Out of sight, not out of mind in UK

Wines & Vines, March, 2003 by James Graham

Just over a decade ago, UK logistics provider CERT Group of Companies took a gamble and acquired a unique facility to develop a new type of fine wine storage. A former quarry located almost 100 feet underground at Corsham in Wiltshire, 100 miles southwest of London, the cellar was used in World War II to store ammunition. It now serves merchants, trade customers and wine collectors throughout the country, providing certain distinct advantages: no ultraviolet rays or vibrations, constant temperature levels and high levels of security thanks to its army background and remote location.

Surrounded by the lush English countryside, there is no clue above ground that bottles of wine, some worth in excess of $10,000, are stored in near-perfect conditions beneath the sandstone hills. Anonymous industrial sheds at the end of a minor country lane disguise the facility. Former military barracks house office staff and there is nothing to hint about what lies beneath the surface. Which is just how owner Octavian, a subsidiary of the privately-owned CERT group, likes it.

The subsidiary was formed to run this facility and a sister above-ground location just north of London, allowing the group to offer storage in the cellar as a dedicated service to customers. These can be commercial organizations or private, wealthy individuals requiring secure cellars to store fine and rare wines in a site convenient to London, the key UK market.

One factor in the success of the location, according to Octavian managing director Michael Lainas, is the sheer capacity offered by the cellars. The cellar area is the largest in the UK and covers 32 acres or one million square feet of storage. With a ceiling more than 15 feet high, modern stacking allows the storage of around 720,000 cases of wine, equivalent to more than 8 million bottles.

To combat humidity, a complex computerized control system was installed. This controls fans and ventilation doors. De-humidifier units are capable of removing 150 gallons of water a day.

Wines arrive in trucks and are unloaded at the facility. What happens next sets the Corsham facility apart from other cellars.

Whatever technical advantages the cellars offer, they would be lost if key London hotel and restaurant customers could not rely on timely deliveries, mostly at the start of the business day. Convenient access to Britain's motorway system is invaluable.

Cases are unloaded from their pallets and put on the flatcars of a funicular railroad that descends 90 feet to the bottom of the slope at the cave entrance. The railroad descends through the only entrance to the facility, meaning that pedestrians must wait until the train is moved before climbing to the surface or down to the cellars.

Designed to meet the legal and commercial requirements of both wine merchants and private clients, Octavian provides wine insurance, all risks, to full replacement value; individual labeling of cases to identify beneficial owners; physical separation of customer reserves from corporate stocks; fulfillment of administrative requirements for UK Customs & Excise; duty and VAT (Value Added Tax) deferment until wine is withdrawn from cellars; continuous inventory audits by bottle, case or pallet using sophisticated stock management systems and yearly computerized stock reports. Even more important for private clients, the cellars also invite inspection of wine by arrangement.

Current clients include wine producers and merchants such as Cave Cru Class, Edward Cavendish, Friarwood, John Armit, Louis Latour, Maisons Marques et Domaines, Percy Fox and private individuals such as the composer Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber and celebrity restaurateur Michael Roux.

(James Graham is a freelance journalist in London. He may be reached at edit@winesandvines.com.)