Label of Elegance

For Buyers Ready to Spend, Wine Cellars Are the Latest in Luxury

Daniel Lahr cherishes his 1,400-bottle wine collection, an eclectic mix of French Bordeaux and Burgundy, northern and southern Rhone, and California cabernets. But, he admits, he hasn't been treating it as well as he could. Rather than store it in a temperature-controlled, insulated room, he has it in a cold, dark corner of his basement.

"It's actually not a bad environment, but it's not ideal," he said. "I spent a lot of money for the wine, and I enjoy aged wine. A lot of stuff I bought I can't drink for eight or 10 years."

So he commissioned Classic Cellar Design of the District to build a 2,600-bottle wine cellar in the basement of his Rockville home. When it is completed, it will have limestone floors, mahogany racks, wrought-iron doors, double-insulated windows and a vineyard mosaic. "We started out thinking we would just build a closet," said Lahr, a 45-year-old orthopedic surgeon. "We figured we would get the basement done and got carried away with it."

The wine cellar has become a must-have amenity for high-end homes, much like the home theater and the gym had been. Wine-cellar builders in the Washington region say business is booming, and a growing number of new-home developers are offering wine cellars as an option. It makes particular sense in this area, with Virginia becoming a force in wine production.

Michael Lerner, president of Meridian Homes of Bethesda, a custom builder, said most houses his company designs and builds these days have an entertainment area for adults, including a wine storage facility.

Gopal Ahluwalia, staff vice president of research for the National Association of Home Builders, said that "in the next few years, you will be seeing wine cellars as a standard feature in upscale homes," which he defined as being 4,000 square feet or larger.

He said much of the demand comes from baby boomers who have collected wine over the years. But younger people who can afford expensive homes want all the upscale features they can get, he said. "I don't know if they drink wine or not, but they do want everything."

Not even the shaky economy and the uncertainty of the housing market have kept owners of upscale homes from building wine cellars. In fact, some believe it will increase the value of their home. "I think it's become a selling feature for new homes and existing homes," said Josh Farrell, a product specialist and wine director of Wine Enthusiast magazine. "If you're reselling your home and it has the swimming pool and it has the wine cellar, obviously that is going to add to the price."

Builders say wine cellars are an extension of the idea that the home is not only a place to live, but also a place to entertain. Much of that entertaining is done in the basement -- or the lower level, as it is commonly referred to now. It used to be that homeowners wouldn't even finish their basements, using them instead to store old clothing or photos. Now basements have movie rooms, bars, pool tables and other adult playthings.

Lawrence Brown, a 40-year-old entrepreneur, and his wife had an 1,800-bottle cellar built in their Potomac home six years ago. They outgrew that.

Now they are expanding it to hold 4,000 bottles. The cellar will be big enough to accommodate a table and chairs for their monthly dinner parties. The basement also has a pool table and a bar.

"My children are getting older," Brown said. "My wife and I entertain more, and the wine cellar has become more of a priority for us, and my collection continues to grow."