The Reserve
A private members’ wine platform
Not simply where wine is stored, but how it is accessed.
Membership is by application.
Access, not storage.
For two years The Wine Room has been New Zealand’s home of premium subterranean cellaring. That was version one. The Reserve is what comes next: membership of a private wine platform, where allocation-only wines are secured on your behalf, the cellaring is included, and every bottle is yours to drink or hold.
Membership is arranged personally, one member at a time. It begins with an application.
From the cellar to your table, without leaving the building.
Most fine wine collections live in a bonded warehouse in another city, behind a form and a fortnight's notice. Yours is beneath College Hill's fine dining wine room and bar. Tell the Concierge in the morning and find it decanted and waiting at your table that evening, with no corkage, because it is already yours.
Apply for access into The Reserve.
Tell us a little about your collection. The Concierge replies personally, usually within one business day, and will discuss the level of membership that suits.
Every membership includes.
Wines you cannot buy
Allocation-only bottles secured for members, from a considered first cellar to Grand Cru Burgundy.
Cellaring, managed
Kept at 12–14°C and 65–75% humidity, under 24-hour security.
Drink it or hold it
No corkage on your own wines at The Wine Room, or cellar them for the years ahead.
The Concierge
Cataloguing, care, and an online inventory. Wines prepared ahead of dining.
A seat in the room
Member tastings, dinners, and first sight of every release.
24/7 access
Your collection, 365 days a year, at 43 College Hill.
Every cellar has an intention.
Before a single bottle is bought, we agree what the collection is for. Most members divide theirs across all three, and the balance shifts over the years.
To drink
Wines chosen for your table, held at perfect condition metres from where you will open them. No corkage, ever, on your own bottles.
To cellar
Wines that want time. Laid down under professional care, tracked bottle by bottle, and resellable through the Reserve when you choose.
To leave
A cellar built for someone else: birth-year bottles, a wedding case, a collection your children inherit rather than a portfolio they liquidate.
New Zealand’s first facility of its kind.
Over 450 individual subterranean cellars beneath College Hill, designed and constructed for perfect humidity, perfect temperature, pure air quality, low light and vibration, security and integrity, and robust insurance.
Good to know.
Do I own the wine?
Yes. Members buy wine at retail and own every bottle outright.
Is this an investment scheme?
No. The Reserve is a membership giving access to allocation-only wines and professional cellaring. We make no promise of financial return.
Why is membership by application?
Because every cellar is arranged personally. The Concierge builds the membership around your collection rather than selling a package.
What are the cellar conditions?
A constant 12–14°C and 65–75% humidity, low light and minimal vibration, with 24/7 CCTV, individual access codes and alarmed units.
Can I introduce a friend?
Please do. Your guest receives a $250 dining credit for their first evening as a member, and you receive three months’ cellaring on us.