No compromises,
No shortcuts

For thirty years, we’ve set the standard for fine wine storage.

How? By committing ourselves to maximising the value of your fine wine.

We know it can be easy to assume your fine wine is being stored properly.

But in reality, creating and maintaining the perfect conditions takes considerable investment. That’s an investment we made thirty years ago – and which we continue to perfect.

One case or a hundred: we give you the same extraordinary care, because we understand the financial and emotional value inside every bottle.

This extraordinary care means we’re trusted to look after some of the world’s finest and most precious collections. It’s why investors pay more for Octavian-stored fine wine.

And it’s why the world’s leading fine wine merchants encourage their customers to store with us.

Over time, a bottle inevitably loses some wine through evaporation. No cork provides a perfectly impenetrable seal.

But if the humidity surrounding your wine isn’t right, evaporation speeds up – and the value of your wine drops.

Maintaining optimum humidity keeps your cork moist, which stops too much wine from evaporating.

Over 30 years of refinement, we’ve set the industry standard for fine wine storage at 75% - 85% humidity. Our precisely engineered systems constantly monitor the humidity in our facilities, introducing dry air from outside when necessary. We can also increase the level of humidity through a unique system of ceiling water nozzles – with the mist dissipating before it reaches any cases.

Your bottle of wine is a living thing that needs to mature slowly to achieve greater complexity. An ideal temperature of between 13-14 degrees is essential to this process.

Fluctuations in temperature cause your cork to expand and contract, letting air into the bottle and damaging your wine.

We constantly monitor the temperature inside our facilities – and can make adjustments down to an incredibly precise level.

In Corsham Cellars, we monitor the temperature with internal and external sensors. By drawing outside air into the facility, we maintain an ideal temperature and avoid condensation.

And in Colerne Reserve, we’ve invested in air conditioning, humidity controls and insulation to replicate the same temperature conditions.

Poor ventilation also damages your fine wine. Musty or strong smells can penetrate a cork and affect flavour – which is why fine wine should never be stored near fruit, vegetables or cheese.

Stagnant air also allows humidity to develop. In Corsham Cellars, we utilise air ducts installed by the Ministry of Defence to make sure fresh air reaches every single case.

Light speeds up how quickly your fine wine matures. For centuries, winemakers have bottled wine in coloured glass to slow down the ageing process.

But even the darkest glass can’t stop ultraviolet light from degrading your wine’s organic compounds – and damaging its aroma, flavour and structure.

We’ve installed comprehensive LED lighting in our facilities to minimise the amount of light that reaches your fine wine. Our lights operate on sensors – which means your wine spends most of its time in the dark, maturing at a slower speed.

Your fine wine can also be damaged by vibration. Often, we finalise wine that’s been stored elsewhere – and unfortunately damaged in the move.

Vibration can lead to serious problems like dropped corks. But even the smallest vibrations can disturb a wine’s sediment, increasing chemical reactions and the ageing process.

We’ve taken extensive steps to cut down on the vibration in our facilities, with marble-like polished floors and bespoke, uniquely designed handling vehicles, and special cushioning mechanisms at Colerne Reserve.

You wouldn’t keep your money in a bank that wasn’t rock solid. So just like any other high-value investment, your fine wine needs to be secure.

We’re trusted to look after £2bn of fine wine. Why? Because we take the security and integrity of your fine wine seriously.

As a long-established, family-owned business, we have the financial stability to protect your fine wine for as you wish.

It’s important that our customers feel reassured their collections are in the right hands – so we maintain a strong balance sheet, entirely free of debt.

And with 24-hour security, our facilities offer the physical security your fine wine needs too. Our facilities are in remote locations, with few direct access points and highly sophisticated alarms. 



Appropriate insurance is essential. Household policies do not normally cover fine wine – and despite their promises, we often find that some commercial facilities’ ‘universal’ insurance policies don’t offer comprehensive protection.

Some customers can expect all storage facilities to offer the same level of insurance – but in reality, the level of insurance is one of the biggest differences between facilities.

In California, connoisseurs suffered huge losses when a bonded warehouse was destroyed by fire, without adequate insurance.

That’s why we offer solid and robust insurance. In the extremely unlikely event our facility is damaged and your wine destroyed, our insurance covers the current market value for every single bottle. If you’d like to store elsewhere, we’d advise that you check the level of your policy with your supplier.