Cork Vault now has about 100,000 wine bottles inside its discreet facility

“Surprisingly, we got busier in 2020,” says Bill Bounds, who leads the business along with Jamie Doyle. “This was mostly driven by people moving to new houses and displacing their cellars.”

Wine enthusiasts: Bill shared with Axios that the biggest surprise has been the high value that members place on the community.

• “Cork Vault exists to take the work out of the wine hobby for our members which means more time spent on enjoyment. And when wine people finally sit down to open their wine they also share it with enthusiasm.”

The discreet wine storage facility has a gated and screened fence entry.

Then you’ll need to place your thumb on the biometric lock.

Once inside Cork Vault, you’ll find a lounge space with a bar, sitting area, pool table, TV and a dining table.

How it works: If you have wine to store, you lease a locker space in their temperature-controlled rooms (55 degrees). When you sign up with Cork Vault, Bill will come to your house and pick up your wine or you can have it shipped directly there if you’re importing/having it delivered. You can access your wine (and the lounge) at any time — all you need is your thumb print to get in. If you have trouble, Bill can let you in remotely.

Pricing: It costs $590 a year to lease a locker that fits 18 cases and $750 for a locker that fits 27 cases. They have other custom options as well if you’re looking for something larger.

Who uses it: Bill said in general, everyone who uses it is a wine collector, which means it’s their passion. And they need storage for two reasons: either they don’t have any or much at home or they have a fancy walk-in and still need more. Wine usually tastes best when you let it age, so a lot of people will keep bottles in storage for 10 years and keep bottles that are ready to serve at home.

Here’s a quick look around.