The stairway to heaven for wine lovers
Home cellars have become the latest must-have for those who value their collection and love to entertain
4 min
Tony Hayek first became interested in wine as a student at Newcastle University. Living adjacent to one of Australia’s best known wine growing regions, the Hunter Valley, for a while he dated a woman who worked in the industry and taught him what she knew.
He has been hooked ever since.
“Over the next 25 years, I collected wine in drinkable quantities,” he says. “As I became wealthier, I started buying wine in batches of six — I’d drink one or two and put the others away — but I didn’t really have anywhere to store them so it capped out at 300 or 400 bottles.”
In his former home, he turned a workshop under the house into a wine cellar of sorts. It wasn’t temperature controlled but it allowed him to enjoy his wine when and where he wanted. But when he and his wife Toni had the chance to build their dream home in Sydney’s north west in 2017, plans for a cellar were a bit basic.
“The builder engaged a cabinetmaker to put together a plan for a wine cellar but it was a bit boring — mostly just shelving,” Hayek says.
Instead, the couple hired kitchen and bathroom design specialists, Studio Minosa.
“They did this magnificent design,” Hayek says. “I was still recovering from the cost of building when the Minosa quote came in at $150,000 so I initially put it on the backburner. Finally, I bit the bullet and we got it done in 2020.”
As a result, Hayek says much of his time at home during the pandemic was spent below ground.
“It’s my ‘pinch myself’ room,” he says. “Every time I walk in there, I can’t believe it’s in my house. I spent a lot of my COVID time researching wine. That was how I stocked my cellar and it went from 400 to 800 bottles. I want to know what’s in my cellar and have a relationship with it.”
While Tania MacPhee, managing director of MacPhee’s wine cellaring specialists, says wine cellars were becoming more popular prior to the pandemic, demand grew even further during lockdown when people used their untapped travel funds to create wine spaces they could enjoy.
“We started as an off-site wine storage business 22 years ago. Since then, the market has absolutely shifted,” she says. “Where wine cellars back then were predominately functional spaces in the basement or garage, today, wine enthusiasts are wanting to proudly display their wine collections, making them a feature of their home.”
She says the demand for purpose-built cellars has been driven by an educated audience who travel regularly and appreciate the value of a good drop. For those who have invested heavily, it’s important to keep wines in optimum conditions.
The challenge is maintaining an even temperature range to avoid wine “spoiling”, which alters its taste, smell and the consumer’s overall enjoyment. In wine making regions in Europe, the ideal temperature range around 12 to 14 degrees may be achievable without refrigeration due to their cellars being two metres below the earth, but MacPhee says it’s virtually impossible to guarantee in Australia where our cellar spaces are often beside a garage and under a concrete slab, acting as a hot box in summer — and a freezer in winter. “It’s the fluctuation in temperature that is detrimental to wine.”
“While a basement might seem cool at 26 degrees compared with hot Summer temperatures outside, it’s still not cool enough for wine,” she says.
For those who don’t have the space for a full cellar, or would rather have their wines on display, MacPhee says ‘wine walls’ are a popular choice.
“People are going to beautiful restaurants where they have these wine walls where guests can see individual bottles of wine,” she says. “And they want to recreate that in their homes.”
Wine walls are typically two or three metres wide and at least 600mm deep, she says.
“Depending on the location of the wine cellar relative to the rest of the home, $20,000 is the starting point for a very basic climate controlled space with insulation,” she says. “A wine wall with bespoke cabinetry can cost between $80,000 and $100,000 or more.”
“All wine needs to be cellared at the same temperature but when it comes to drinking, it is only then that individual wine varietals should be served at different temperatures”, MacPhee says. Some wine fridges provide two temperatures, in two separate zones. There’s even an under bench wine cabinet which is designed for the kitchen.
“It has multiple temperatures all in one zone, where you can place champagne at the bottom at six degrees, then Aromatic whites on the shelf above at 8 degrees, then it gradually goes up to 18 degrees for your heavy bodied reds.” she says. “We call it the ‘instant gratification wine cabinet’.”
General manager at Gaggenau, Robert Warner says wine lovers are investing in larger quantities of high quality wines so it simply makes sense that they are looking for accessible storage options at home.
“If you are buying a $100 bottle of wine and then you decide to buy the whole case, that’s $1200,” he says. “Do you want to risk it going off in a year or two because you haven’t stored it properly?”
He admits there is more to it than having your favourite drop within easy reach and ready to drink.
“There’s a bit of theatre to it,” he says. “It’s a lifestyle and interaction with like-minded people. Luxury living is about being personalised while still feeling connected with other people.”
The 1860s Darlinghurst mansion Stoneleigh could become Sydney’s most expensive home ever sold under the hammer when it goes to auction. Clint Ballard is giving buyers a $28 million guide for the heritage-listed mansion on Darley Street, opposite Iona, the former home of Hollywood royalty Baz Luhrmann. Stoneleigh is being offered for sale for the …
Set on one of the city’s last absolute riverfront sites, The Riversdale by Mosaic combines irreplaceable waterfront ownership with one of Brisbane’s most significant residential opportunities.
3 min
Byron Bay’s most compelling homes have always taken their cues from the climate. They open to the breeze, dissolve the boundary between inside and out and use tropical landscaping to create privacy without shutting out the natural world.
At 17 Kendall Street, those familiar coastal ideas have been elevated into something more architectural.
The five-bedroom residence is designed around a spectacular open-air courtyard, creating a private internal landscape where glass, stone, timber and water meet. Floor-to-ceiling glazing draws natural light into the interiors while framing the heated swimming pool and established tropical gardens from multiple points within the home.
The home was originally built in 2016, but underwent a major renovation last year following its $5.3 million sale in 2023. Sotheby’s Byron Bay agent Will Phillips has a $15 million price guide.
The transformation focused on both the home’s scale and its level of detail. Soaring voids and bold architectural forms create drama, but the material palette keeps the atmosphere warm. Rich timber, natural stone and handcrafted finishes temper the contemporary lines, allowing the residence to feel calm rather than imposing.
A sculptural spiral staircase forms the architectural centrepiece, connecting the home’s different spaces while providing a strong visual counterpoint to the horizontal lines of the courtyard and pool.
The planning is centred on connection. Multiple living and entertaining areas open to covered terraces, enabling the house to expand and contract according to the occasion. Smaller spaces support quiet family life, while the principal living zones and alfresco areas can accommodate considerably larger gatherings.
At the centre, the courtyard operates as more than an impressive arrival feature. It brings light and garden views deep into the plan, provides separation between the home’s different wings and creates a protected outdoor environment for year-round living.
Accommodation comprises five generously proportioned bedroom suites supported by five designer bathrooms. Their distribution through the residence gives family members and guests a greater sense of privacy, while the tropical outlook maintains a consistent connection between rooms.
Wellness Wing
The home’s most distinctive inclusion may be its dedicated wellness wing.
A private sauna, gym, Zen room and traditional Japanese soaking bath combine to create a retreat within the retreat. Rather than treating wellness as a single-purpose gym placed in a leftover room, the design gives it a dedicated sequence of spaces intended to support exercise, recovery and quiet.
The Japanese soaking bath is especially appropriate to the home’s broader architecture. Compact, deep and designed for immersion rather than conventional bathing, it complements the restraint of the Zen room and the calming views into the garden.
Outside, the heated pool and covered dining terraces provide the more social side of resort living. Tropical landscaping creates privacy around the residence, while the courtyard design allows greenery to remain visible throughout much of the interior.
Belongil Boom
The location adds another dimension to the property. Kendall Street sits near the Belongil side of Byron Bay, within walking distance of Belongil Beach and local dining including Belongil Bistro, Treehouse, Féu and the town centre’s broader collection of cafés, restaurants and boutiques.
That northern pocket is increasingly emerging as a prestige counterweight to Wategos and the tightly held Marine Parade strip at the opposite end of Byron Bay.
Much of the most visible investment has centred on nearby Border Street and the Belongil beachfront. Hospitality billionaire Justin Hemmes has assembled four residential holdings in the neighbourhood at a reported combined cost of about $45 million. His acquisitions include a beachfront holding bought for $16 million in 2023 and a subsequent creek-front purchase.
The Block judge and interior designer Darren Palmer and his husband, Olivier Duvillard, have also moved into the precinct, paying $4.2 million for an original home with creek views.
Luxury developer and builder GRAYA has made an even larger commitment. The Brisbane group acquired a substantial Border Street beachfront site for about $20.65 million in 2024, with plans for a major trophy-home project. Part of that holding was subsequently sold in a transaction that underlined how dramatically land values have moved.
The strongest evidence came from Chemist Warehouse director Damien Gance and his wife, Sasha Robertson. The couple paid $33.5 million in cash for the beachfront residence Malia, setting a Byron Bay house-price record and surpassing the $30 million sale of Watermark at Wategos in 2023. They then reportedly spent another $20 million securing the neighbouring vacant parcel, taking their combined Belongil investment to $53.5 million.
Those transactions do not make Kendall Street directly comparable with absolute beachfront property. They do, however, illustrate the growing weight of capital and attention shifting towards Byron Bay’s northern edge.
For decades, Marine Parade at Wategos has been the region’s clearest shorthand for trophy property. Border Street and the wider Belongil precinct are now building a comparable identity, supported by larger holdings, beachfront scarcity and an expanding concentration of prominent owners.
Property details
- Address: 17 Kendall Street, Byron Bay, NSW
- Location: Near Belongil Beach and Byron Bay town centre
- Original construction: 2016
- Last sale: $5.3 million in 2023
- Renovation: Major renovation completed in 2025
- Current price guide: $15 million
- Bedrooms: Five
- Bathrooms: Five
- Key features: Central open-air courtyard, heated swimming pool, tropical landscaping and multiple indoor-outdoor living areas
- Wellness facilities: Sauna, Zen room, gym and traditional Japanese soaking bath
- Nearby: Belongil Beach, Belongil Bistro, Féu and Treehouse
Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation CEO Kristina Keneally says Australia’s culture of large-scale philanthropy is becoming more sophisticated as Gold Dinner raises $75.5 million for children’s health, research and innovation.
As housing drives wealth and policy debate, the real risk is an economy hooked on growth without productivity to sustain it.
