I think everybody should have a favorite hang-out, a place to go as a respite against the craziness of the world today.

Our favorite place is All Corked Up http://www.allcorkedup.com. Great people work there, from Jennifer and Vic on down, all providing great, caring service. They also contribute to the great clubby atmosphere, which ramps up on weekends with live entertainment.

In addition to the front room, which is a combination wine bar, restaurant, and wine store, there is a separate lounge with a big-screen television. All the way in the back is a wine warehouse, and in between is a state-of-the-art wine storage facility.

When I was ready to make a decision about wine storage, I considered purchasing a refrigerated unit for our home versus renting space at All Corked Up. After taking into account space considerations, maintenance and eventual replacement of the unit, increased utility costs and the added worry if there was ever a power outage, All Corked Up became somewhat of a no-brainer.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with David Schutz, one of the owners of All Corked Up, to discuss the storage facilities.

According to David, when they were ready to start All Corked Up, they researched several operations around California in order to select the best features available to provide at All Corked Up. The facility has constantly circulating air; the lockers are fitted with rubber dampers to minimize vibration; temperature is maintained at at a constant 55 degrees and humidity at 65%. They invested $75,000 in a backup generator to insure against power outages. [I know where I am going after the next earthquake!]

The concrete walls are specially insulated and there is a lighting system that is motion activated. As temperature, light, and lack of humidity are all enemies to wine, these are all important factors. The temperature and humidity are controlled by a computer system that David said has kept the temperature at 55 degrees since they opened with a variation of only 1 degree. Pretty impressive! And the system has staged compressors so they are only used when needed, helping to keep utility costs down and to be environmentally friendly as well.

All Corked Up will accept deliveries for their locker members and hold them until ready for pick up or transfer to lockers. [I know I keep Victor busy with this service!] What David told me today is that ACU will ship your wine to you if you want it where you are vacationing, assuming it is going to a legal location, and you only pay their out-of-pocket cost with no added service charge.

But what really sets All Corked Up apart for me from other storage facilities are the other benefits. Locker members get a 10% discount in the wine store, as well as $10 off bottles purchased at the wine bar. And the periodic locker member parties are a nice feature as well.

And this just in — David says for a limited time that new members renting for 1 year get 6 months free. Maybe I’ll change my name and get another locker!

Michael Perlis provides outsourced controller services to businesses that do not need a full-time controller. He balances this with his interest in wine: reading and writing about it and, of course, drinking it. He is still trying to figure out how to combine these two pursuits. Feel free to contact him about either at mcpfinancial@aol.com or michaelthezinfan@aol.com.