What if your luxury design was lacking the strong piece needed to bring the entire thing together? As a high-end establishment, you need to create an environment that inspires customers to stay and partake of the experience you have to offer.

In this special commercial wine wall project at Vancouver’s Karma Lounge, the stunning, high-end wine cellar in Downtown Vancouver became the backbone of the design. Not only does it bring grandeur as the focal point, but it also provides proper climate-controlled storage for many high-end wines.

Setting the Stage: About Karma Lounge in Downtown Vancouver

Karma Lounge has quickly become a go-to establishment in downtown Vancouver for businesspeople, local socialites, and visitors to the city of glass. Many of these out-of-town visitors stay at the Paradox Hotel, of which the Karma Lounge is part of on the ground floor level, with a striking entrance off West Georgia Street. They provide upscale lounge dining, daytime coffee and cocktails and a high-energy atmosphere for nighttime revelers.

A big part of Karma Lounge’s business is satisfying guests with ample opportunities to imbibe, including many high-end bottles of wine (hence the need for a high-end commercial wine cellar).

Their wine collection ranges from old to new world, with many iconic labels in the mix. Giving these labels an opportunity to be featured in a prominent display and to properly preserve and protect them with climate-control was a key consideration for this project.

Designing a Fine-Looking Commercial Wine Cellar That’s Also Functional 

The management of Karma Lounge reached out to Blue Grouse Wine Cellars to help them turn their wine wall design rendering into reality. The main goal was to have a coordinated visual appeal, thus enhancing the establishment’s overall look.

As with most of the projects Blue Grouse Wine Cellars takes on where designs are already in development, a careful eye toward functionality is expressed. For example, the designer knows what they’d like the display to look like but won’t be familiar with cooling systems and how they might impact the design. There may also be some design features incorporated that require tweaking for proper bottle storage.

Sarah Prows of SP Consulting lead the design concept that worked in harmony with other design features and furnishings in the lounge. The utmost care and attention were taken with Blue Grouse’s revised plans and wine wall drawings to maintain the designer’s vision and make only the adjustments that were necessary.

We also suggested small changes to the materials based on availability and cost while presenting an identical commercial wine cellar appearance.

High-End Wine Cellar in Downtown Vancouver’s Karma Lounge – Truly A Sight to Behold

After working with the designer, Blue Grouse Wine Cellar brought some of the following additions and features to the wine cellar:

Karma Lounge’s Commercial Wine Wall Glass Rack Design & Fabrication 

Nothing can be more breathtaking than a commercial wine cellar that feels like comfort. Karma Lounge’s high-end wine cellar gives you an exceptional Downtown Vancouver experience with its exhilarating and, at the same time, relaxing ambiance. All these can be owed to the elegant wine wall racking design and fabrication.

Blue Grouse Wine Cellars fabricated the custom millwork out of Maple and stain matched to a sample that the client provided. We incorporated aluminum rails in a clear anodized finish and clear glass shelving. The dark millwork provided warmth and structure to the space, with the glass and aluminum accessory components giving it more of a modern and streamlined appearance.

As the key concerns were merchandising and showing off bottles, this wine wall is very display oriented. You can see that some bottles are standing up on shelves or in feature millwork boxes.

Here, this display is less concerned with keeping the corks wet in the short term, as the bottles will be turned over regularly. All other bottles are stored either lying down or on mildly angled displays with aluminum rails so that corks are still in contact with the wine for proper longer-term wine storage.

For this client, flexibility was essential, given that their wine program will evolve over time. The wine wall can accommodate up to 426 standard 750ml wine bottles. However, the spacing of aluminum rails and wood shelving allows flexibility to accommodate magnums or champagne bottles with the capacity lowered accordingly. This commercial wine cellar also provides additional storage in the main wood display boxes and on glass shelving where bottles are standing upright.

Let There Be (LED) Light!

Accent lighting plays a significant role in the visual appeal of this custom wine wall. It evokes, inspires, and complements the wine display, making it more luxurious. Blue Grouse Wine Cellars wasted no opportunity in amping up this high-end wine cellar in Downtown Vancouver.

Not one, but two LED light strips run around the wood display boxes’ perimeter while more LED strips crawl on the front edge of all millwork gables. These LED lights are flexible and can be dimmed during nighttime for less contrast and turned up during the day.

The owners can also choose to strategically store the rose wines atop the wine wall directly beneath the LED lighting to give your wine bottles a glowing appearance (something you may want to consider in your commercial wine displays).

The King of This Distinctly Modern, High-End Wine Cellar: A Completely Glassed-in Commercial Wine Cellar Enclosure

Classy and elegant, this wine wall wouldn’t have a fraction of the impact had it not been glassed in on both sides. Fortunately for the client, the glass on the back of the cellar facing downwards into the hotel lobby was already in place. All Blue Grouse Wine Cellars needed to do was install the glass doors along the front of the wine wall and then the two side return walls.

We used all-matte black hardware for the front wall glass, which consisted of a series of 8 full-height doors, to keep up with the rich, masculine look of the space. All doors are a single pane 12mm glass with a mohair weatherstripping around all 4 sides to keep a seal as tight as possible for cooling.

The structural stability of the ceiling was important in the construction of the high-end wine cellar to support the weight of the doors and torquing on the hinges. This is because the doors open and close on top and bottom-mounted pivot hinges. Blue Grouse Wine Cellars worked closely with the site contractor to ensure this requirement was met. Each door opens with a matte black ladder pull handle and is secured closed with patch locks on the bottom corner, also in a matching matte black finish. Each lock is keyed, so only one key is required to access any part of the wine wall.

The glass on the backside of the wine cellar allows for full visibility of this beautiful installation as customers enter the Paradox Hotel lobby.

Keeping it Cool & Consistent with Custom Wine Refrigeration Systems 

A commercial wine cellar would fail without a proper cooling system. Since single pane glass allows for substantial thermal loss/gain, sizing of the refrigeration equipment was crucial.

Blue Grouse worked with a commercial wine cellar cooling system manufacturer to ensure appropriate BTUs were factored into the refrigeration equipment. The cooling unit must sufficiently cool the space to a consistent 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

In choosing the equipment, the physical size and ducting capabilities were vital elements. We needed units to fit in the bulkhead space directly above the wine wall. Blue Grouse Wine Cellars installed a total of three separate, water-cooled split systems, which explains the three ducted fan coils you can find in the bulkhead leading to openings through the ceiling for supply and return air. Each of these fan coils is then connected by way of copper refrigerant piping to a water-cooled condensing unit installed in a nearby inside area.

The benefit to water-cooled condensers is that they do not vent heat into the surrounding area. Hot air can become a concern if not properly ventilated, as it can impact the temperature of the high-end wine cellar.

Also, water-cooled units can be more enclosed than air-cooled units that require sufficient ventilation for the hot air they emit. In this high-end wine cellar in Downtown Vancouver, the condensers were even connected to a closed-loop system, which means the water was recycled for an eco-friendly operation.

Give Your Downtown Vancouver Business a Boost with a High-End Wine Cellar 

This high-end wine cellar in Downtown Vancouver exceeds expectations with a modern elegance to catch the customer’s eye, while keeping the prized wines properly. With high end design and functionality, more guests will be willing to spend time and money. The value given to your commercial wine cellar is a value given to your clients.

With Blue Grouse Wine Cellars, building a commercial wine cellar that draws attention is our forte. Working with the right people is key to creating a well-designed space to meet your guests’ demands and expectations.

As one of the industry’s most trusted wine cellar builders, we are committed to giving you a premier wine cellar that addresses your and your clients’ needs. We meticulously plan every wine cellar design or adhere to your concept with a touch of creativity from our team. This allows us to produce the best possible results you can enjoy for many years.

We are here to help you build a high-end wine cellar for your Downtown Vancouver establishment! Give us a call or visit our showroom.