Wine cellar visits: inventory, drinking windows, buying plan

Offer the cellar visit as a bookable service at the client's home, long enough to see every rack, and give it a clear outcome: an inventory, a list of bottles to drink soon, bottles to keep, storage issues to fix, and a short buying plan. Ask before the visit how many bottles and what the client wants from their cellar. They book online, you arrive with the right tools, and they're left with a cellar they understand rather than a pile of bottles they're afraid to open.

The requests vary. Someone inherited a cellar and has no idea what's in it. A collector has bought faster than they've drunk and suspects some bottles are past their best. A couple has just built a cellar and wants to fill it sensibly. A host wants to know what to open for a big anniversary. Ask which of these it is when they book, because it changes what you bring and how long you need.

Send the inventory and the lists afterwards in a format the client can keep up to date. That document is what makes a follow-up visit quick.

A cellar visit can turn up storage issues the client hadn't noticed: bottles standing upright for years, a boiler room wall that warms the racks in winter, a garage cellar that swings with the seasons, labels peeling in damp corners, a fridge-style cabinet overloaded beyond its door seal. Point them out with the bottles concerned, rank them by risk, and suggest simple fixes first: moving a rack, laying bottles down, adding a thermometer. Put these in the written report too, so the client can act on them after you've gone.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. You open slots for each service at the length it takes; clients pick a service, then a free slot. One place per slot, since you visit one home at a time.

Durations and prices are examples: set your own. Include travel time in the slot, and state in the description what the client receives afterwards.

The public booking form asks for first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note you read in your new-booking email. Ask for the address, a rough number of bottles, whether an inventory already exists, and the main goal. Ask for photos of the cellar and any existing list by email. The note can't be edited once the booking exists, so put the questions in the service description.

A large cellar won't fit in one afternoon. Split it into two or three visits on separate days, since each slot sits within one day, and book them with the client from your calendar: first and last name are required, email and phone optional. With one place, a booked slot is full and disappears from your page.

After a year, a follow-up visit updates the inventory and adjusts the plan. Slots repeat weekly, not yearly, so note the date and invite the client when it comes round. Clients can't move bookings online: they contact you, you reschedule or cancel from your bookings list and let them know, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Book doesn't take payments; it handles appointments. It costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.