Member Spotlight: WineDoDo
- Wonji
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
Stephen Gulsvig
1.3k Bottles • 42 Notes
Show us your cellar!
I have my cellar organized by both bin locations and general sections. Every column is numbered, starting with number one and working my way around the cellar from left to right all the way up to eighty-two.
From top to bottom, I label each column from A-N (the number of bins in each column) about every four rows. My son has a laser company and he custom lasered the letters for me (similar to Scrabble tiles) which I glued onto the columns. At a glance, I can see column letters and bin designations. For instance, 5-G or 73-M. I also designate Upper West, Upper West Curve, Upper Above Mirror, Upper East Curve, Upper East, all of the display bins, and diamond bins around the cellar.
The barcoding avails me the opportunity to place bottles wherever I want throughout my cellar, though I try to keep New World wines on one side, sparklers/Champagne in one section, and Old World wines on another side just to keep me sane. Whenever I inventory a new wine, I can assign it a precise location. And when it is consumed, I simply scan the barcode, it’s taken out of inventory, and the location is now available for something new. As an added, but rather pain-in-the-butt reminder of open bins/locations, I have the entire cellar mapped in an Excel sheet.
Why do you love wine?
We had an au pair who married a 5th generation winemaker from northern Italy. When they returned for a visit, her husband told us we were drinking “baby wine” when we served him white Zinfandel. He introduced me to real wines, which ultimately led me to earn three sommelier certifications: two from the Court of Master Sommeliers and one from American Sommelier.
Upon tasting a 1993 Chateau St. Jean Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon that a friend gave us, my wife and I discovered that we both loved it. I went out and purchased a case of it at the whopping price of $15.99/bottle. (Try to find it at that price today.) The rest was history, though my sommelier certifications truly sparked my serious wine appreciation, pursuit of fine wines, and collecting.
What is your favorite region/variety?
My tastes are very eclectic: Hungarian Tojkai, Australian Shiraz, German Riesling, Barolo, Chateneuf-du-Pape, and Champagne. But truth be told, my cellar is filled with more Napa/Sonoma wines than anything else.
What is your favorite CellarTracker feature?
Barcoding. My wife gifted me the CellarTracker software but I never used it. Once my collection mushroomed past 400 bottles, it became invaluable.
Want to share your story? We want to hear from you!
We want to introduce you in the next edition of Member Spotlight. To participate, simply answer a few questions at the link below about your cellar and wine journey — and make sure to share your cellar photo if you have one!