Photos by Baxter Imaging
Steve Farber says he has been into wine “since before I was legally allowed to drink.”
“When my parents let me taste a glass of Chablis when I was about 11, it was not sweet Manischewitz – it was crisp and drinkable – and I’ve been into wine ever since,” he adds.
Steve and his wife, Susan, have long enjoyed wines from California and Washington State. But when they visited Israel on a federation mission about 10 years ago, they discovered the joy of Israeli wines during a visit to a vineyard. After another federation mission, they decided to set up their own trips to Israel to see different parts of the country and also to visit more vineyards.
“What organization will take you to six or seven vineyards?” asks Steve.
They now have taken friends on three trips they planned and have another in the works for next year.
“We’ve been to about 10 vineyards and tasted 50 to 60 different wines from Israel,” says Steve. He says his favorite is Wild Carignan, which is a grape that grows in the wild and produces a very tasty, unusual wine.
After each trip the couple ships a case or two of wine home. They also purchase Israeli wines from a distributor in New York. Combined with their stock of California and Washington wines, they have an extensive assortment of wine.
So when they bought a new house last year, they decided the alcove intended as a tech center would be much more useful as a wine cellar. “I’m not a major collector, I’m a drinker. It’s nice to have a wine cellar so you can get good wine and hold onto it for a while before you drink it.”
Their interior designer recommended they contact Innovative Wine Cellar Designs.
Innovative Wine owners Sandy and Marlene Horwitz have been creating custom wine cellars for residential and commercial wine enthusiasts since 2001. They have showrooms in Scottsdale, Tucson, Las Vegas and Albuquerque and have designed wine cellars around the country. The company’s wine cellars are designed to each customer’s specifications.
“The Farbers had specific storage and capacity needs,” says Sandy. “They wanted to be able to use it as a butler’s pantry to keep foods cool before a party, and they wanted cabinets for dishes. I think we nailed it for them. They were a pleasure to work with.”
“Innovative Wines worked with us a bunch. It was easy getting it all worked out,” says Steve. “They had some new features for the wine cellar that we liked a lot.” Steve especially likes the wine racks in which bottles lay lengthwise, making the label visible instead of just displaying the end of the bottle. “I think it looks much nicer, and it’s easier to follow what you have.”
Since the alcove does not get direct sunlight, which can damage wines, they chose glass doors instead of wood for the cellar (which Steve notes is NOT in the cellar).
“Lighting was very important for us, and they handled that nicely also,” says Steve.
“We also wanted a countertop, so when we have a party my wife can store salads there since it’s cool (the wine is stored at a constant 55º). Innovate Wines was able to include that.”
The couple often entertain friends, including those they know through their involvement with Jewish National Fund, where Susan in on the board, AIPAC and Congregation Or Tzion.
“When we tour the house, we make sure people see the wine cellar,” says Steve. “I love showing it off. It’s beautiful and adds to the ambiance.”
When Sandy first opened Innovative Wine Cellars, he said the trend was to make the cellars look like a stone cellar with wood racks. But in the past five or six years he has seen a trend toward contemporary structures that are a focal point of the home and that feature metal and glass to create that ambiance Steve found so appealing. For the Farber’s cellar, Sandy suggested wine racks made with stainless steel rods and mahogany.
Unlike the Farbers, Sandy says his interest in wines in primarily as a collector. His own cellar has three distinct sections. One is for wines his wife enjoys and drinks; another is for guests to pick out any bottle to accompany dinner; and the third is for wines “nobody touches – expensive wines I’m keeping for years.”
Organization is his forte. In addition to keeping his own belongings organized, Sandy used to own a California Closets franchise to help others organize their clothes and belongings. When he sold that, he launched Innovative Wine Cellar Designs to bring beauty and order to a different aspect of homes and businesses. He drew on his relationships with builders, architects and interior designers and soon grew the new company to the nation’s leading designer and builder of custom wine cellars.
