Item Magazine Style
Summer 2006 Issue

 

The New Look of the Underground

Push aside your notions of medieval caves and embrace the latest trend sweeping the residential market- subterranean living spaces

Story by Katie Pegler

Thousands of years ago, the Romans celebrated Bacchus as the god of wine, fertility, mirth, merriment, revelry, wisdom, and inspirations. Today, his legacy has been undertaken by Bacchus Caves, headquartered in the Napa Valley, with a satellite office in Malibu. The company, started in 1997 by president David Provost and the general manager Brian Simmons, has brought the vivacity of Bacchus to the present day with elaborate underground wine cellars and living spaces- even spas.

Borrowing the method of underground wine storage from the Roman catacombs, and later the French, these hollow spaces first appeared in Napa Valley in the late 1800s when Chinese laborers finished working on the Transcontinental railroad and were in need of new work. While the excavation process is much different from more than a century ago, the benefits remain the same.

Caves are known for their preservation of wine and ability to let it age gently. With a relatively constant temperature- between 58 and 62 degrees- and stable humidity, the upfront costs and one-of-a-kind space justify the addition over time. And yet, with all their benefits for wine storage, a recent trend has taken over the industry for these underground caverns as living spaces.

Limitless Possibilities

Both Provost and Simmons have extensive backgrounds in hard rock mining and heavy civil work, and they decided to focus their expertise on the rapidly expanding cave business at wineries in Northern California during the mid-1990s. Having both earned their business and engineering degrees, Provost and Simmons- along with their experienced crew- have driven over 200,000 feet of tunnels all over the world, from gold mines in Nevada to twin subway tunnels in Taiwan.

When Bacchus Caves first started, most of its work was commercial wine cellars, as there were very few private caves being done in 1997.

“People didn’t realize you could do the very same thing to your house,” Provost says. Bacchus Caves’ first residential project was through word of mouth in the late 1990s. “The client wanted to put in a garage, and by the time we got through the design phase, he also wanted an art gallery and office. It turned out to be a very beautiful 5,000 square-foot cave.” Much of the company’s work still comes from word of mouth, along with clients who have read about them.

While commercial wine cellars often warrant the highest dollar value, the company is doing an even quantity of residential projects- and the limitations of what can be done keep stretching. “Wine cellars are obviously a large component of our caves,” Provost says. “But the first residential one we did, I don’t think there was a bottle of wine in there. We also have clients who are home wine makers and want a place to put their bottles.

“On the other hand, one couple wants us to put in a library underground because they have a lot of very rare books. They are in a very fire-prone area and are concerned about insurance issues. When you have a one-of-a-kind book, it almost doesn’t matter what the insurance company gives you because you won’t get the book back,” Provost says.

Changing Perceptions of the Underground

At first, residential caves tend to evoke imagery of dark underground caverns at the bottom of narrow staircases, but about 95 percent of Bacchus Caves’ projects don’t have stairwells. “They general go into a hillside, and whether the hillside is behind the house or next to the house, it just depends,” Provost says. “Each site is unique; there are no two sites we’ve had that have been similar.”

A current project in Santa Barbara, where the company is in the design phase, will mark the first cave that comes into the basement of a residence. “We have tunneled into the back of wineries before, and we’ve done caves that tie into new buildings, but as far as actually tunneling into a residence, this will be our first.”

Costs for a cave vary and can be anywhere from $150 to $350-plus per square-foot, depending on how it’s finished. “It also depends on the ground conditions, if you’re putting in tile and chandeliers or stained concrete and regular lighting,” Provost says. “A lot of our owners are starting to push the envelope on caves. It’s really the owners that come to us and ask us if we can do something.”

Different Spaces for Different Tastes

Bacchus Caves has established a reputation for working closely with clients to realize their desires. The company motto is: “Anything is possible underground,” and they break new territory every year.

“Caves create a naturally unique environment, and several clients have commented [that] the experience brings them back to their primeval roots,” Provost says. “It is a wonderful experience to sit in a still cavern lit by candles and to savor a glass of good wine- without cell phones or clocks or outside distractions. A cave provides a great escape for decompression.”

Provost and Simmons also enjoy working closely with a client through every step of the process to create a custom cave with all the specific details necessary for a perfect finished environment, whether it be a staircase crafted from the excavated basalt rock, a smaller intimate niche room off the main cavern, a custom copper lighting system or one-of-a-kind wood and steel portal doors.

When asked which project is his favorite so far, Provost can’t decide. “The thing is, they are all very different,” he says. “When you go underground, there is always something crazy happening. To pick one, although they’ve all been great, I’d say probably the first one. It was something new for us- architecture tunneling rather than tunneling for a highway, railroad or mine. You don’t make mining caves as pretty as wine caves, and they look nothing like a finished living space.”

As far as trends go, it is very dependent on the owners, their personal design tastes and what they want to put inside. Whereas some projects will undoubtedly feature a mass storage facility for a home wine collection, Provost’s clients are getting more creative. Top choices include dining facilities, offices and art galleries.

The First of Its Kind

Another new endeavor for the company is The Meritage Resort in Napa; its Spa Terra features the first underground cave spa and provides the ultimate relaxation experience. Part of the East Wine Cave with seating for up to 250 guests, the entire cavern encompasses 18,000 square feet.

“The Meritage is going to be incredible because it’s the first time a spa has went in underground,” Provost says. “With locker rooms, massage rooms, catering kitchens and more, it’s an incredibly challenging project and the first time a lot of it has been [done]. We’re definitely having a great time, and we have a great owner.”

David Bury of David Bury & Co. Architects of Ojai designed Spa Terra, and the entire project seeks to mimic an underground wine cellar found in private Italian villas. With 10 private treatment rooms, a relaxation room and Rotunda pool, The Meritage’s spa is set to become a destination for the most distinguished travel savvy.

Going Underground Takes Time

Unlike aboveground residential construction on a single-family home, tunneling a site can be much more difficult and time intensive. Provost notes the time to complete a cave depends on the size, but more importantly, it depends on the ground: “There is some ground you can tunnel 15 feet a day, and there’s some ground you can tunnel 3 feet a day in- so that is a big driving factor because it’s so ground dependent.

“Anything is possible underground, but it just depends on when it becomes unfeasible,” he says. “If you have a solid-rock face 10 feet from your house, it just becomes unfeasible. It can be done, but the bill is going to become obscene.”

For instance, a small, private cave that is a couple thousand square feet takes a few months to finish tunneling with decent ground, and then another few months to finish out, depending on what’s being done to the interior. “You’re looking at about a four- to six-month project for a couple thousand square feet, and that’s if all permits are in place and there’s no problems with the ground conditions,” Provost says. “A large project such as the Meritage can take ten months to dig, a month to clean up to get architecturally ready, and then another four, five or six months to finish.”

And while many clients fall in love with the idea of a cave, they also need to realize tunneling is extremely loud. “We do everything we can to stay out of the client’s way and keep the property cleaned up,” Provost says. “We realize there’re people living there, but they also need to be aware it’s a tunnel- we’re not building a doghouse out there.”

Though the company puts silencers on fans and generators and does sound dampening, it’s still loud. “The process can be disruptive, but we try to make it as least painful as possible for everyone involved.” With a 70,000-pound machine with 85 three-inch picks on the front grinding the ground, underground loaders hauling dirt out and back-up alarms for safety issues, it’s like living outside a little mine for a while- with a very worthwhile result.

Getting the City’s Approval

Another hurdle for residential caves is permitting, which has become increasingly difficult in the state of California but can be even more time consuming if the municipality is not familiar with underground living spaces.

Preparation work can be key in the process, including looking at the site up front and getting the proper information from the owners to tell them if it’s even feasible.

“Noting the topography, whether they even have a hill, proximity to other structures and a soil’s report is also important,” Provost says.

A proven technique Bacchus Caves has with municipalities’ employees is getting them all together and visually showing then what the company plans to construct.

“Everyone has their own perception of what a cave is,” says Provost, “but being able to show them pictures and drawings of the projects we’ve done and pictures of our tunneling equipment gets everyone comfortable with us and the whole process.”

Expanding Beyond California

Currently, Bacchus Caves is working on close to a dozen projects in all different phases.

“Our cave business started in Napa and has grown to southern California and beyond; we are working with clients on the East Coast and Northwest as well,” Provost says. Bacchus Caves completed six projects in 2005, but project volume is rapidly growing.

In the future, the company’s goal is to continue to break new terrain with commercial and private cave projects and to be true to its motto. With the unveiling of The Meritage Resort this spring, it marked the first cave-spa in Napa, and the company wants to continue with innovative projects. Bacchus Caves is working on private cave projects in Hollywood Hills, Bel Air, Montecito and Atlanta, which, between them, will boast such design details as hand-carved humidors, libraries, elevator shafts and glass-door portals to overlook the ocean.

“People say this all too often, but I am probably one of the most fortunate people around,” Provost says. “I have a great business partner, we have great employees that have been with us for a long time and we take very good care of them. It’s fun going to work; our clients are great- you just couldn’t ask for a better job.” With meticulous attention to detail and years of experience working underground, Bacchus Caves is poised to grow as the market expands.