CENTRAL WINE WAREHOUSE: A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO THE WINE BUSINESS

HOME PAGE/INTRODUCTION

Central Wine Warehouse is located at 306 SE Ash Street in the Central Eastside Industrial District of Portland, Oregon. The 40,000-square-foot facility, constructed in 1932, housed many businesses, including a chicken processing plant and Olshen's Bottle Supply, before being converted into a dynamic, multi-use wine business facility in 1999. Central Wine Warehouse is the nation's only facility to house wine producers, wholesale wine distributors, online wine merchants, and a state-of-the-art storage cellar all within a single structure. Central Wine Warehouse is also equipped with an innovative green roof and cistern system that reduces stormwater runoff into the sewers and cuts down on heating and cooling costs. In adopting a holistic approach to not only the wine business, but to building management and environmental sustainability, Central Wine Warehouse is a unique incubator for diverse businesses in the wine business cycle, and a forerunner in cost-efficient and environmentally sound building management.

THE WINE BUSINESS CYCLE:

The wine business cycle begins with farmers growing grapes and extends to aficionados raising glasses. In between the ripening of the grape and the sipping of its fermented juices there are many players: vintners, or wine producers; import houses, national distributors, and local distributors; retail merchants, restaurants, cafes, and bistros; and for the collector, storage facilities. Since its inception in 1999, Central Wine Warehouse has adopted a holistic approach to the entire wine business cycle by bringing a diverse range of wine businesses together under the same green roof. In addition to housing a wide array of direct importers and distributors, Central Wine Warehouse is home to pioneering producers such as Rachel Starr and Chien Lunatique, internet wine clubs, Portland Wine Storage (a 20,000-square-foot, climate-and-humidity-controlled, subterranean storage facility) and Portland Wine Gear. Aside from grape growing, every step of the wine business cycle is represented at Central Wine Warehouse. In addition to offering a complete range of wine-related services under a single roof, Central Wine Warehouse has become a unique and growing incubator for innovation and new partnerships between different businesses in the wine business cycle.

GREEN ROOF/ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES:

In 2005, Central Wine Warehouse began investigating the possibility of replacing its existing roof with a green or "eco" roof. The function of an green roof is to absorb rainwater that traditionally flows off roofs via downspouts, and into a city's sewage and/or stormwater system. Green roofs also provide greater insulation at a very low cost, while at the same time creating a growing space for plant life and even vegetable gardens. Central Wine Warehouse underwent seismic retrofitting in 2007; construction of a green roof began the following year. The old roof was replaced with new foam insulation, a water-tight membrane and soil. The roof was seeded in Fall 2008; by Spring 2009 the roof had transformed into a lush, living, insulating and water-absorbent environment, populated with native plants from the Willamette Valley.

The green roof is also equipped with a rain-water harvesting system. Rain water from the roof is diverted down to cisterns in the warehouse basement. "Gray water" (water that is clean but not potable) from the green roof is used to flush toilets year round; in the summer months, water from the cisterns is pumped back up to the green roof to water native vegetation.

Central Wine Warehouse's signature green roof reduces the building's stormwater runoff into the sewer system by 80%. The insulation provided by the roof has resulted in 60% savings in heating and cooling costs. And, the green roof is projected to have double the lifespan of a traditional roof.

Future plans to continue lessening the environmental impact of Central Wine Warehouse include integrating solar panels into the roof-top environment. Central Wine Warehouse has adopted the same approach to environmental responsibility and sustainability as it has adopted to the wine business cycle: integrating diverse elements under an overarching theme to create a dynamic and unique setting for growth and innovation.

TENANTS [list and link]

Importers/Distributors

1. C&G Wines  cgwines.com

2. Zancanella Wine Imports

3. Bon Vivant Merchants, Llc)

4. Cote de Or Imports

5. Vine Merchant  vinemerchants.com

6. Green Valley Wines

7. Corridor Selections

8. Walter Scott Wines-Ken Pahlow and Erica Landon  walterscottwines.com

Storage:

1. Portland Wine Storage

Gear/Accessories:

1. Portland Wine Gear

Currently there is a limited amount of space available. To find out more about space availability, please call Portland Wine Storage at the number below and talk to Joe Padulo or Tom Harvey III

LINKS:

www.portlandwine.com

306 SE Ash St

Portland, OR 97214-1105

(503) 231-1121

Managing Directors

Το Ζευγος

Κωνσταντινος Τουχουλιωτης Αριστων και Δημητρα Λαμπαδαριδου

Telephone: 503 341-3313

Email: info@centralwinewarehouse.com