Superyacht Wine Cellars Have Reached Peak Lavishness

People have always found a way to bring wine onto boats, an impulse reflected in the literary imagination for millenia. Odysseus stores it aboard his ship to inebriate the Cyclops Polyphemus; captain Ahab shares wine with his crew as they swear to exact vengeance on Moby Dick. 

For the first time in human history, however, boat wine collections are rivaling those on land—all thanks to the rise of the superyacht. No longer a grim necessity for enduring long voyages, or an afterthought refreshment to stock before a trip, on-board wine cellars have recently achieved new levels of sophistication—and lavishness that would wow even yachters of just 20 years ago. 

Climate-controlled wine storage is no longer sufficient: Elaborate wine cellars are increasingly centerpieces of a yacht’s design. 

Take M/Y Wild Duck, a 110-foot Horizon superyacht with lavish interiors designed by Luca Dini: Its Champagne closet that can display 72 bottles in a sleek wine cooler unit (with storage for 92 more bottles.) 

There’s the striking, floor-to-ceiling glass wine wall aboard the elegant 124-foot M/Y Emocean, storing 150 bottles. Spaces for entertaining are often elegantly intertwined: Aboard M/Y Skyfall, a 190-foot Trinity with an asking price of $27.5 million, bespoke wooden wine cabinets encircle a marble foyer that leads into the onboard bar. On the 352-foot M/Y Andromeda, the wine cellar doubles as an intimate tasting room. 

“When we first started working with this market, wine was stored all over the place on boats–it was quite incredible, really,” says Liam Steevenson, Master of Wine and founder of Global Wine Solutions (GWS), a supplier of wines to luxury yachts. “I remember seeing Pétrus stored under crew beds, in cupboards and anywhere else there was space. You just don’t see that anymore, and I think that’s largely due to wine cellars now being much more thoughtfully designed.” 

In fact, the company now tries to get involved “much earlier” in the cellar-building process “to ensure onboard storage is properly tailored to the styles and quantities of wine that owners and guests typically require.”

For example, it is no longer enough to only stock Champagne and Provence rosé, two of the most historically dominant yachting wines. More variety requires more real estate: The 170-foot Royal Huisman M/Y Special One, which just earned itself the title of world’s largest sportfishing yacht in 2024, has a 300-bottle cellar. 

Housing multiple cellars onboard is no longer unusual, but it does complicate bottle management. In 2023, GWS launched CruSmart, a wine inventory management system designed specifically for yachts, with tools to create on-board wine lists and train the crew. 

Displaying Wines to Drink in 10 Days–Not 10 Years

“Yacht wine needs aren’t wildly different from shore-based preferences,” says Steevenson, noting that of course tastes vary among the “wealthy, global clientele” depending on their background. “From a British fine wine lens, you might expect a focus on mature wines, but in yachting, the clientele skews American, Middle Eastern and Russian, markets that often prefer younger wines.” He adds, “This is actually an advantage, as yachts aren’t ideal for long-term wine storage, but they are excellent places to consume and enjoy fine wine in the moment.”

That’s perhaps the key differentiator. “Wine bought for yachts is meant to be drunk,” he says. It’s why the company is able to work exclusively and directly with Gaja in Piedmont. “Despite global demand for their wines, they value that our clients actually open and enjoy the bottles.” 

Even if superyachters are generally less interested in collecting, at-sea storage requires just as much thought, if not more. 

Alessandra Esteves, director of wine education at Florida Wine Academy, approaches wine training for yacht crews quite differently than she would restaurant staff. “We talk a lot about wine storage, especially because there is vibration at sea,” says Esteves. “Students have told me how bottles of Champagne can suddenly pop, so securing them is essential.” 

Storing More on Shore

Curation strategy changes, too. “Wine cellars in restaurants are updated frequently, as there’s constant demand,” she says. “At home, collectors often focus on long-term aging and building a personal collection, based on their personal taste. On a yacht, the wine cellar is typically curated for a specific trip or season. It’s uncommon to see wines stored for long-term aging, unless they’re part of a special display or reserved for a particular occasion.”

Increasingly, GWS is working with superyachters who want the best of both worlds: an extensive on-board cellar with an additional on-shore cellar to store even more. “Yachts are by nature limited in space, so we help create shore-based cellars, in France, the U.S. and more recently the Caribbean,” says Steevenson. “So, owners can always access the wines they want, properly stored and ready when and where they need them.”

More Coverage on Wine Storage

• In case you hadn’t heard the news, the bar cart is over. Enter the bar cabinet. 
• We found the best wine racks for every kind of drinker. 
• If you have a wine cellar at home, here’s how to care for it. 
• Check out our handy cheat sheet to cellaring wine. 

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