them). In a world where rare wine is coveted and the resale market is strong, this seems like a great way for K&L to get easy access to inventory that they might not otherwise get their hands on! Access to this wine supports their retail business (making it a place to go for vintage wine) as well as makes their storage customers happy. Seems like a win win to me!
ReplyDeleteThere are also wineries that bake storage into their wine club offers--Napa vineyards like Via Sattui and Viader now offer "Wine Futures," where their members buy a vintage when they're at the winery tasting it, but can't take the bottles home with you that day. Instead, members are buying the future shipment of that wine when the winery has determined the vintage is ready to ship. For instance, if you taste the Vader 2015 vintage at their winery and join the futures club, your shipment will arrive in 2018. (http://www.viader.com/FuturesDetails.html)
ReplyDeleteIt's delayed gratification so at first glance it doesn't seem that appealing, but I think there's something brilliant about that model. It's the Birchbox effect: you spend money now, enjoy the wine club benefits for a year, and then in a few years when your shipment arrives it's like a wonderful and unexpected present from yourself.