We don't have anything close to a wine collection; we keep perhaps three or four bottles around. So a wine cellar is quite unnecessary, but that doesn't stop us fantasizing about a dusty cellar full of old vintages. Then we saw the Spiral Cellar, and that romantic idea of a wine cellar was joined up with an even older fantasy: the trapdoor in the kitchen floor.
A trapdoor! It's a trope of mysteries, spy novels, and thrillers. How many times has a hero escaped from the bad guys at the last minute, letting the trapdoor fall over his head? They would never think to look under the kitchen floor!
These Spiral Cellars seem like they are tapping into that primal romanticism, the same sort that led us to build forts out of blankets and chairs and progress to treehouses with "Keep Out" signs as we got older. The only difference is that this cellar design has a rather more grownup function.
The Spiral Cellar system was developed in 1978 by a Frenchman who saw that few modern houses had wine cellars, but that people still needed a place to store their wine. If a wine-lover has a serious collection it can quickly outgrow wine racks and refrigerator units. So he came up with the Spiral Cellar design, which uses the earth to insulate and create good storage conditions. It does this, however, in a fraction of the space of a regular cellar. It also can maintain a constant temperature with no power required.
A spiral cellar is dug into the floor by a professional team, and the cellar storage itself is created from concrete wrapped in a watertight lining. Passive ventilation keeps the temperature around 55°, an ideal temperature for wine storage. There are several sizes, holding from 1000-1600 bottles.
Of course, this is one indulgence for wealthy or well-off wine drinkers only. The Spiral Cellar purchase and installation runs at least $30,000. (Their costs seem to be much lower in Great Britain; a cellar costs about £9,000, or $12,000.) One site reported that there is an option to buy a kit and install the cellar yourself, but we can't find this on their current site; it may not be offered anymore. This cellar price, though, is still much cheaper than installing a full-blown, climate controlled wine cellar in the basement.
Regardless, we won't be installing a Spiral Cellar anytime soon; we're quite happy with our mini wine rack. But we love gawking at the pictures of trapdoors in the kitchen and under the dining room table (click through the thumbnails above to see more shots). Just think of announcing to your guests: I'll go pick up another bottle... and then throwing open a trapdoor in the floor! Pretty great, huh?
• More about Spiral Cellars here, including photos of installation.
Related: Wines to Keep: Robert Weil Riesling
(Images: Spiral Cellars)
Recipe to Feed a Crowd: Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef
Re-Growing Green Onions: Grow Your Scallions Back on Your Windowsill
Like us on Facebook
Our reading list
RSS Feed (Atom)
Fine Little Day Ove...
How To: Upgrade a Wall Outlet to USB Functionality
Emily's Rochester Merrypad 
Comments (26)
I love the one with the clear class door, this will be listed under my must have list. You could also disguise the door and it could be a pretty awesome (awesomely stocked) panic room ;)
It would be nice if such a thing could be developed for storing vegetables.... and not such an exorbitant cost.
I was thinking the same thing angorian. it would make a great root cellar. I would use it to store diet coke instead of wine but i love the look of this!
their solution really only works on those paper-thin non-cellar homes it seems ... so most Europeans will be out of luck I guess. You'd either have to plan it when you build your house, or built it into your existing cellar, both of which are probably much more expensive then thei solution.
I'm such a party pooper... It's an incredibly cool concept, but all I can seem to think is, "How would I vacuum those stairs??"
This has to be the coolest design concept there is. I love the idea.
These are so cool! They remind me of my grandmas house..she had a trap door that went to the root cellar. Never would have thought of storing wine down there.
Lucky Bug, I immediately thought of cleaning it as well. Never mind vacuuming, imagine dropping a bottle of wine on those concrete steps and then having to clean that up! Yeesh.
I agree that it would be much more attractive to me if it were a root cellar, or natural refrigerator.
Can't take it with you when you move, unfortunately, and I really doubt you'd recoup the costs when you sell.
I would have this installed tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure it would annoy my downstairs neighbors.
Do they come with sump pumps? Not every locale has a water table high enough to accomodate cellars, basements, etc.
This is so fabulous. My first thought is that I would put a rug over it and during a home invasion, be able to hide!
Wouldn't constructing an old fashioned cellar do the same job? My guess it would for considerably less cost. Don't people know that being frugal lets them afford more luxuries?
Gorgeous solution! If money is no object, why not do a spiral wine cellar? I'm already loving the Debbie Downer comments here. Keep 'em coming.
If it were me, I would store wine, sparkling water, chocolates, cheese, fruits, veggies and books. And I would have a seat at the veeery bottom. Then I could hide, eat and read. And it would work well because I love the cold.
This is not for the obese now is it! I keep thinking its a spoof as it only looks practical to use if you crawl down head first to get the bottles at the bottom and then ..... 'clunk' your trapped inside, upside down, as the dog has just accidently knocked the door down .... claustra..... must get ou ...... no air ......ahhhhg.
I take it all back, seen the video! .... its bigger than you think, still visualise my version of events making a nice short horror clip.
my grandma had one for vegetables... I seem to remember there was a Japanese company who made some
as if i needed another reason to drink more alcohol.
I think that glass one looks so neat, I don't drink, but I'd figure out something for it....and perhaps a cheaper version.
Is there really no way to report and get rid of the spammers here? This valves character has been posting this same BS for forever
Whenever it comes time to build my dream home, I'm definitely adding one of these!
the claustrophobic in me is extremely uncomfortable with this. I would never go in there for fear of getting trapped in that tiny space. SCARY.
I'm with you stellato! Only I'm claustrophobic and don't like the cold. But I like your style!LOL!
That is one of the most unique wine cellars i've ever seen. The only issue I have with it is that the flip-top door doesn't quite match the decorum of the tile. Was that intentional to give a more Victorian look?
And there is now a company out of San Francisco that builds this type of underground cellar! Visit stoneworkcellars.com for more information.