SAWDUST AND WINE...THE VINOTEMP STORY

Located in Southern California, Vinotemp is a 30-year-old, family owned business, with administration offices, manufacturing, distribution and warehouse facilities throughout Los Angeles and Orange County.  

Founder, Francis Ravel, was born 1917, Casablanca, French Morocco. In his early 20’s, Francis moved to Paris where he joined and fought with the French Foreign Legion.  The young freedom fighter was captured by German occupation troops, where he escaped and joined and fought with the US Army to push German troops out of France and assist with the Allied invasion and conquest of Nazi Germany. 

After the war, Francis came to the United States and eventually landed in Hollywood, California in the early 1950’s.  He became an actor and was cast with Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and Elvis Presley in a verity of hit musicals.  After a lengthy film career, Francis turned his talents to the early days of Television and played a recurring role on the I Love Lucy show.

After a lengthy and successful film and TV career, Francis, at 68, found his true passion of making and bottling his own wine.  This simple turn of fate led to the need to store his collection.  A man ahead of his time, he was the first to introduce the idea of placing a cooling unit into a sealed wine cabinet, soon he was making his wine cabinets for friends and family and “voila!” Vinotemp was born.  

  

From these humble beginnings, Vinotemp has grown to be recognized worldwide as design and innovators of bespoke wine solutions, including cooling systems, wine cellars and wine furniture. Today, Francis Ravel’s daughter, India Hynes, who grew up playing and working on the floors of the Vinotemp factory, is now President of Vinotemp International.

Inspiration lies at the very core of Vinotemp’s culture and India, like her father, has traveled the world in search of new ideas and trends, both in and outside the wine industry, to learn about the latest technology and storage solutions to keep Vinotemp on the leading edge of design and technology, now and in the future

At Vinotemp, the term “bespoke” is taken very seriously.  Much like a fitted suit, they design and build a personal space that will define and reflect the collection and the collector.   Vinotemp challenges the very way we look at space, so they may better understand the problem, a well as the solution. Vinotemp believes that modern wine design must move away from a one-dimensional approach and think of the wine-room as a multi-dimensional canvas. The static, cluttered, restricted, and unchanging wine-room of the past must now evolve into a living stage, a place where it is possible to create an environment that alters old beliefs about space and structure and to infuse new concepts that reflect the needs of today’s modern wine collector.

From a 7-bottle, 6” wide, built-in wine cooler to a cavernous wine cellar, Vinotemp is dedicated to one thing and one thing only…WINE.  Vinotemp leads the field for awarding design and manufacturing. Vinotemp is the recognized leader when it comes to built-in or free-standing wine storage and cooling.  No matter what your project size, be it a simple kitchen remodel to a penthouse apartment wine room, from a luxury wine cellar in Sonoma to a Fifth Avenue, Five Star restaurant, there’s a Vinotemp product or design to meet your exacting need and budget.  As Francis Ravel was known to say, “How you store and present your wine is a direct reflection on you and your collection”.

Even though Vinotemp is considered an international company, with offices and partners around the world, it is a California company with a California “soul”.  As much as Vinotemp has grown and expanded over the years, we still call Southern California home.  Vinotemp’s loyal workforce of woodworkers, cabinetmakers, artisans, and designers are all bound together by a single thought…to create a product that will last for generations.   

Vinotemp…Handcrafted with Pride since 1985

FIVE WAYS TO LIGHT YOUR WINE CELLAR

A wine cellar, room or vault is more than just a space to store your collection, it is truly a reflection off you and your lifestyle.  Lighting is all about creating ambiance, setting a mood and if done correctly...adding a little drama to an otherwise static environment.  In addition, the right lighting is essential to protecting your wine from the harmful effects of the wrong type of light selected.  The first rule to proper light selection..."do no harm".

Here are a few ways ways to bring light to your collection:

1.  LED...the right light.  

Incandescent or halogen lighting can give off to much heat when used close to wine.  An unregulated heat source, like a halogen bulb, can prove very damaging to your collection.  LED, on the other hand, is a great light source that produces little to no heat signature.

2.  Ceiling Lighting

If your cellar has floor to ceiling racking, you may want to use recessed LED lighting or LED track or spot lighting to wash or highlight your racks and bottles. You can also put these lights on a dimmer switch to adjust the lighting for need or occasion.

3.  Display + Accent Lighting

You can use display and accent lighting to highlight racks, bottles and architectural room details. Accent lighting adds an additional dimension to the room.  Running light-strips, rope-light or light-tape to rack and shelf edges can give the storage area an even and balanced feel or you can highlight key areas or bottles you wish to showcase.  Take advantage of over looked areas for subtle lighting effects from below or behind racks...this where you can let your creative touches shine.

4.  Back Lighting

A great lighting effect for any size wine cellar or room is back lighting your wine racks.  Back lighting gives a modern feel to the room as your bottles are awash and silhouetted in filtered light.

5.  Chandeliers

My personal favorite form of lighting for a cellar or even a small room. if you have the ceiling height, is a chandelier.  Like jewelry to a dress or the rims on a fine auto, a chandelier, either traditional or modern, is the finishing touch that will set the mood for your cellar.

Think of your cellar as a blank canvas for you to express your creativity and remember that how you store and present your collection is a reflection of you and your lifestyle.

Cheers,

VINOTEMP WINS FOUR ADEX AWARDS FOR DESIGN EXCELLENCE

Vinotemp, the Southern California based manufacturer and distributor of bespoke wine rooms, wine furniture and unique wine refrigeration, announced today that four of its newest products for 2016 have been awarded the ADEX award for design excellence.

ADEX is the largest and most prestigious awards program for product and project design for the Architectural + Design community.  All ADEX entries are evaluated by a panel of judges who are among the industry's most respected leaders in their specific area of expertise.

"We truly appreciate the process required to create and provide attractive options for our residentual and commercial clientele worldwide, said India Hynes, President of Vinotemp. Hynes went on to say, "Being recognized year-after-year by ADEX is an honor in itself as well as a testament to the high-level of dedication neccessary to continue growing our unique offering of wine storage solutions.

Honored with Platinum and Gold awards, each of the four Vinotemp selected products offer a uique and practical solution to wine storage.

Vinotemp’s 2016 ADEX Platinum products:

·  Vinotemp7-Bottle Mirrored Wine Cooler:  Just 5.8” wide and front vented for built-in installations, the award-winning cooler features a patented mirrored trim design making it a unique, space-saving wine storage solution.

  Vinotemp 24-Bottle Wall Mounted Wine-Cooler:    Designed for built-in installation, the international style accents the coolers compact design, adding a new definition to "form and function.  The classic stainless finish and wood racking compliments any design aesthetic. 

        

    Vinotemp’s 2016 ADEX Gold products:

  

   Vinotemp's zeroG Suspended Wine System:   Handcrafted of wood and aluminum, the proprietary wine racking system creates the illusion of floating or suspended wine bottles, while providing a secure and flexible storage space.  

  

   Vinotemp 300-Bottle Wine Cooler:  This "first to market" cooler, features dual-zone cooling option and  front exhaust venting for either built-in or free-standing intallation.  This cooler boasts both an impressive storage capacity as well as patented black metal racking with a black wooden lip for a clean and modern apperance.

For more information regarding Vinotemp and its ADEX winning products visit vinotemp.com, and for more information regarding ADEX visit adexawards.com. 

VINOTECTURE...EXPLORING THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN SPACE AND FUNCTIONALITY

With space at a premium, imagine a wine room or cellar without boundaries or barriers, an environment free from conventional thought and restrictions, a wine room created to successfully achieve the delicate balance between form and function, while reflecting the needs and life style of the modern homeowner.

The new "wine-matrix" allows for maximum usage of space with the focus on utilization and optimization, thus allowing the homeowner, apartment dweller or loft inhabitant to maximize the usage of the space at hand.

The new approach to vinotecture is to challenge the way we look at space, so we may better understand the problem. Modern wine design must move away from a one-dimensional approach to design and to think of the wine-room as a multi-dimensional canvas. The static, cluttered, restricted and unchanging wine-room of the past must now evolve into a living stage, a place where it is possible to create an environment that alters old beliefs about space and structure and infuse new concepts that reflect the needs of today’s modern collector.

Today’s wine-room has grown far from its primary function of storage to that of “the social center”, where friends and family gather to share, rejuvenate and commune together.  The walls have come down and this once hidden and isolated domain has now become apart of a larger social arena. It can serve as a hide away for quite reflection, or a place to gather for family fun and social entertaining.

Today’s wine-room can be open to the rest of the home, and as such, the wine-room must now function on several levels, from storing and aging to social interaction, to entertainment center. More furniture, than racking, the modern wine-room must blend seamlessly into the living areas of the home, 

VINOTECTURE OF THE DAY

VINOTECTURE OF THE DAY

PROPER WINE STORAGE…THE CORNERSTONE TO A QUALITY WINE EXPERIENCE

From the earliest days of mankind, we have had long and flavorful relationship with the “fruit-of-the-vine”.  From picking and gathering various fruits and berries, to the cultivation of the first fields, to picking and squeezing the first harvests into earthenware jars and jugs, man has always had deal with the preservation and storage of this most  precious elixir…after thousands of years of trial and error we have developed a foundation for preservation an storage.

A good wine experience depends, not only on the wine, but is also dependent on the way the wine has been kept and stored.  Wine is a very delicate and complex product that demands gentle and precise treatment.  It must be stored correctly, served at the right temperature and poured into the proper glass.  Only when all of these things are combined do we achieve the perfect wine experience.

If wine is incorrectly stored, it can lead to an unpleasant after-taste of the mould that causes to become “corked”.  Wine can mature too quickly, too slowly or just may never reach its true potential.  Likewise, it can be a disaster if a wine is served at a temperature that has not been allowed to rise or descend slowly.  A controlled environment, be it a simple under-counter wine cooler, wine cabinet or wine room, will ensure a quality wine experience with each bottle served.

THE 5 RULES OF WINE STORAGE

Wine is a living. Breathing and evolving and complex form of chemistry that demands a gentle hand to guide its from birth to consumption.  Wine, like any living thing, is affected by the world around it…and to ensure a quality wine experience, here are the 5 basic’s for proper wine storage.

1. TEMPERATURE:  The ideal temperature to store wine should be between 50° and 57.2 °f, which should remain constant.

2. HUMIDITY:  A humidity level between 50 to 75% is essential for the cork to seal and to effectively keep the destructive effects of oxygen out of the bottle.

3. LIGHT:  The wine bottle offers no protection against direct sunlight and denigrating and destructive nature of ultra-violet light on wine.  Wine should always be stored in a dark or low-light, ultra-violet free environment.

4.VIBRATION:  Continues vibration or movement of wine will disrupt the delicate biochemical process in the wine’s natural ageing development.  Vibration is the leading reason many fine wines fail to reach their optimal potential.

5.VENTILATION:  Ventilation and the continuous circulation of air are paramount in avoiding the development of unpleasant odors and mould.