About the Editor: Shane McAllister—World Traveler and Purveyor of Los Angeles Custom Wine Cellars

We at Los Angeles Custom Wine Cellars strive to provide high-quality information to Los Angeles and Orange County, California residents on the intricacies of wine storage in both residential spaces and commercial properties. Whether you’re simply looking for some good advice on how to build in your location, or you’re actually looking for wine storage service and products, we hope to provide what you need. This is the story of Shane McAllister, our editor. He has a very interesting path that led him to wine cellar building and construction. He has a unique view of this industry and is the perfect person to guide our site. We hope you enjoy his insights.

A Wandering Journey to Custom Wine Cellars

My journey to the world of custom-designed and built wine cellars is a long and storied one. I started as many college freshmen, an English major, with imaginings of literary greatness, and no understanding of the cost of living an upper-middle-class lifestyle in Los Angeles, California.

My English professors, like all doctorates, were encouraging of my work, imagining that the world would be a much better place if everyone was employed by a University with occasional published works that qualified them as experts in their field.

And so I continued on this path of enlightenment until a girl by the name of Jasmine (that was really her name) asked me to join her and a group of friends on a trip to Rome. Suddenly the degree seemed like a long-lost dream, replaced by a much better one, an erotic adventure into the old world with this black-haired beauty.

I said yes faster than I should have, showing my hand far too quickly, which is probably why I never got past first base with the lovely Jasmine on the entire trip; c’est la vie.

Getting My Hands Dirty in the Wine Cellar Building Industry

My dad owned a small construction company on the edge of Los Angeles. There had always been an invitation to come and experience “real man’s work” but my mom had insisted that this wasn’t expected.

If I wanted to get a degree and work at a desk that was certainly my right. But with looming financial pressure from my “orgy of spending” in Europe, I figured that it might be a good idea to get my hands a little dirty for a change and pay off the Visa card.

And I was feeling adventurous and open to new experiences after Rome. So I figured that maybe a life as an architect or a designer would be right for me. Some experience working at the construction company would help me find out if life-designing spaces would be a good fit for me.

My first job working for my father was nothing like the Basilica. We were renovating a small bathroom in a house from the 70s that looked like the Brady Bunch’s home on the outside, but not nearly as fancy on the inside. I never realized that one could get so dirty in one day. That night I took two showers and I still felt like I had dust from drywall in my ears. I wasn’t feeling optimistic that this would be a long-term career path.

But after a week or so, the project started to take shape and my spirits lifted. When the job was done the bathroom looked amazing. I began to get excited about these projects, seeing a job through from the beginning to the end, seeing something go from ugly to beautiful, seeing something change from a state of being what the client did not want to what they very much desired. It was a magical experience that I got to go through over and over again, week after week, month after month. This was FUN!

Wine Cellar Construction – My New Found Love

During this time I began taking classes on construction management. I also began discussing with my father the idea of building wine cellars. He told me that wine cellars, wine rooms, and displays were a real niche market that required a specialized understanding of refrigeration, cabinetry, and ironwork and that it could be quite lucrative. Together we began building wine cellars and the rest is history. I was able to combine my love of wine culture and my newfound love of construction design and management.

One of the side benefits of running a successful business has been having the means and the opportunity to travel all over the world, feeding my hunger for wine. I’ve visited the classic wineries of France. I’ve had many, many opportunities to visit our own world-renowned California wine country. And I’ve witnessed how great wine is springing up all over the world, giving me the excuse to make multiple important “business” trips.

And now my story comes full circle. Here I am returning to my love of writing as the editor of this site, adding my insights after years of experience in this industry. I love wine and I love wine cellars. I love taking a space in a home or commercial location that was once drab, ugly, or ordinary, and turning it into a place infused with tradition, taste, and the love of happiness that comes with fine wine. Cheers!

 

Los Angeles Custom Wine Cellars
113 N San Vicente Blvd Suite #326,
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
+1 (323) 825-9846

 

Neighborhoods in Los Angeles: Where We’ve Built Some Seriously Fancy Wine Cellars

Dialog extracts with some of our clients.

Most clients are enthusiastic (and some somewhat eccentric) clients who wanted to add a unique custom wine cellar to their luxurious Los Angeles home. Here are some examples of what they asked for.

Beverly Hills: The Icon of Luxury

• Client: “I need a wine cellar that screams sophistication. Think old-world charm but with a secret fingerprint scanner, just in case my sommelier goes rogue.”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “Ah, Beverly Hills! No problem. We’ve built cellars here that are more secure than Fort Knox—one even had a separate climate-controlled room just for vintage Champagne.”
• Client: “Perfect. I like to drink my money.”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “You’ll fit right in. Did you know Frank Sinatra once covered everyone’s tab at the Beverly Hills Hotel Polo Lounge just because he felt like it?”
• Client: “That’s the level of energy I aspire to.”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “Then let’s get you a cellar that says ‘I’m the Chairman of the Board of Fine Wine.’”

Bel-Air: The Hidden Fortress of the Elite

• Client: “I need a wine cellar, but I also need it to be invisible. Can you make it… disappear?”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “Like a James Bond lair?”
• Client: “Exactly. Something that will impress my guests but also hide my really expensive bottles from, you know… people.”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “Got it. We once built a cellar in Bel-Air that was hidden behind a rotating bookshelf. The owner called it ‘The Batcave of Bordeaux.’”
• Client: “Sold. Can we also make it earthquake-proof?”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “Oh, definitely. We designed one wine cellar here that could probably survive the apocalypse—might even outlast some of Elon Musk’s old houses.”

Malibu: Oceanfront Opulence

• Client: “I need a wine cellar that matches my beachfront view.”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “We can install a full glass-enclosed cellar with ocean views, climate-controlled to perfection.”
• Client: “Can it also be shark-proof?”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “Are you… storing wine underwater?”
• Client: “No, but I like to prepare for extreme situations.”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “Got it. You know, Malibu homes can go for $50 million easy, but a properly stored 1945 Château Mouton Rothschild? Priceless.”
• Client: “That’s the energy I want for my cellar—priceless and prepared for anything.”

Holmby Hills: The Estate Capital of L.A.

• Client: “I have a ridiculous amount of space. I want a wine cellar so big it requires a map.”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “We built one here that had a private tasting room, a glass ceiling, and a waterfall feature.”
• Client: “That’s great, but can we add a secret passageway?”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “Like a trap door that leads to a whiskey den?”
• Client: “Exactly. And maybe a secret button that plays classical music when I enter.”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “We can do that. Before it was the Playboy Mansion, the estate here belonged to a department store tycoon. Imagine how much better it would’ve been with hidden wine cellars!”

Brentwood: Old Money Meets New Power

• Client: “I want a wine cellar that looks classy, not flashy. Think presidential.”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “Brentwood is perfect for that. We did a cellar here for a CEO that looked like a secret underground bunker.”
• Client: “Love it. Very national security, but make it wine.”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “Exactly. Marilyn Monroe lived here once—maybe you can keep a bottle of bubbly in her honor?”
• Client: “Great idea. Let’s make a section for vintage Champagne and another for apocalypse survival reds.”

Pacific Palisades: Coastal Wealth Without the Crowds

• Client: “I want a wine cellar, but I also want it to feel casual, like I just happened to have an incredible collection.”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “Ah, the Pacific Palisades effect—understated luxury. Tom Hanks lives here, and he once waited in line for a croissant. That’s the vibe, right?”
• Client: “Yes! Make it look effortlessly cool.”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “We can go for a mix of reclaimed wood and glass. Minimalist but stunning.”
• Client: “Perfect. I want people to say, ‘Oh, wow, I didn’t even notice the 3,000-bottle wine cellar behind that sleek oak door.’”

Calabasas: The Modern Celebrity Sanctuary

• Client: “I need a wine cellar for Instagram. Something that looks like it costs millions, but also makes me look relatable.”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “We’ve built cellars in Calabasas that could double as art galleries.”
• Client: “I want something that screams private but fabulous.”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “Hidden Hills is big on that—Kardashians, Drake… Drake even has a grotto. Want a wine grotto?”
• Client: “A wine grotto? I didn’t even know that was a thing, but now I need it.”

Manhattan Beach: Coastal Chic with a Tech Twist

• Client: “I want a wine cellar that’s high-tech but also looks like I surf every day.”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “So, sleek but beachy?”
• Client: “Exactly. Can we integrate an app-controlled temperature system?”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “Of course. We built one here with automated LED lighting that changed based on the time of day.”
• Client: “Perfect. Also, make sure it pairs well with my oceanfront infinity pool.”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “Naturally. By the way, Google’s former CEO once built a $22 million house here—then tore it down to build a better one.”
• Client: “That’s the level of ambition I respect.”

Is There a Key Takeaway? Because Your Wine Deserves a Home as Fancy as Yours

• Client: “So, what’s the takeaway here?”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “Los Angeles is a place where even wine cellars are statements of luxury. Whether you want a hidden vault in Bel-Air, a wine grotto in Calabasas, or a beachfront masterpiece in Malibu, we’ve got you covered.”
• Client: “And it’ll be earthquake-proof, right?”
• Wine Cellar Designer: “Naturally. We build wine cellars that could survive a Hollywood apocalypse—so your 1945 Château Mouton Rothschild will always be safe.”
• Client: “That’s all I needed to hear. Let’s build it.”