Portland Wine Storage, Inc.

RECENT PRESS August, 2006

PRIVATE WINE STORAGE FACILITY FILLS NICHE AND GROWS COMMUNITY    Portland Wine Storage Continues Expanding to Meet Portland's Wine Needs    In the spring of 2000, Tom Harvey and Joe Padulo founded a business that attracted as many skeptics as it did believers. The basic concept was wine storage: unrestricted yet secure, self-service, climate-controlled wine lockers for monthly rental. Now, six years later, Portland Wine Storage is a hub for all things wine and a maturing subculture of the Oregon wine community. "On any given day, in addition to storage inquiries, I get calls asking me to build custom cellars, transport and inventory collections, locate rare wines, consign old home-storage systems, sell wine accessories, and even cater private events," says Joe Padulo, co-owner of Portland Wine Storage. (One of the most recent – and strangest – requests was to locate a stripping "Captain Jack Sparrow" pirate for a birthday party.) With the exception of the latter, Padulo and Harvey do it all. "Being in this business really sheds light on what the needs of the wine community are," says Padulo. "Before us, local wine shops and out-of-state catalogs were the only resources around. We've filled in all the gaps and provide an excellent local alternative." Portland Wine Storage has built several side ventures that buttress its solid skyward-bound business model. Early on, Harvey and Padulo began designing and manufacturing custom steel wine racks for in-house clients. They are now contracted by architects, builders, savvy homeowners and bars to build and install these racks. Padulo also consults for customers who wish to have their collections appraised and sold while Harvey updates and maintains clients' inventories. This summer, the duo launched www.portlandwinegear.com, a retail site selling wine accessories nationwide. In addition to stocking popular items such as stemware and decanters, PWS is the exclusive Pacific Northwest vendor of the sought-after Dometic Silent Cellar (http://www.silentcellar.com) as well as the Wine Safe, a secure wine-transport case that's now an essential for air travel due to the new FAA restrictions. Meanwhile, the bricks-and-mortar business, Portland Wine Storage, offers 20,000 square feet of secure, subterranean, climate-controlled storage space to its customers 24 hours a day at 306 SE Ash Street. Harvey and Padulo recently acquired 6,000 additional square feet of street-level warehouse space to accommodate commercial wine-storage clientele. The tasting room, a converted boiler room, has become something of a clubhouse that's always open for clients to unwind and uncork something from their cellars. Here, Padulo and Harvey (both professionally trained chefs) utilize their culinary skills every other month when they host a wine-tasting party for customers and friends. At "Scary Bottle Night," the annual Halloween wine tasting, clients uncork wines thought to be long-dead and share their scariest oenophile horror stories. Clients so enjoy the fine fare at these tastings that they hire Padulo and Harvey to cater their own private events, both at the facility and off-site. Storage prices start at $21.50 per month for a 12-case locker; the monthly fees for walk-in rooms begin at $105 per month. With five locker and four room sizes, there is something for everybody at any stage of collecting. To learn more about current storage options, products and services, visit www.portlandwine.com and portlandwinegear.com. It's not a chore to store, so stock up on favorite wines    Matt Kramer  SPECIAL TO THE OREGONIAN Sunday, January 01, 2006     The first day of a new year may just as easily be called Resolution Day as New Year's Day. Wine is subject to this worthy impulse. I know I have made various vinous resolutions over the years. Unusually, they've been among the few resolutions I've ever kept. Given this gratifying experience, may I make a few suggestions for wine resolutions? Buy more than one bottle of a wine you really like. This may seem obvious, but I can't tell you the number of times I've received a plea from a reader wondering where a wine recommended six months earlier still is available. "I liked it so much," they say, "and now I can't find it." Just how much wine to buy is, of course, a matter of your pocketbook and storage space. Many retailers are willing to sell you a case of 12 bottles of any wine you want at their wholesale cost plus 10 percent. This makes the Portland area one of the best places in the nation to buy wine in quantity. Many buyers split a case with friends, which is a good idea. I suggest keeping at least four bottles of a wine you like. Although not all wines reward aging, nearly all of the wines recommended in this space are the sort that will do nothing but improve with time, both white and red. These days even the most age-worthy wines are released far too early. If you're ever to taste a mature version, you're going to have to do it yourself. Consider creating a proper wine cellar. Now, this runs into money, but if you like wine and are planning to lay in a supply, it's worth the expense. For storage of a couple of cases' worth of wine, a shelf in the closet works fine. Twenty-four bottles won't last long, so there's no need to fuss with niceties such as a properly low temperature. But if you're hankering to hold on to wines for more than short-term convenience, then you need a cool spot. Coolness is everything. Ideally your space will be about 55 degrees year-round. That usually requires a cellar or some kind of below-ground insulated space. And even then, you may need a cooling unit. All of this runs into money, but it's a one-time expense. And the satisfaction of knowing your wines are resting cool is almost perversely gratifying. If your living situation doesn't allow for a wine cellar, renting temperature-controlled space for long-term storage is the way to go. Check out Portland Wine Storage (306 S.E. Ash St., 503-231-1121), which offers temperature-controlled storage and 24-hour access (starting price is $21.50 per month for 12 cases). Buy cheaper wines for long-term aging. It's almost irresistible to conclude that only expensive wines deserve and reward two or three years' aging (or more). This is an expensive mistake. Today's best wines, including wines that sell for $10 to $15 per bottle, are so well and seriously made that they are as worthy of cellaring as a wine selling for $50 or $100. Resolve to make the effort. Let me be straightforward: It takes some effort to get better-than-average wines, but not a lot. Every wine recommended in this column is available, as always, from any retailer in the Portland area and well beyond. But it's impossible for any one retailer to stock everything that appears in this space. So just because you don't see the wine on the shelf doesn't mean it's not available. All you have to do is ask. Briccaio 2001, Villa Pigna: Now, here's a wine that costs disproportionately little for its quality. And although tasty right now, it will improve mightily if aged for a year or two in a cool space. Villa Pigna is arguably the leading producer in the Rosso Piceno zone of the Marche region of Italy, on the country's east coast along the Adriatic Sea. Labeled simply as Briccaio, this red wine is 100 percent montepulciano, a red grape that only recently has been given the low yields and winemaking care that help it reveal previously unsuspected qualities. This wine proves it. The 2001 vintage was exceptional in many parts of Italy, including the Marche region. Many 2001s offer an unusual density and intensity of fruit, making them especially good candidates for long-term aging. That's certainly the case with Briccaio 2001. This is lush, dense, even slightly stern red wine plumped with an opulently spicy fruit redolent of black cherries and plums. This is a terrific red for anything from a good burger to a great pizza to a serious slice of beef or lamb. The price is equally lip-smacking: $12.95. You'll have to look awfully hard to find something comparably good at this low a price. You might -- dare I say it? -- want to lay in a few bottles. (Distributor is Zancanella Importing.) Matt Kramer: 1320 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201 Matt Kramer is a Portland wine critic and author.         ©2006 The Oregonian

PREVIOUS PRESS 2-01-2002

Collectors: too many wines, too little time     KATHERINE COLE  SPECIAL TO THE OREGONIAN     On a recent Thursday evening, a group of wine aficionados huddled around an antique wooden bar in a chilly Southeast Portland basement. The venue for this odd gathering was Portland Wine Storage, where oenophiles keep their treasures in super-secure, temperature- and humidity-controlled lockers. Occasionally, co-owners Joe Padulo and Tom Harvey throw gatherings for their clients, pull bottles from their collections, dust them off, pop them open and see how they're aging. The customers provide the drinks; Harvey and Padulo, professionally trained chefs, provide the food. "It's rare that you get around that many people with a common interest in wine," says Tim Johnson, a company president who stores his 1,500-bottle collection at the facility. "To listen to people talk about their experiences with wine was fun. And to share common problems like, 'My gosh, how did I get all this wine?" It is indeed a common problem for Portland's top wine collectors, whose insatiable thirst for the finest Burgundies and Bordeaux impels them to amass wine at auction and on journeys to France even when their cellars are bursting at the seams. These ardent acquisitors tend to be a secretive lot, meeting in obscure places to discuss their passion and commiserate about their common quandary: too much wine, too little time. "We use about 1,000 bottles a year between entertaining and gifts and our own personal use," says John Ritchie, a money manager who estimates he and his wife, Marilyn, have about 8,000 bottles in their collection. "And in that context, 8,000 bottles doesn't look quite so bad. Problem is, we're drinking as fast as we can, and the cellar keeps getting bigger, not smaller."     WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY'RE BUYING As one might expect, Portland's greatest wine collections can be found in the cellars of lawyers, doctors, business titans and captains of industry. "About 80 percent of our customers are men, of an age range, on average, of 35 to 55. That's the bulk of the high-end wine market," says David Parker, owner of Brentwood Wine Company, an Internet wine-auction house based in West Linn. Paul A. de Boni, grand commander emeritus of the exclusive wine-appreciating society Oregon Wine Brotherhood, estimates that of the 144 members in his organization, two-thirds are men, and their ages range between 40 and 70. But, says de Boni, more and more couples are joining his organization. And as more and more women work in the wine industry, a female contingent of collectors is growing. At present, no Portland woman's collection rivals that of Diane Rawlinson, who began buying high-end burgundies back in the 1960s, when she was a soloist with the Ice Capades. "When we got married in 1980, my husband thought he would be concerned with my clothing expenditures, but he was majorly appalled when he found out how big my wine cellar was," Rawlinson laughs. "I had about 1,400 bottles." Rawlinson's tastes run the gamut of reds. She has a soft spot for Spanish wines, particularly from Vega-Sicilia, and lists her '52 Mugas among her most prized possessions. But her collection also includes high-end Burgundies and Bordeaux, single-vineyard Rhones, boutique Italian labels and much more. Rawlinson's collection is typical for Portland in its sophistication and breadth. "I think Oregon in general has a very educated wine consumer. Per capita consumption in Oregon is very high in relation to the United States," says Mike Zupan, owner of Zupan's grocery stores and himself an avid wine collector. "People in Portland are very willing to try wines from anywhere," adds Jeremy Karp, co-owner of Vigne, the Pearl District wine bar known for its obscure and high-end offerings. John von Schlegell, co-chair of this year's Classic Wines Auction, estimates there are "two or three dozen" truly notable private wine collections in the Portland area. And he wouldn't call any of them snobs. "A lot of them have gotten knowledgeable enough that the goal is to have value as well as famous labels. Back in New York, they're way more label-conscious than Oregon collectors tend to be."     PRIVATE PEOPLE Many of the collectors contacted for this article either declined to be interviewed or requested that personal details be kept to a minimum. For these people of privilege, theft is a constant concern. "I'm told there's a black market in stolen rare wines," one collector told me. Those who rent space at Portland Wine Storage cite security as one of its main assets. And even if they feel their wine is secure, collectors don't want the wider world to know they can fund this expensive habit. David Parker of Brentwood Wine Co. says each of his local customers easily spends "several thousand dollars a year" at his Internet auction house alone. Collectors like to entertain each other in the privacy of their homes, where they offer tours of their personal wine cellars. Still, you may have seen them out on the town. They command top tables at the best restaurants, where they open their own wines rather than ordering from the list. And they attend the monthly sold-out tastings at Vigne, which are limited to 10 customers and have included such rarities as a vertical of Cristal dating back to 1959. To see them all in one room, you'd have to cough up $250 for a ticket to the Classic Wines Auction, a Portland benefit held for Metropolitan Family Services each March. This year, the fifth-largest charity wine auction in the United States raised more than $1.2 million and included lots such as a 1961 Petrus that sold for $6,000. The other places collectors convene are off-limits to the general public. For example, the Oregon Wine Brotherhood, which admits only 10 new members a year, gathers as a group just twice annually, according to de Boni (himself the owner of a 3,500-bottle collection deep with Oregon pinots dating back to the 1970s). Even more exclusive is A Night To Remember, held annually at Silver Falls State Park. Steve DeShaw, the Silverton resident who organizes this secretive gathering, sends out invitations four to six months in advance and sells out within three days. Only the first 16 wine aficionados to respond may attend the retreat, which centers on a nine-hour, nine-course meal matched with astronomically expensive wines from the guests' cellars. The theme of this year's Night to Remember, held last Saturday, was rare magnums. "We don't ever tell who comes to these, and we don't discuss what we drink. Usually they're wines that rate no less than 95 on a 100-point scale," DeShaw says. However, he does let slip that past highlights have included a perfectly preserved Lafite-Rothschild, vintage 1900, and a Madeira dating back to the 1800s. We can only wonder whose treasures these were. Katherine Cole: 1320 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201 Katherine Cole writes on the wine industry twice a month, alternating with Matt Kramer's critical picks wine column, Kramer on Wine.                     ©2003 OregonLive.com. All Rights Reserved.

2-01-2002

Company offers a new twist on wine storage       Shelly Strom   Business Journal Staff Writer    Portland Wine Storage may be well-poised to weather a prolonged downturn: a dream home may be one thing to put off, but how often would a wine-lover really forgo that favorite varietal?    At least that's the thinking of Joe Padulo and Tom Harvey, who opened their Portland Wine Storage business two years ago in the cave-like basement of an old warehouse on Southeast Third Avenue at Ash Street.    More than 100 wine enthusiasts keep their wine -- be it in a pallet-sized locker or a room with space for a chair -- at secured and climate-controlled Portland Wine Storage. Rent ranges between $20 and $295 per month, and it includes use of a boiler room converted into a space for wine tasting.    Air is kept at a clammy 55 degrees, with a humidity level of 70 percent. Renters have access every day, 24 hours a day, with a security swipe card, and owners Padulo and Harvey staff an on-site office weekdays.    Renters have a variety of reasons for keeping the offsite cellars, said owners Padulo and Harvey. Some are globe-trotting CEOs who accumulate more bottles than their home-based storage can accommodate. Some live in downsized households; others simply want atmospheric consistency.    "Our customers are CEOs, wine distributors, contractors, painters--people who have pretty random backgrounds," said Padulo.    The setup, still rare if not unique in Portland, apparently appeals to a growing number of collectors: Padulo and Harvey are into the second phase of development at their 20,000-square-foot warehouse. And although they admit the business isn't fast-paced, Padulo and Harvey say that with about 112 units filled, the business has reached a plateau with which they are comfortable.    "It's kind of a slow business at times," said Padulo. "On a slow day, like in our first year, you might get worried and start thinking the business is in the tombs. But when we get a client, we usually don't lose him or her."    Facing post-college life in San Francisco, college buddies and trained chefs Harvey and Padulo, along with Padulo's then-girlfriend, came to Portland to check its livability and food scene.    "Once we were done with school, and we just had working to look forward to, all of us decided that we didn't really want to stay in San Francisco," Harvey said. "We thought of a few places. Portland was one. Others had strikes against them and so we decided to drive up to Portland first." The trio liked Portland and moved here shortly after their initial visit.    They stumbled upon the business idea after an unsuccessful search for a place to store their wine collections in Portland. The two men kept their respective wine collections in a shared locker at the first wine storage business in the Bay Area, which now boasts a handful of such operations.    "We had conversations about how we thought it was an interesting business and we admired the guy in San Francisco. But we saw how we could do it better," said Padulo.    For instance, in Oakland, access to the storage units was limited to only a few days a week, and an appointment was required. And space was limited to lockers; no walk-in space was available. Even with those improvements, however, creating a sustainable business by servicing wine collectors isn't exactly a proven model in Portland. Although Portlanders have their own reputation as food and wine aficionados, the city is a mere town compared to the massive Bay Area population.    But Padulo and Harvey said they think Portland is outpacing other areas. "Portland is moving in the same direction as San Francisco. It is becoming a destination. The food here is really already good," Harvey said.    Padulo agreed: "Each year Oregon wine gets better, there are more wonderful restaurants and each year the world looks a little longer in this direction." Copyright 2002 American City Business Journals Inc. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

11-14-2000

New wine cellar provides spaces for serious collectors Two chefs start Portland business that offers storage from lockers to walk-ins Tuesday, November 14, 2000     By BARBARA DURBIN of The Oregonian staff    Those with burgeoning wine collections but no adequate place to store them can still have their own private wine cellar -- for a fee, of course.    Clients of Portland Wine Storage, located at 306 S.E. Ash St., can visit their private cellar at any hour with a special electronic key. The tight security includes video camera surveillance.     Tom Harvey, 29, and Joe Padulo, 30, both emigre chefs from San Francisco, started the business five months ago. Both are wine lovers and collectors who couldn't find a place to store their wines when they moved to Portland. The solution was to create the space for themselves, and others.    Portland Wine Storage offers eight options, from a locker that holds a dozen cases on up to a 10-by-20-foot walk-in that accommodates roughly 2,000 cases, Harvey says.    Prices range from $20 a month for the smallest locker up to $295 a month for the biggest walk-in.    Of the 20,000 square feet of basement space they've leased in their building, 12,000 square feet has been already developed into wine storage.     Why would collectors who can afford pricey wines want to rent space rather than have a special storage unit or room at home?    Space.    Collecting becomes such an addiction, Harvey says, "that wine lovers buy more wine than they could ever drink in a lifetime."    Typical clients fall into two categories.     Middle-aged to older clients usually have bigger collections, assembled over a longer period of time. These clients may be downsizing their homes, thereby losing storage space.    Young collectors -- those in their mid- to late 30s -- may also lack space after having converted spare rooms into playrooms. Harvey says he finds it "kind of cool" to see them get into it at such a young age.    The rented space is often an extension of the home wine cellar, rather than a replacement, Padulo says.    The "very controlled" environment at Portland Wine Storage includes a constant temperature of 55 degrees F. This is a critical factor in wine storage: Temperatures that are too low slow the aging of wine; overly high temperatures allow wine to age too quickly.    Humidity is kept at 70 percent to assist with temperature control and help keep corks from drying out. Bottles are stored on their sides, which ensures corks stay wet. If bottles are stored upright, corks can dry out, allowing wine to evaporate through the cork and oxidize, he explains.    Amenities at Portland Wine Storage include a tasting room open to clients and their friends.    Although storage is the company's bread and butter, the former chefs are also eager to cater events, such as private tastings arranged by their clients.    Harvey says he and his partner are "some of the many chefs who got so burned out. Oregon seemed like a good medium between Idaho and California," where they'd both worked. His San Francisco catering business, On Location, was largely "healthy gourmet." Padulo, who formerly cooked at Jardiniere, says he leans toward "very rustic" Mediterranean and Asian food.     Portland Wine Storage also sells racks for the lockers and walk-ins. A loading dock and freight elevator ease transporting cases to the basement -- for a fee, of course. Clients can also hire the company to transfer an entire collection from their home to the storage location.    For more information, check the company's Web site, www.portlandwinestorage.com, or call 503-231-1121.    You can reach Barbara Durbin at 503-221-8384 or by e-mail at barbaradurbin@news.oregonian.com. Copyright 2000 Oregon Live. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

6-18-00

A neighborhood wine cellar If you must store wines (most are fine "young"), a new storage center in Portland fills the bill Sunday, June 18, 2000 -----------------------------By Heidi Yorkshire, Columnist, The Oregonian    He may have been shilling for jug-wine king Paul Masson, but Orson Welles was being completely honest when he promised to "sell no wine before its time." That's because most wine's time is the moment it's put in the bottle, or darned near. Repeat after me: 99 percent of the wine in the world should be drunk young. Fresh, fruity flavors and aromas, which generally don't last long, are the most appealing qualities of most wines. "Young," for almost all inexpensive white wines and most lighter-bodied reds, means the most recent vintage on the market, or at most a couple of years back. For fuller-bodied reds, add a year or two.    So, for most of us, storing wine is simple. You don't need a cobwebby old wine cellar; someplace that's not too hot will do. But a big difference exists between storing everyday, drink-me-now wines for a few weeks and cellaring expensive wines for a few years. Reliable long-term storage demands a consistently cool spot, preferably no warmer than 55 degrees, and few basements fill the bill. Some collectors have the space to build a temperature-controlled wine cellar at home, but that's a pricey proposition.    Another solution is to rent a locker in a facility especially designed for wine, a move that's been possible in Portland since early June, when Portland Wine Storage opened in the Eastside industrial district.    "I moved here in November 1999, and I couldn't find anywhere to store my wine collection," says Joe Padulo, a chef and wine enthusiast from San Francisco. "The few retail wine shops with storage lockers here were all full, with two-year waiting lists."    With partner Tom Harvey, also a chef, Padulo has renovated the basement of an old warehouse into a comfy home for treasured wines. Three giant H-VAC systems now keep the clean cement cellar at a consistent 55 degrees. Underneath impressive old wooden beams, 60 storage lockers can accommodate 18 to 45 cases (the equivalent of one shipping pallet). Forty-five walk-in rooms provide enough space for wine racks.    The smallest locker rents for $15 a month; the largest space, a 10-by-20-foot room, goes for $295 a month. A magnetic key card system keeps the premises secure and allows 24-hour access. (Contact Portland Wine Storage at 503-231-1121.)    "I'm sure there's a demand, because there's nothing like it," says Richard Elden, co-owner of E&R Wine Shop in John's Landing. "Some guys will keep 30 or 40 wines at home and use it as backup storage; some live in very expensive condos and don't want to store their wine there. We've got one customer who lives in Beijing now, but he moves a lot, and he's thinking about it."    The next project at Portland Wine Storage is to renovate an old boiler room into a comfortable tasting room. "I'd like to see it as a place for collectors to meet each other," Padulo says. "We've also got some long-time collectors who have a lot of wine, especially the California classics, they want to get rid of. A couple have expressed interest in opening some bottles and leading some tastings."    Now, that's the best wine-storage solution of all. Let other people buy the wine and store it, and swoop in to enjoy it when they finally pop the cork. ----------------------------- You can reach Heidi Yorkshire at heidiyorkshire@juno.com

PRESS RELEASE 5-4-00

Portland A new business has arrived in downtown Portland filling a much-needed niche in the consumer wine industry. Portland Wine Storage, Inc., located in the SE industrial neighborhood, provides quality self-storage for wine. Lodged in the cellar of the old Francis Building on 306 SE Ash Street, Portland Wine Storage is a nurturing fortress for wine. With cement walls, solid ceilings, and a subterranean cellar, there is much assurance that a worthy bottle of red will age flawlessly.    The owners, Tom Harvey and Joe Padulo, have gone the extra mile by installing a state of the art climate control system that will maintain a 55 degree and 70% humidity environment year round as well as quality security that provides clients with 24-hour a day access. The convenient location, round the clock entry, and optimal climate are exactly what the Northwest lacks in wine storage service.    The facility, designed by Jeff Smart, accentuates rather than hides the impressive amount of lumber in the building. The ceiling and solid beam supports all reflect an era gone by where resources were thought to be unlimited and a two by four was still a two by four. Much attention was placed toward making Portland Wine Storage a cellar rather than a basement. It is tasteful, clean, and a pleasure to step into. Clients are invited to stay as long as they like, reclining in the lounge or fussing over their bottles.    Tom and Joe are both chefs with culinary degrees and several years of experience. Their passion for food and wine led them through Idaho, California and up to Oregon where the setting is more intimate and promising. The two look forward to future challenges and are exploring ways to bring their culinary talents back to the table for seconds.    For more information, visit www.portlandwine.com, or call 231-1121 and ask for Tom.