Welcome to the Joseph & Curtis Hospitality blog where you will find some of our wine cellar design work for the hospitality industry - including wine cellars design ideas for restaurants, bars, hotels, country clubs.
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We will be reviewing restaurants,wine bars, and BYO’s in the tri-state area (for now)..OUR focus will be on artisianal wines/food (all local where possible) here is the first on our list:
We have been hearing great things about a new restaurant in town (Warren,NJ) called Uproot. 
So we decided to sneak in and try some wines & light fare. We at first sat at the bar and started to taste when the manager (John) came over and asked if he could talk about the wine list…I thought that would be great.
John made it a point that Uproot’s wine list isn’t built on the labels found everywhere. “All of the wines are diligently sought out and produced by small wineries that achieve success in the vineyard first; thus succeeding in the bottle. It’s the exact same principal whether you are growing an heirloom tomato, an Ossabaw pig or wine grapes. I hope that the list is seen to be broad in it’s beginning, and will grow deeper as we evolve.” Music to our ears! So here is the list of what John opened:
- Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Dry Riesling of the Finger Lakes 2007
- Selanova’s “Vignantica” Aglianico from Campagnia, Italy 2007
- Nikolaihof’s “Heafazabug” 2006 Gruner Veltliner from Wachau, Austria
- Realativity’s “Quantum Reserve” Cabernet 2007 of 2007
The food which also embodies this philosophy on every plate was shown to us in the following dishes:
- Our house cured and smoked salmon roulade with Greek yogurt, pears and domestic caviar.
- Torchon of Elevage foie gras with Sicilian pistachio and honey crisp apples.
- Goat cheese Tart Flambe with apple-wood smoked bacon and caramelized onions.
It was as sensational as it all sounds. The wines were perfect matches and manager Jonathan Ross, Exec Chef Anthony Bucco and Sous chef Mark Farro all came to our table to see how the journey was progressing…both Joe and I were blown away…besides the wine, and food being superb…we also loved the floor-plan and design.
This is a real New York experience right in Warren NJ.
5 ***** FOR UPROOT!
Artisan’s consisted of all phases of our hospitality division…design, buildout, and finish. Once we all agreed on a new “wine theme” throughout the restaurant our biggest hurdle became trying to make it look as if it was always there. We decided to custom mill cabinetry to fit seamlessly in existing niches…and make the wine cabinets look as if they were one piece. We decided a dark stain would match the beams in the ceiling as well as the new doors and cabinets we built in several areas of the restaurant. LED lighting warms each cabinet as well as the redwood wine racks. Time was also an issue as the restaurant was open during construction. We did most of the millwork at our shop and completed the restaurant in phases…all of which were on time and as always on budget.
La Bionda Restaurant came to Joseph and Curtis by way of referral. They wanted a sleek “George Jetson” style restaurant and weren’t quite sure what to do with the wine racks. We decided on mahogany racks with a coat of Lacquer as well as painted diamond bins for a contemporary contrast. We designed a soffit on the top and bottom for symmetry…as well as 2 columns of diamond bins to hide a HVAC trunk. The custom wine racks were built off site as well as the spraying of the diamond bins. The mahogany wine racks were imperative to the restaurant as they are the main focus of the dining room…which also make you feel as if you were sitting in the cellar. Ciao Bella!
L’Artusi was a complete design and build out. We met with the clients architect to learn about the overall lay-out of the space…once that was finalized we decided on a horse-shoe style wine cellar. We first had to demo the old space and rebuild the room with a strict vapor barrier and exterior glass and door. The design has a very small footprint which allowed the owners to have a private dining room with sliding doors…as well as extra seating. We were still able to deliver a 1,850 + bottle wine cellar which was visible from every area of the entire 2nd floor. We wanted to have as many windows as possible (5 total) for full viewing which we all know adds to the restaurants overall wine sales.