The House Manager’s Guide to Wine Across Several Homes
A family with a villa on the coast, a chalet for the winter, an apartment in town and perhaps a yacht does not drink in four different ways. The principal likes the same champagne in Courchevel as in Cap Ferrat, and notices when it is not there. Keeping that consistent across several homes falls to the house manager, the estate manager, the PA or the family office. This is how we see it done well.
One list, many houses
Start with a single list of what the family drinks: the house champagne, the reds and whites the principal asks for by name, the bar, and the bottles kept for occasions. Each house then holds its own share of that list, sized to how long the family stays there. The list is the constant; the quantities move with the calendar.
Keep one record, not four
Whatever tool you use, the record should show, for each house, what is there, what it cost, and when it should be drunk. Most problems we are asked to solve start with a cellar nobody has counted since last season. A count at the start and end of each stay takes half an hour and saves an emergency order in the middle of one.
Decide what travels and what stays
Everyday wines and the bar are cheaper and simpler to stock locally in each house. The special bottles are different: they are often better kept in one place, in proper storage, and sent to whichever house the family is in when they are wanted. Moving fine wine around in the boot of a car in August is how it gets damaged.
Order ahead of the arrivals
The calendar tells you when each house opens. Place the order for each opening a week or two ahead, with the arrival date and the name of whoever will receive it at the property, so it is in the house before the family is. We plan the delivery around that date: on the Côte d’Azur our own team drives it over, and elsewhere in the EU we ship by DHL or, for a high-value order, our own team drives it.
Keep the paperwork clean
Most families want one supplier, one account and invoices that go to the right place: the family office, the management company or the principal directly. Ask for itemised invoices per house, so each property’s running costs are clear, and for an account that remembers the list so a reorder is a short message rather than a fresh conversation.
Out of season
A closed house is a risk to its cellar. Before closing up, move the bottles that matter into professional storage or make sure the cellar is monitored, and leave the house with the everyday stock it will need on the first night of the next stay.
How we help
We work with house managers, PAs and family offices across the homes and boats of the families they look after: one account, one list, delivery to each house before the family arrives, and invoices to whoever you name. See wine supply for family offices and private estates, wine for villas and chalets and wine delivery to villas and holiday homes in Europe.
