Wine storage an art for rare builder

KoolSpace - Started in 1999 as a distributor for a manufacturer; - Arnel Marchand went out on his own around 2000; - Started working from his garage and in 2003 moved to a retail storefront; - Custom wine cellars comprise 50 per cent of business, followed by modular racking systems, cooling units and free-standing cellars, accessories, and wine room furniture; - Annual sales more than $2 million.

The Harper government's recent budget announcement about a tax credit for home renovations has plenty of people daydreaming about new floors or perhaps a bathroom makeover.

But as investments go, a custom wine room not only enhances the resale value in homes of certain value and amenity, it also puts them on a par with most upscale homes where a wine room is the norm, said Arnel Marchand, owner of KoolSpace Wine Cellars.

Moreover, wine itself has over the last 30 years been one of the best investments, he said, "as good an investment as real estate."

Consider too that with the economy the way it is, a wine room gives those with expensive tastes an opportunity to buy vintages of interest now at attractive prices, and lay them down for five to 10 years or longer, and eventually enjoy wine that's tripled or more in price.

And while the thought of a wine room may have some fantasizing about donning an ascot and showing off their collection to the envy of friends, the required constant temperature of 13.8 Celsius and 60 per cent humidity make them not all that comfy a place to hang out for too long -- especially as there's no in-floor heating allowed.

KoolSpace provides custom wine cellars, modular racking systems, cooling units, freestanding cellars, accessories and wine room furniture.

The business builds every aspect of a room from the ground up, including the floors. Materials of choice here are stone, tile, sealed concrete and cork -- Marchand's favourite product.

Cork deadens the sound, it's forgiving if something is dropped, "and it doesn't drain the heat out of your feet if you walk in there with sock feet," he said.

Custom rooms comprise half the business, with Kool-Space doing the installation. The company works with home builders for new construction, but also does renovations and retrofits in existing homes.

Either way, building a wine room requires a number of specifications be met, like the appropriate 'R' values for insulation on walls and ceilings, vapour barriers, a sealed door and appropriate materials.

"Nothing that can permeate the bottle and affect the wine," he said.

It's all about achieving precise conditions for a room that has temperature and humidity requirements, air flow considerations, and provides protection from ultraviolet rays (which can change the flavour of the wine and destroy it really quickly) and vibration from, for instance, giant speakers from an adjacent home theatre room.

KoolSpace has built rooms with big tasting areas, a popular feature, and last year built more than 100 wine rooms ranging from small affairs "under the stairs" to big custom jobs.