Which came first – the house or the wine cellar? Well, in Scott Canobie’s case, it was the wine cellar. Even before the house was planned, the wine cellar had been decided on. Kate Jordan reports.
Scott Canobie isn’t a wine snob by any stretch of the imagination. There’s not a lot of talk about vintages or bouquets – he’s just a good Aussie bloke who likes the taste and has a fairly impressive cellar.
Scott first got into wine 15 years ago, when he was diagnosed with coeliac disease: a condition that causes an intolerance to gluten. Beer, unfortunately, has gluten in it, so Scott turned to wine – and discovered he quite liked it!
His wine collection is housed in a wine cellar that takes pride of place in the entrance of his home. Upon opening the front door, it’s immediately visible – an oblong glass trapdoor with attractive burnished steel edging – which looks straight down on the racks of wine. The glass door opens on hydraulics, controlled by a switch on a nearby wall. Made by a company named Spiral Cellars, the cellar is two metres deep.
Scott and his wife Sharon decided on the cellar before any other part of their house.
“Sharon found a picture of it in a magazine when we were looking to build and we thought ‘that will look cool, something different in the hallway’,” Scott says. “We wanted it from day one.”
The building designer, Andrew Slattery of Anabode Design, was just as enthusiastic as the Canobies about the cellar, if not more.
“I don’t think Andrew would’ve let us remove it from the plans,” Sharon jokes.
Andrew then designed the front entranceway around the cellar.
“We designed it so we still have enough egress and usability around the entry for the cellar,” he explains. “I think it’s a nice draw card, a visual point of interest when you walk into the home. The front door itself and the entry foyer are quite standard so the formal aspect of the cellar is a nice addition. It’s a good conversation piece and it looks the part.”
Installation of the cellar was also one of the first stages of the building process.
“It comes in like Lego pieces,” Andrew explains. “They’re all sort of interlinked sections that join together. You create the pit, then all the reinforcing pieces go in for the creation of the stair and the wine storage compartments.”
Although these cellars are becoming more common in residential homes, they’re still unusual enough that it takes a little bit of effort to find a builder who’ll take on the job.
“When we were getting quotes for it, a couple of builders weren’t really keen, because they didn’t know how to do it. Others put in quite a big margin, because of the potential for error involved,” Scott says. “But we found one in the end who was happy to do it and work with Spiral Cellars to put it in.”
Once the cellar and house were complete, the Canobies moved in, and so did their wine. The collection was previously stored at Scott’s work.
“Once we moved in here, I brought it all home. But there was a lot more wine at work than I realised,” Scott admits.
The cellar now holds 500 bottles of wine, a little under half its 1100 capacity. The collection is mostly Australian reds, with more than the occasional bottle of shiraz.
The air is noticeably cooler inside the cellar. The surrounding earth and a smart design of air pipes keeps the air cool without the need for pumps or air conditioning, even in summer.
“Because it’s underground, the temperature doesn’t change much at all. So there’s no cooling or anything in there, just being in the earth keeps it pretty constant,” Scott says.
With three young sons, there’s little time for Scott and Sharon to gallivant around the countryside, sampling the wares of local vineyards. Scott researches the wine online to find the ones he likes, taking advantage of the burgeoning online community ready to offer their opinion on different drops, and then places orders online. He’s building up a collection for years to come.
“Most of it’s all pretty young, so I still need to sit on it for a few years and in 10 years’ time I’ll start enjoying it,” he says.
Of course, there are some special bottles tucked away.
“I’ve got one that a mate gave me when I was 21, so quite a few years ago. And that one’s ready to drink now. So I’ve just got to track him down, as I haven’t seen him in quite a few years,” Scott says.
All the details of the wine are kept in an Excel spreadsheet, as well as an app. With more than 500 bottles, it pays to keep track of things.
With three young boys under five and a large hole in the floor, there are naturally concerns about safety. But the boys are well-trained and there are processes in place to keep them safe.
“The boys are really good. We’ve got a kill switch in the garage, which is up high that they can’t reach,” Scott explains. “But we don’t even put it on. They don’t go down there unless they’re with us. They’ve never actually opened it when they shouldn’t, which is good. But we’ll wait until they’re a bit older and see what happens.”
Scott’s found a way to incorporate one of his loves into his family home – in a very stylish manner!
