In addition to the pleasure of a fine glass of wine, Americans are fascinated with collections assembling categorized objects is a way they express themselves. Therefore, joy of 'collecting' is one of the primary reasons many consumers search out special wines!"

So, what does that mean for these new collectors who suddenly have no place to store their precious bottles of wine and for kitchen designers accustomed to meeting clients' various storage needs? For the majority of wine lovers, a wine storage appliance may be the best solution. Fortunately, most kitchen designers are already familiar with and currently specify such units. These appliances are well engineered and self contained, and can be an elegant addition to a custom-planned kitchen.

At times, though, a designer is called upon to plan a "wine cellar" adjacent to the kitchen, in an unneeded closet, or in a lower level location in the home. Planning such a space requires a unique knowledge base and skill set. Let me share with you some key design details I gathered this past fall as I prepared for a presentation to wine connoisseurs at "The Food and Wine Event" held at The American Club in Kohler, WI.

TYPES OF COLLECTORS

Before you think about the wine, focus on the collector. In The Philadelphia House and Garden Magazine, Mike Donaldson, sales director for Baltic Leisure, a Pennsylvania-based builder of wine racking systems (www.balticleisure.com/catalogs/wine), identified three different types of wine connoisseurs:

1. The Look-at-Me Collector: "That's a person who wants a wine space that's part of the overall design of their home. They want a chance to store their wine as they drink it, so the room is a showcase for their collection. For them, their main concern is the appearance of the rack system, so they often place it off the dining room and they want a lot of glass."

2. The Wine-as-an-Investment Collector: "The second kind of wine aficionado is the one who is building a collection of investment-grade wine. For such a collection, a room in a separate part of the house is preferable, and should include a racking plan, a dedicated cooling system and controlled lighting all in a draft-free, windowless room everything that it takes to enhance the value of the wine."

3. The Accidental Collector: "This might be a client who brings home hundreds of bottles of wine during trips to Europe and simply needs a place to store them. Depending on the client's entertaining style, they might like the collection hidden away or want it 'center stage.' "

Such clients offer new opportunities and challenges to kitchen designers. Just as finding out how many people cook in the kitchen is a priority, we need to identify what type of collector the client is before counting bottles or surveying the glass collection.

Learning how and when the wine is to be served is the next piece of information you need to gather. My experience has taught me that, in addition to the type of collector, the second "people" information you should seek out is "What part of an entertaining event does the actual wine serving/drinking play?" For many gourmet cooks, the wine is selected to enhance dinner presentations; therefore, a hard-working wine cellar is the best solution.

However, for other wine collectors, the ambiance of the cellar may be part of the entertaining event. For example, appetizers might be served in the cellar. The host and his/her guests might sample tastings (if a table is provided) in the cellar. Perhaps after-dinner wines (such as an elegant Canadian ice wine) might be offered in the cellar as the evening concludes.