January 6, 2018 - We have been extremely busy installing wine cellars of all different sizes and styles. Happy to be working with Maillot Homes on several projects. We are still working on the large wine cellar and sheesha bar in the Kootenays, with a deluxe walk-in closet, custom walk-up breakfast bar and hidden bookcase door added to the mix. This project has been very challenging and rewarding, and are happy to be working with Evolique Design on the entire process. We are booking up fast for 2018!
December 19, 2016 - Kootenay project continues. There will be a glass separation wall in between the wine cellar and the cigar lounge/sheesha bar. The glass has to go up against some bedrock which has obscure projections and would be difficult to get a tight fit, required for the efficient operation of a cooling unit. My solution: create a minimal concrete curb against the bedrock to provide a flat surface on top to template the glass to. Definitely a challenge to create the form for this curb!
December 16, 2016 - completed a unique sapele mahogany wine room on an acreage outside of Red Deer. What was unique about this cellar is that no cooling unit was required as it was an existing cold room. Concrete walls, floor and ceiling. Made for a challenging install, but it came together nicely with the cork flooring, our mahogany wine racks, and a custom hidden door. The existing utilitarian door was replaced with a custom sapele mahogany door with insulated glass insert. What a transformation!
December 13, 2016 - completed the preliminary installation of a beautiful custom white oak wine cellar for a new home being built on Mahogany Island. With ten foot ceilings, this one will feature lower cabinets, stone countertop, upper wine racks, led lighting, tin ceiling, cork floor, and a large glass wall entrance. ....to be continued
December 9, 2016 - completed a beautiful sapele mahogany wine room in Elbow Valley. This wine room featured custom millwork with diamond bins, storage for stemware, and shelves for wine crates, as well as our wine racks. We were quite busy at the time, but put in the extra hours required to get this one installed ahead of our original install date, as it was part of a full basement development, and was able to be used for holiday entertaining!
November 15, 2016 - Completed a beautiful under-stairs wine room. This wine room featured custom floating panels with VintageView racking, as well as a beautiful tin ceiling. Since we also design and build custom millwork, the client had us supply and install a custom mudroom bench as well.
November 2, 2016 - Kootenay project continues. Custom bulkhead created to house the ducting required for the commercial-sized split cooling system required for the cellar's climate control.
October 3, 2016 - Kootenay project underway. First step is to carve and shape the spray foam to make the walls plumb. The space had irregular walls, and the spray foam is required to insulate the space making it as efficient as possible. There is a lot of room construction involved with this cellar, and many details to account for. This project will be very challenging and very rewarding at the same time!
August 26, 2016 - millwork completed and delivered for extensive project in the Kootenays - a custom cellar with a cigar lounge/sheesha bar. This project will be epic! Imagine enjoying a cuban cigar and a glass of fine wine while enjoying an incredible view of Kootenay Lake!
July 9, 2016 - Completed - 1700 bottle cellar in Mount Royal. Tin walls and ceiling - professionally faux-finished to an antique look, wifi-controlled RGB LED lighting, stonework behind the arch/countertop. This cellar turned out fantastic!
July 1, 2016 - Just completed a beautiful basement cellar, walk-up bar and entertainment wall. The cellar featured a hidden door that leads to a storage room. Stonework, LED's, White Oak, Stainless Steel countertop - truly a beautiful space for entertaining and storing your wine collection!
March 17, 2016 - Just completed a unique wine room - a stairway that leads to a scotch bar on the left and a wine room on the right. Wine room has window facing the living space so you can view the 700+ bottle cellar.
March 14, 2016 - What makes Tru Woodcraft different from other wine cellar "experts"? How about 17 years woodworking experience coupled with 14 years hand-on designing experience? Eye for detail, creativity, practical solutions, organization skills, in addition to 25 years customer service experience! Designing and creating a wine cellar takes a different skill set than most trades. In fact, it takes into account a combination of several trades to design and create a wine cellar. Wine Cellars are definitely not a DIY project. Ask your wine cellar contractor if they have experience in design, listening to clients, project management of sub-trades, woodworking & specialized finish carpentry, stonework, LED lighting, tin ceiling, cork flooring, etc., etc., We take pride in being a small company that can take your dream and turn it into a reality, while making the whole experience enjoyable! Steve's goal at Tru Woodcraft is to create a story with a happy ending in regards to your cellar/wine bar/etc. that will be told over and over to guests. Every time you reach for a bottle of wine from your cellar, it should be as exciting as the first time!
February 12, 2016 - Several Wine cellar designs in progress.....exciting things to come!
January 21, 2016 - Red Cedar wine cellar in production for country home in Bears Paw. Although this is a wine room and not a cellar (no climate control) this room will be beautiful with cedar racking, LED lighting, granite countertops and a custom arch/tasting table cabinet.
December 8, 2015 - Hamptons wine cellar, feature wall, wetbar and bathroom reno project complete. Clients are thrilled!
November 9, 2015 - wine cellar currently in production in the Hamptons. Raw white oak millwork and racking, lacquered white oak door. Climate controlled, with lots of LED lighting. Window that serves as a backsplash/viewing area to peer into the wine cellar from the new wet bar, also in production along with a 14' entertainment unit.
Sept 4, 2015 - completed wine cellar in Church Ranches. Raw Sapele Mahogany millwork and racking, lacquered sapele mahogany door. Climate controlled, with lots of LED lighting.
Aug 17, 2015 - modern wine cellar in Altadore. Floor-to-ceiling VintageView racking, glass walls and door, interior brickwork, ducted-in climate control.
July 22, 2015 - completed Walnut cellar in West Grove Estates. Natural walnut millwork, and custom racking, climate controlled, stacked stone veneer, and lots of LED lighting. 1200 bottle capacity
June 18, 2015 - attending Calgary Realtor Sam Corea's magazine launch party with a feature article on our wine cellars.
June 17, 2015 - under stairs wine cellar - insulated, cork floor, VintageView racking throughout, stacked stone veneer, white oak millwork and wall/ceiling cladding
May 14, 2015 - another completed wine bar - inner city - walnut veneer wall cladding and millwork to tie in with existing modern kitchen with two matching wine fridges, TEC countertop, and platinum finish VintageView metal wine racking.....definitely a conversation piece mixing both display and climate-controlled storage.
April 27, 2015 - another completed wine cellar - Mount Royal - 486 bottle capacity, sapele mahogany racking & wall cladding, climate-controlled with LED remote-dimmable lighting....happy client is excited to stock the cellar!
April 8, 2015 - Glencoe GC&CC Dual-Zone Wine Cellar is now complete. This lockable climate-controlled custom wine storage facility will be used by the Wine Club for storing their finest wine to enjoy after a day on the course.
Feb 10, 2015 - Glencoe Golf & Country Club Dual-Zone Wine Cellar entering production - will be replacing existing low-quality wine fridges with a custom climate controlled wine cellar - one zone for reds, one for whites - espresso stained white oak throughout.
Oct 16, 2014 - Tru Woodcraft Inc. - your best choice for Calgary Custom Wine Cellars. Designed, manufactured and installed by a dedicated woodworker with over 15 years experience. We take pride in listening to your ideas and dreams and come up with a creative design to turn them into reality!
July 5, 2014 - Wine cellar in Heritage Pointe complete with some very happy clients! The wine cellar racking and millwork left in the raw allow for the cellar to smell aromatic. All of the fine details turned out great, and the clients are excited to populate their cellar with wine and cigars. We received a 5-star rating on Houzz from this client, as well as this testimonial: "Steve provided excellent, professional service in building our dream wine cellar. He went above and beyond with his expertise, knowledge of the finishes and quality of work. His millwork is exceptional. He listened to what we wanted and was very creative in his ideas. Excellent customer service which is extremely hard to find in the city. We are so excited to be using and entertaining in our new space! Thanks Steve!"
May 22, 2014 - Wine cellars can be the most ornate theme room in your home, perfect for entertaining! The current cellar we are working on is now at the halfway point of construction features extensive stonework and sapele mahogany veneer on the walls, arch-top custom sapele mahogany door and window, stamped tin ceiling, plenty of custom millwork with a cigar humidor, hidden gun closet with safe, cabinets for storing stemware and spirits, and storage for 1200 bottles of wine!
March 29, 2014 - Did your wine cellar get damaged during the June flood of 2013? Did you have to discard all of your wine racking and now are wondering what to do with this space? We can help you get your cellar back up and running with an improved design to yield more storage and feature a higher level of creativity. The sky is the limit!
March 20, 2014 - Heritage Pointe wine cellar will be entering production in the next few weeks. The combination of stonework and natural sapele mahogany will make for a great aromatic cellar. Clients are excited to spend time in this space which they will store their wine and cigar collection. They are even having a speaker installed into the ceiling, meaning that wine tastings will occur in this space as well as storage!
March 15, 2014 - Just finished designing another great wine cellar for a client in Heritage Point. This wine cellar will be located in the basement between a workout gym and an existing office which you access through the gym and down a small set of stairs. The room that will contain the cellar is currently open to the small set of stairs. It is imperative that the cellar be self-contained, so at the bottom of the small set of stairs I designed a small foyer with a wall separating the wine cellar from the stairs. This will allow for through traffic and separate the wine cellar from the office, workout gym and the stairs. This cellar boasts a storage capacity of 1228 bottles, with a built-in cigar humidor, and a concealed gun cabinet. LED lighting throughout, with extensive millwork and stonework. The foyer will feature stonework, an archtop cellar door entrance, along with a small window proportionate to the door which will allow you to peek into the cellar as you walk by.
Feb 8, 2014 - What species of wood to use for your wine racks to go into your cellar? In this case appearance isn't everything, unless there is a look you are trying to achieve. I highly recommend using wood in the raw (no applied stain or lacquer finish). If you use wood that is stained and/or lacquered, I would suggest letting the racking cure for a minimum of one month in the open (not in the cellar due to restricted fresh air). If you were to place finished racking into a cellar prior to full cure, you would be faced with a never ending smell of stain and lacquer that would be noticeable every time you entered the cellar. Raw wood, however, would always smell nice upon entering the cellar and every experience you have while in there would be enjoyable. Cedar in particular is excellent. The combination of temperature and humidity brings out the natural smells of the wood, and leaves no chance of any chemicals found within stain and clear finished to slightly permeate into the bottles you wish to store.
Feb 7, 2014 - Wine cellars must be designed first and foremost for the intended function: wine storage. Anything else beyond this is to compliment your home and your style. If you are looking to properly store and age wines you have been collecting, then careful consideration and planning must go into the design to ensure this room is a proper micro-environment in your home, and is built in such a way that the environmental conditions do not affect the rest of your home. In the next few blog entries I will be going through some pointers when planning your wine cellar.
Feb 4, 2014 - When choosing wine racks and wine rack styles for your wine cellar, it is best to make decisions as to your wine storage needs prior to wine cellar construction. What kind of wine bottles will you be storing? Will there be many bottles of ice wine? How about large magnums of wine? Perhaps you wish to store actual cases of wine as well. Do you want display wine racks to display your most precious bottles and illuminate their labels with the use of LED lights? Once your wine storage needs are ascertained, then the wine cellar design process can begin. When I design wine cellars, I take into mind your wine storage needs and logically and aesthetically place the bottles. Then with the remaining space I configure the remaining wine racks to be utilized to their full potential and avoid the use of filler strips where possible.
Feb 3, 2014 - A common misconception with wine - is the dilemma between wine with a screw-cap and wine with a cork. Is wine with a screw-cap no good? Absolutely not. In fact, a screw-cap guarantees that the wine will be good, and does not affect price. There are $500 bottles of wine with screw-caps..... About 1 in 12 bottles of wine are bad immediately after sealed with the cork. This is due to a bacterium that can get into the wine from the cork called TCA, which will cause the wine to smell like mildew or like wet cardboard. Precisely the reason why a wine steward will let you smell and taste the wine at a restaurant before you pay for the bottle.
Jan 14, 2014. How many times have any of you oenophilespacked up the perfect picnic complete with wine and cheese and you forgot your corkscrew? Check out this video I came across, which will show you that opening a bottle of wine is as easy as tapping your foot!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1wROm-OF9w#action=share
Dec 31, 2013. Wine cellar designfor Aspen Stone with single bottle racking, display racking, x-bins and vintage view racking.
