After many years of renovating some of Toronto’s most elegant homes, Gary LaRose had the opportunity to build his first wine cellar and never turned back. Since 1995, Rosehill Wine Cellars has specialized in designing and installing custom-made wine cellars across Southern Ontario. Rosehill Wine Cellars has gone on to expand its range of services—for both residential and commercial clients — including wine racks, cooling units, wine fridges, stemware, kit racks, and other accessories all related to wine enjoyment. The large showroom has everything you need. To round out its construction and retail offerings, Rosehill Wine Cellars also manufactures wine racks at its onsite factory. Wine Guardian is thrilled to have been a partner to Rosehill Wine Cellars for 25 years since their wine cellar business first began. We are even more excited to continue working with Rosehill Wine Cellars for the years to come.
It is Personal
Gary LaRose, Founder of Rosehill Wine Cellars, did not just fall into building wine cellars and selling decanters. In fact, inspirited by a blossoming passion for wine, Mr. LaRose pivoted the company from general renovation construction to creating spaces for the preservation and aging of wine, exclusively. This has allowed him to focus solely on the fine art of wine preservation and develop a deep understanding all of the intricacies within. We are very proud to have been apart of this transition from the very beginning.
He thoroughly enjoys getting to know serious wine collectors and realizing their dreams by designing and building elegant, efficient wine cellars. Approximately half of Mr. LaRose’s business serves builders of new construction homes where wine cellars are drafted into the blueprints. Even if these rooms are more to support an affluent lifestyle and less about the integrity of serious wine collecting, he values the joy of sharing a glass of wine in a lovely environment. From stylish racking to stemware to the selection and installation of a commercial-grade wine cooling system, Mr. LaRose makes it his business to know everything there is to know about wine culture and storage.
LaRose’s knowledge of wine storage allows him to advise his clients on the most appropriate cooling unit for their wine cellars. Mr. LaRose has become quite the expert on Wine Guardian’s line of wine cooling units after working with us for so many years. His favorite Wine Guardian systems are the self-contained ducted units due to features including the simple-to-use humidity and temperature control.
“If managing the aesthetics, noise, and heat dissipation of a cellar are primary considerations, then Wine Guardian ducted split units are my go-to solution for spaces of any size. I love putting the condensing unit outside the house and the evaporator coil in a room adjacent to a cellar. With only the return and supply grilles to hide, this leaves a wine cellar free of mechanicals.” Another advantage is the easy addition of humidity controls onto the units with both temperature and humidity monitored by one controller.”
–Gary LaRose, Founder, Rosehill Wine Cellars
All Under One Roof
Unique to Rosehill Wine Cellars is its robust retail space. The store allows customers to see everything they might need from cabinets to racks to accessories. Wine lovers can pop in and pick up a new set of elegant stemware. DIYers appreciate having a place to explore various kit racks and to tap the opinion of an expert, while local contractors have access to a large selection of commercial-grade cooling systems, cabinets, and racks. The online market also does a thriving business. A wide array of wine cabinets, wine racks, decanters, and accessories can all be conveniently purchased on their online shop. LaRose feels that the some of the personalization of a physical store can be lost in an online environment. That is why he values providing as much information about each product as possible to ensure that his customers are buying the product that suits them best.
Rosehill also has several full-time employees in the construction division specializing in computer-aided design. They help homeowners and builders formalize wine cellar plans, and three dedicated construction crews build them out and install wine cooling systems. Together, his employees create a powerful team, capable of handling any unique challenges that they may come to face.
Eleven years ago, Rosehill Wine Cellars decided to expand upon their business. In addition to cellars, Rosehill began manufacturing wine racks and moved to a facility that could accommodate their retail space, construction division, and the woodworking factory. Rosehill truly is a one-stop-shop for wine aficionados, DIYers, and contractors of both residential and commercial spaces, which contributes to the high level of repeat business.
The Value of Loyalty
Customers are not the only ones loyal to Rosehill Wine Cellars. The company has several employees that have been with them for more than two decades, as well as a handful that have been on board for more than one. Mr. LaRose is proud of this fact because he values his employees and considers them integral to the success of the family-run business. He is as devoted to them as they are to him.
From a company cultural perspective, Rosehill and Wine Guardian are aligned. Mr. LaRose has been ringing Russ Warner at Wine Guardian for technical support for as many years as he can remember. Mr. LaRose and Rosehill Wine Cellars have had a lasting impression on our business and we are thrilled to celebrate this milestone with them. He feels as connected to our founders and leaders as we do to him and Rosehill, which is the foundation of our 25-year partnership… and counting.
