Hi Alex - The addess is 628 West 28th Street New York, NY 10001 which is between 11th and 12th. It’s a long walk over so don’t worry about it if its way out of the way. But I really appreciate the offer. I think I can make it down there myself on Tuesday as I work in Chelsea and believe we are returning to work that day. Basically just reading about how all the art galleries in that area had basement flooding with some losing serious artwork. I’m assuming for now that something happened to WineCare. If it did, I’d be ok with drinking labelless bottles! 
David – I don’t think you have to assume the worst. Those galleries are mostly in conventional buildings, which often have windows or other openings to the basements. WineCare, I believe, is in an old freight warehouse.
If Chelsea Wine Storage (in an old warehouse and bakery on 16th between 9th and 10th, near areas with lots of flooded basements) and N.Y. Wine Storage (an ice cream warehouse a block from the East River in Long Island City, where there was a lot of flooding) escaped without problems, I think the chances are good you’re wine is OK. If you haven’t heard anything, it may just be because there’s no power or phone service.
He is close enough to the river that flooding is a concern under storm conditions, but it would have to be 100 degrees out for a week straight with no power for that place to ever get warm enough that you have to worry about temperature.
But note that Chelsea Wine Storage is in Zone C, which means that there is flooding risk from a category 3 hurricane. Wine Care is in Zone A, which means that there is flooding risk from a Category 1 and that it was part of the evacuation zone for Sandy.
A
A fair point. It’s right by the West Side Highway, right?
Yes. Basically a half block from the highway and water. John’s point about Wine Care being an old warehouse is one of the things I’m hoping works in their favor. But I did see on the news water in the streets between 10th and 11th on 23rd St and Chelsea Piers (where my kid takes classes) is closed for at least two weeks because of flooding. But that is right on the water. So we’ll see. Hopefully they can assess the situration relatively soon and send an update (phone and power pending) as the other wine facilities have.
I have to admit, it’s strange to be sitting here wondering about wine storage in Chelsea given what others are clearly going through. Part of me is wants to know what’s happening to my material possessions (in this case wine) but the other part is thinking “it’s just a material possession.” Be thankful for what we do have. This storm is certainly helping put some things in perspective for me!
If it’s cold water, then flooding won’t harm the wines themselves.
But flooding will ruin the wines’ resale values at auction (since the labels will be mush).
Years and years ago, Pierre Rovani told a story about how his grandfather’s cave [in Normandy? or Brittany?] was always flooding, and so they put the wines in wire cages (as I recall) in order to be able to discern (once the floodwaters had receded and the bottles had settled back down) which cache was which.
Posted just now from the Wine Care team… Whew!!!
Super Tropical Storm “Sandy” has dealt all of us in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut a nasty blow. We at WineCare Storage have been spared most of the disaster. However, we have no Electricity, no FIOS for Internet, telephones and faxes, no Fresh Water, No Toilets, no Elevators, no Heat and some serious damage to our offices and computers. Our employees are having a difficult and long time getting to work.
We are in the laborious process of repairing everything. How long it will take depends on a myriad of factors mostly other people and services.
The good news is that your wine is in tact and being safely stored at a perfect temperature of 55 degrees.
At this time, WCS cannot give you the excellent service to which you have become accustomed. It will be weeks before we can be completely up and running, but we will complete the task. We will stay in touch with updates. Please call 212-594-9590 with any questions and for information. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
However, we cannot make deliveries and/or accept deliveries at this time. Requests for wine, will be lined up in the order they are received with First In/First Out.
Please be patient; we are doing everything we can; working tirelessly around the clock. We are very lucky compared to millions of our neighbors many of whom we have been trying to help.
Thank you for your understanding and loyalty.
With warmest regards,
The Entire WineCare Team
Very glad to hear that!
FYI, someone passed on an e-mail from Tom at Chelsea, who said there was a little water around the door and the kitchen, but that was all.
This is my first post- so bear with me…
First - I’m glad to hear that so many people’s wine is okay at Chelsea and other storage facilities in the New York/New Jersey area. We’ve been in touch with some of our competitors as well as retailers and distributors and have gotten word that their employees and families are generally okay, and they are just dealing with the damage.
Likewise - I’m glad to hear that you all are fortunate that this disaster happened in the fall and the outdoor temperatures are still good for storing wine. I fear what may have happened to everybody’s collections if there was an extended power outage and fuel shortage in the dead of summer.
So I’m clear about who I am and why I’m posting - I own and manage Horse Ridge Cellars - a wine storage facility in Stafford Springs, Connecticut. Fortunately, the storm did not impact us as heavily as it did just south of us and we didn’t lose power for more than a couple hours. So for our NY, NJ and CT clients who are wondering - your wine is still safe here.
For those who don’t know about Horse Ridge Cellars - we are underground wine storage facility, originally designed as a converted bomb shelter built to withstand nuclear attacks during the Cold War. We are built into the side of a hill which enables us to maintain constant 55 degree temperatures year round even if our heating and cooling systems are down.
I want to be sensitive to everybody who have been affected by this disaster, but I also want to be sure that everyone knows about other options for wine storage. At the end of the day, our families and loved ones come before wine, but sometimes it helps to have more piece of mind about your investment.
This - from Winecare today A few troubling bits in here…
WineCare finally has e-mail, but our telephones are still not working. Please communicate with me via email and that address is listed below.
By order of our landlord, who has to fully clean and restore all the utilities in the entire basement, ALL of the wine we are storing has to be removed from the cellars and will be taken up into special rooms in the building. WineCare will maintain a 55 degree climate for the wine. Once the restoration is complete, each case of wine will be relocated into our “new” cellars and available to you.
Our inventory is based on a computerized system which is completely backed-up. Until that system and its hardware are functional, it is impossible for WineCare to locate any client’s wines. While the identity and contents of each and every case is known to us, WineCare will not be able to locate a specific case until the wine is relocated back into our cellars.
It will be many weeks before this monumental task is complete. We are working 7 days a week and will be up and running as soon as we can.
We know that you have great concern about your wine and the value of it. We believe that at least 95% of the wine we are storing is fine. Please bear with us, and understand that everything humanly possible is being done to clear up this huge interruption at WineCare caused by the Sandy catastrophe.
In my business (journalism), that’s called burying the lede!
I got the same email and it too made me very nervous. I’m sure a lot of people, me included, are wondering if they fall in that 5%. Heck, my entire collection with then could have been whipped out and and I’m sure I’m not even close to 5% of their inventory. Who knows?!?
The time it takes to reestablish their relocate their wines I’m fine with. I would be nice if they are up by the holidays but whatever time it takes is fine with me. I can also live with upstairs storage for a period of time.
What’s also a little troubling is that the first email we got from Wine Care stated that “The good news is that your wine is in tact and being safely stored at a perfect temperature of 55 degrees.”
I’ve certainly gone from concern to relief to concern again. It’s the not knowing for sure that is VERY unnerving.
I hope they are more forthcoming in specifics soon.
A little more detail. Maybe not the detail I was hoping for but something. And I should clarify that I’m curious about the overall 5% and in no way was I implying that they look into my specific collection there.
My email to them…
Thanks for the update. It’s good to know things are being taken care of. I’m curious as to what you mean by “We believe that at least 95% of the wine we are storing is fine.” Could you provide a little more detail on what might have happened to the other 5%?
Thanks,
Dave Schliecker
Their response
Hi David,
We have 10’s of 1,000’s of cases which are being reviewed. This is a monumental project and will take time. We apologize, but there is no way that we can stop our operation in order to inspect each bottle/case and report the assessment at this stage. The chances that your collection has been effected are very small.
We have a very sophisticated and reliable system in place that we expect will be of service.
Thank you for your understanding and patience,
The entire WineCare team
I take it as some stuff got wet. If it is your cases you dont care about the 95%. If not we are 100% relieved… But wont know for weeks.
I don’t understand any of the emails sent by Winecare. I’m not a customer there, but I certainly feel for those who are.
A
I sent a mail asking for greater clarity on just how much water entered the cellar and how deep it got. No answer. They say the mail is up but phones are down… They went from no damage to 95% OK… won’t it be interesting when half of us fit into the 5%
I received a thoroughly unsatisfying response from Winecare to my most recent mail, basically told me nothing. Radio silence on this is unacceptable. I hope they realize that while no one should blame them for acts of nature… communication is key right now.
Guys, perhaps they have told you as much as they know right now. I don’t know anything about how they store wine for clients, whether it is open storage or private lockers, etc. One can only hope that they were very organized before the storm, I know of some storage facilities that aren’t, and after a crisis is not the time to start getting organized.
While the situation calls for concern (and monitoring) and is not ideal, they have a huge project in front of them, and seem to be working hard to resolve it. They’ve already said they can’t answer individual questions until the project is over and done, so you are probably just going to have to be patient. It’s kind of like asking Con Ed exactly when your power is going to come back. They’re working on it, but can’t tell you specifics. Here’s hoping everything works out well for all the clients in the end.
Figured I’d post this letter from Vintage Wine Warehouse – love the service there – received this letter on October 30th:
Dear Valued Storage Customer,
This note is in response to the many clients who have emailed and called over the last 24 hours inquiring about the overall conditions at the facility in the aftermath of the hurricane.
I am reaching out to you today to let you know that our facility was not affected in any way by the events surrounding hurricane Sandy.
Please note that our building is located at the top of a hill in Ridgewood, Queens, about 93 feet above sea level (aprox 9 stories). The building is located about 3 miles from the nearest canal and about 6 miles from the East River. Our facility is not located in a flood zone.
Please also note that in the event of a power failure we store items in a poured concrete cellar (14 ft below ground) where the natural temperature is around 60 degrees. In the event we lose power the temperature will never rise higher than about 60 degrees. Please note that in the event that we lose power it would take many days for the temperature to rise to that thresh hold as the combination of being below ground, the nature of the materials that make up the construction of the property and the sheer volume of liquid being refrigerated all act as natural conduits to maintain cold for extended periods of time.
Please also note that our facility is staffed 24 hrs a day in the event of a black out.
Unlike some other facilities in the metro area who store items in a new construction sheet metal/hangar style buildings (above ground) which can damaged by wind, water and temperature fluctuation, our building is constructed out of 14 inches of poured concrete in all directions (floors walls and ceilings). It is virtually indestructible (as the building has very few openings) and the poured concrete acts a natural conduit of temperature, especially below ground.
We do understand that many wine storage facilities in the metro area are located in evacuation zone A (whether in Manhattan, Queens or New Jersey) and by reading through email inquiries I can see this has raised concerns for clients that may have items both at our facility and at another facility located in a possible flood zone.
I am aware of the fact that many of the facilities located in evacuation zone A store items below ground so if you also have items at another facility located in evacuation zone “A” I suggest you reach out to them and find out the status of their current conditions and on what floor your items are currently being stored.
Please note that items at Vintage Wine Warehouse are stored a minimum of 6 inches off the floor of our 19,000 square foot cellar, with a majority of items stored between 4 feet and 13 feet off the floor. Our cellar is also equipped with 5 fully maintained sump pumps in the unlikely event we receive residue water in the cellar from extended rainfall.
Please feel free to reach out to me anytime if you have any questions or concerns,
Kind regards,
Tony Leventhal