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About Us
Meet the Team: Two of the Top Notch Wine Cellar Design Experts at Custom Wine Cellars Orange County
Designing and building a custom wine cellar starts with building trust. Adding a residential or commercial wine cellar is a huge investment that’s more than just racks and a cooling system — it’s a statement about you, your style, and the feeling you want your friends, family, or customers to experience when they walk into your custom wine storage space. We have a very talented team At Custom Wine Cellars Orange County that is ready to bring your ideas to life. We’d like to introduce you to two of the incredible team members who specialize in designing and building amazing custom residential and commercial wine cellars.
“As a restaurant owner, I’ve worked with my fair share of contractors, and I can honestly say the team at Custom Wine Cellars Orange County stands apart. Creating a commercial custom wine cellar like this one in our really well-trafficked environment is no small task—it had to be functional, beautiful, and totally reliable. From the very start at the initial consultation, to the final walkthrough, they were attentive, flexible, and incredibly professional. They took our raw really rough ideas and turned them into something that exceeded expectations. The designers really listened to what we needed, and the build team executed it with skill and precision. What surprised me most was how smooth—and even enjoyable—they made the process. These folks love what they do, and it shows.”
– Michael R.
Meeting With Your Custom Wine Cellar Designer
You might not even realize you’re talking to the designer when you first meet Grant. “One client thought I was just a friendly diner,” he chuckles. “We were twenty minutes into a conversation about wine regions before he realized that I was there to design his cellar.”
That relaxed, approachable style is a hallmark of Grant’s process.
Grant is based in Laguna Niguel, and brings his skill set to every undertaking, beginning with his background studying art history and architecture. When you first meet for a consultation, you can talk about your favorite wines, other cellars that you have visited or walked by and enjoyed, pictures you’ve found online, ideas you have about how you would like to use the space, and the kinds of experiences you would like your guests to have when they visit your personalized wine storage area.
“My aim is not to draw variations of wine cellar designs that I like,” he states. “My goal is to create a space for YOU. One that is a reflection of who you are. One that is in keeping with your personality, passions, and interests.”
His work is clearly a testament to his uncanny ability to marry traditional wine cellar elements with ultra-modern touches. Reclaimed barrel wood mingled with acrylic racks? Yes! Creating a speakeasy-style tasting room behind a glass case filled with high-tech panache? Done! One of his commercial custom wine cellars even earned a review in *Decanter* magazine for its innovative fusion of old-school wine cave elements with smart climate control and LED lighting.
Grant is also recognized for helping clients navigate the overwhelming options of such a large investment like an high-end wine cellar. “People want to think they’re going to make a decision immediately, but it doesn’t work that way,” he says. “My job is to listen, ask questions, and make their vision come true.”
Building Your Custom Residential or Commercial Wine Cellars
Once Grant finalizes a design, it lands in the capable hands of a project manager like Sarah, who turns ideas into brick, beam, and bottle-ready space. Originally from Texas, Sarah studied construction management at Texas A&M and moved to California to build homes. But after taking on her first custom wine cellar project, she was hooked. “There’s something really satisfying about starting with a blank slate and knowing every cut, every screw, every hidden bracket is part of making that vision come to life,” she says. “Especially when it’s something as personal and beautiful as a wine cellar.”
Sarah directs construction teams for home and business wine cellar projects, and especially enjoys working on contemporary projects that incorporate elements like metal and glass in new, aesthetically pleasing, and highly efficient ways. She is known to her coworkers as being direct, to the point, and always ready to get her hands dirty.
“My dad was a Texas home builder, and I loved going on his jobs with him.” she says. “‘Measure twice, cut once’ was his rule, and I still tell myself that every time I pick up a tape measure.”
Her crews admire her, clients appreciate her integrity, and her collaborative style means she and Grant habitually debug wine cellar designs together before any board is ever cut.
“The Case of the Coded Labels”
We also enjoy having a good laugh with our clients. We asked Sarah and Grant to talk about some of the fun times they’ve had working together.
Sarah:
“Okay, remember the guy in Laguna Beach who labeled every bottle with some secret code?”
Grant:
“Oh yeah. The one with the spreadsheet that looked like it belonged to the CIA?”
Sarah:
“He had letters and numbers for every wine. I thought it was some kind of vintage catalog system. Turns out it was just… his emotional rating.”
Grant:
“Right! ‘B7’ was a bottle he drank after his dog’s surgery. ‘A2’ was ‘pretty good but made me cry for no reason.’”
Sarah:
“I asked if he wanted racking by region, vintage, or varietal and he said, ‘No, just vibes.’”
Grant:
“To be fair, his vibes were extremely organized.”
Sarah:
“And then he asked if we could install a secret drawer under the tasting counter for his ‘emergency Chablis.’”
Grant:
“That’s the kind of client I live for. Quirky, specific, and totally into it.”
Sarah:
“He thanked us with a bottle labeled ‘S3’ and said it stood for ‘So grateful, 3 exclamation points.’”
Grant:
“We still don’t know what the wine was.”
Sarah:
“No idea. But it paired beautifully with the weirdest, most delightful cellar we’ve ever built.”
What This Means for You
Here’s what you can expect from the whole crew at Custom Wine Cellars Orange County:
- A dedicated project manager to keep everything on track
- Expert design consultation tailored to your space and goals
- Craftspeople who specialize in fine woodwork, metal, and glass
- Cooling system pros who know how to protect your collection
- Responsive, respectful communication throughout the build
- A final product that feels like a seamless part of your home or business
- Deep experience in luxury wine cellar design and installation
- Smart integration of wine storage systems into residential and commercial spaces
Because at the end of the day, it’s not about wood, metal, and glass. As Grant says:
“Wine cellars are just collections of materials. What makes them special is when you can weave those elements together to make a vision become reality.”
And Sarah? She just wants to build the hell out of it.
📞 Ready to Build the Wine Cellar of Your Dreams?
Whether you’re creating a cozy under-stair retreat or a showstopping commercial display,
the expert team at Custom Wine Cellars Orange County is ready to bring your vision to life.
Call us today at 714-202-0989
or click here to start your free custom design consultation.
Let’s create something amazing together.
