Our caves
Our wine caves are tucked into a steep hillside under our prized Lily Hill vineyard. The Bella tasting room is open every day from 11:00AM-4:30PM and is nestled at the back of the entertainment side of the cave with a perfect view of our winemaking and barrel storage area.
Caves are an excellent place to store wine! For as long as there have been winemakers, there have been caves. The ancient winemakers discovered long ago that caves are the perfect environment for the aging of fine wines. Most importantly, they provide a constant year-round average temperature of 61F and have a natural humidity of 55% which allows for less evaporation of wine from the barrels. Additionally, caves are environmentally friendly and enable us to store our wine without the use of big buildings and noisy air conditioners.
Excavation of our caves began in June 2002 and was quite an experience. Complete with dynamite blasting, hard hats and sprung leaks, cave building was very exciting. We were sure to distribute baskets filled with earplugs, Excedrin, flowers and plenty of Bella wine to all of our neighbors to help ease the pain of noise and dust.
Finally completed in December of 2003, our caves have 5,200 square feet of barrel storage and working space and an additional 1,500 square feet of entertainment space. Visitors can taste in the caves and see the inner workings of the winery. The entertainment area is complete with a beautiful dining room, tasting area and music room. It is the site for many fun, winery related events such as winemaker dinners, special reserve tastings, cooking classes and a variety of musical performances.
Caves are an excellent place to store wine! For as long as there have been winemakers, there have been caves. The ancient winemakers discovered long ago that caves are the perfect environment for the aging of fine wines. Most importantly, they provide a constant year-round average temperature of 61F and have a natural humidity of 55% which allows for less evaporation of wine from the barrels. Additionally, caves are environmentally friendly and enable us to store our wine without the use of big buildings and noisy air conditioners.
Excavation of our caves began in June 2002 and was quite an experience. Complete with dynamite blasting, hard hats and sprung leaks, cave building was very exciting. We were sure to distribute baskets filled with earplugs, Excedrin, flowers and plenty of Bella wine to all of our neighbors to help ease the pain of noise and dust.
Finally completed in December of 2003, our caves have 5,200 square feet of barrel storage and working space and an additional 1,500 square feet of entertainment space. Visitors can taste in the caves and see the inner workings of the winery. The entertainment area is complete with a beautiful dining room, tasting area and music room. It is the site for many fun, winery related events such as winemaker dinners, special reserve tastings, cooking classes and a variety of musical performances.