In 2002, André de Baubigny, a successful investment banker, had taken advantage of the dot-com bust to ascend the mailing lists of several California cult wineries and obtain quantities of their most coveted wines. These treasures soon filled every nook and cranny of his home, forcing de Baubigny to seek an alternative storage solution. However, he could find no storage facility that offered the requisite combination of space, security, temperature-control and easy access, and the facilities he did find were all self-service, which would require him to personally transport and stack each case of his wine in the warehouse.
De Baubigny’s friend and former business associate, Timothy Komada, a technology industry management consultant, was experiencing the same dilemma. The two decided to create the equivalent of an investment bank for wine. Thus was born Vintrust.
During the first half 2003, de Baubigny and Komada wrote a business plan, developed proprietary inventory management software and attracted investors. By October 2003, they had leased a secure, temperature- and humidity-controlled warehouse in Napa and attracted their first clients. Today, Vintrust provides hundreds of wine collectors—from novices to serious collectors, discreet high-net worth individuals to high profile celebrities—with state-of-the-art storage facilities, easy-to-use Wine Asset Management software, expert consultation and advice, and buying and selling assistance including e-commerce. Incidentally, Vintrust’s first client was not a wine collector but one of Napa’s most sought after cult wineries. Vintrust subsequently developed storage and fulfillment services for a coterie of small wineries and restaurants. Today, at a dedicated warehouse in Napa, more than 60 wineries store their wines with Vintrust and entrust Vintrust with their wine club fulfillment.
Wine storage and inventory management are not all Vintrust offers. We provide another level of service through our unique SOMMelier Services, delivered by an elite team of more than 30 top sommeliers. Vintrust clients have access to their own SOMMelier, who, for an hourly fee, will advise clients about their collections, including when to drink a particular wine, what food to pair it with and how best to augment their collection with new acquisitions. The SOMMelier can also plan and conduct in-home wine tastings, dinners and seminars, and create expert itineraries for wine country travel.
In October, 2006, it opened a wine storage facility and office on the East Coast to service collectors in the New York City metropolitan area and throughout the Northeast. In 2008, Vintrust will open a Winery Services warehouse and office in Sonoma, followed by Collector Services facilities in strategic locations around the U.S.