A house is just a just a house until you add personal touches that express your hobbies and passions.  A foodie might create a kitchen for cooking and entertaining, while a movie buff would build home theater.  But these people took their passion for collecting wine to an entirely new level by building wine cellar larger than most NYC apartments.  Some of these cellars hold more than 35,000 bottles. Check out the cellars, and than let us know what you think.

Architect Peter Bohlin designed Dennis and Vicki Farrar’s house in Park City, Utah. The wine cellar, buried in the hillside, features built-in wine racks and a table constructed of redwood once used in wine barrels. (October 2006)

Architect Bernard Wharton and his partner Arthur Hanlon created a Shingle Style residence for Pete and Judi Dawkins in Rumson, New Jersey, overlooking the Navesink River. “Visually, the wine cellar is divided between a sitting and tasting area and a room for wine storage,” Wharton explains. “The house is cozy where it needs to be.” The fieldstone walls, limestone floor and beam ceiling add a rustic ambience. For designer Sandra Nunnerley, the goal was to keep the interiors “seamless with the architecture,” she says. “We didn’t overload the rooms with a lot of furniture. We wanted everything to be clean and pared down. The architecture stands by itself.” (November 2006)

Illya Hendrix and Thomas Allardyce, of Hendrix Allardyce Design, re-created a historic Napa Valley, California, farmhouse for Ann Colgin and her husband, Joe Wender. “What makes a great wine is a sense of place and personality,” observed Colgin, who is the creator of some of the most feverishly sought-after wines in America. “It’s the same thing with a great house.” In the wine cellar, wood accents complement the sectioned stone walls and the stone floor of the vaulted space. A George III brass-bound japanned and gilded cellarette stands in front of a 19th-century French cherry wine-tasting table. (June 2002)

Visit Architectural Digest to view more fabulous wine cellars.  Is this something you would consider for your home?