For people who have so much wine but not enough time to drink it right away, storage is often a challenge. However, Fred Tregaskis of New England Wine Cellars has solutions – whether it’s for storing 30 or 30,000 bottles of wine.
“People who collect wine want to keep it, and keep it nicely,” he explains. “It needs to be aging gracefully.” At minimum, that aging process includes temperature controls and even lighting, but for those with more discerning tastes, it can also include thematic designs, architectural elements, sitting areas or any number of factors that enhance the storage of wine.
“I love designing and building and I love the wine world,” expresses Tregaskis, who worked in Hudson Valley wineries, was an art director at a wine magazine and was even a professional taster before his career evolved into a creator of custom-made wine cellars and host of a radio show about wine.
He has traveled the world building custom cellars, but he began his career in Manhattan, when the sommelier at the St. Regis asked if he could recommend someone to design the construction of a new cellar for Lespinasse in the St. Regis.
“I knew I could design and build it, and so I did a sketch,” recalls Tregaskis. The rest is history. He went on to design and build the wine cellar at the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant (a project that had to be installed afterhours, forcing him and his crew to work for 12 hours – 9p.m. to 9 a.m.). He has designed cellars made entirely from reclaimed wood and cellars from glass and steel.
He now has installations throughout the world – Bangalore, India is the furthest project from his Falls Village, CT workshop – but he has also installed penthouse suites and suburban basements.
“I’ve been in places as high as you can possibly work or as low as you can possibly go,” he quips. Made from different wood styles, rack and sizes, each site is unique and custom built. But Tregaskis says a good plateau of efficiency for residential use is usually found in a wine cellar that has between 1,250 and 1,500 bottle of wine. “You have enough to put away for long-term storage and enough so that they can also be drinking it up right now,” explains Tregaskis.
Other factors that are considered in the design process include themes, bottle sizes, flooring, and tasting or dining areas within the storage unit. The optimum process involves Tregaskis viewing the site, meeting with the owners and taking measurements.
“We do drawings back and forth, and we hone in on the vision and the budget,” he describes. The process can take from a couple of weeks to a year. The racks are prebuilt at his warehouse and then reassembled on site. Climate control is so important that Tregaskis has a full-time specialist on his staff to address that process.
One challenge that often crops up is that a wine cellar, although exacting in requirement, is often one of the last features a homeowner considers. Usually kitchens and bedrooms take precedent, so Tregaskis works with the space that is available, finding unique ways to maximize usage and to create efficiencies. “In a home it’s nice to have the accessibility so it’s ready to go at a moment’s notice,” he remarks.
While it’s enjoyable to plan pairings with big meals and parties, Tregaskis has also learned that just leaving wine in a cellar forever is of little value. “Wine is meant to be enjoyed with friends,” he advises. One of his favorite activities is pulling out a really special bottle on the spur of the moment and sharing it with people he knows will appreciate the experience. “It’s not such a precious thing,” he says. “It’s meant to be shared; that’s where the joy happens.”
NEW ENGLAND WINE CELLARS
www.newcellars.com
Fred B. Tregaskis
16 Rt. 7 South P.O. Box 7
Falls Village, CT 06031
Are you as passionate about great jazz as you are about wine? Check this out!
In addition to creating beautiful custom wine cellars, Fred Tregaskis- along with his wife, Louise Baranger- have created an event experience you and your guests won’t soon forget. “Wine ~ Jazz” is an interactive wine tasting/jazz history experience. Tregaskis leads you through a variety of wines, each representing an iconic era of the 20th century, while Baranger and her trio accompany each wine with perfectly matched jazz music! You can book this show at your own venue, and work with Tregaskis to create the perfect blend of wines for your guests to enjoy!